TL;DR
- China stays TI’s largest historic participant base, accounting for 280 appearances and 171 top-eight finishes, though no Chinese language participant has lifted the Aegis since 2016.
- Japanese Europe has develop into TI’s largest trendy expertise bloc, contributing 39% of all gamers in 2026, with Russia and Ukraine accounting for nearly 90% of the area’s historic appearances.
- Western Europe has produced probably the most champion appearances of any area at 26, and recorded a 65.3% top-eight fee throughout the 5 most up-to-date Internationals.
The Worldwide has all the time offered Dota 2 as a world competitors, but the groups carrying every area’s banner have hardly ever been nationwide squads. As a substitute, rosters have normally comprised a mixture of gamers from completely different international locations, making team-level labels a poor information to the place TI’s power truly comes from.
To look past the organizations, I analyzed each Dota 2 professional who competed at The Worldwide between 2011 and 2026. Throughout the 15 editions held throughout that interval, the evaluation covers 1,282 participant representations, every linked to the participant’s listed nation and area and their workforce’s last placement.
Right here’s what the information reveals about how TI’s world steadiness of energy has shifted over the previous 15 years.
China stays TI’s largest historic powerhouse
No nation comes near China’s historic footprint.
Chinese language gamers account for 280 of the 1,282 representations at The Worldwide from 2011–2026. This represents greater than double Russia’s 138 and effectively forward of Malaysia’s 85 and the USA’ 79 representatives. Including Macau to the regional grouping takes China’s complete to 288, representing 22.5% of all gamers in TI historical past.
The extra hanging determine, although, is what these gamers truly did with their alternatives.
Chinese language gamers reached the highest eight 171 instances, reflecting a formidable 61.1% conversion fee. Together with Macau takes the regional top-eight complete to 176. Moreover, China’s share of deep finishes was about 30% larger than its share of complete illustration, giving it the strongest index amongst giant areas.
China’s dominance was constructed earlier than 2017
Nonetheless, that dominance was primarily concentrated in The Worldwide’s early years.
Between 2011 and 2016, China provided 140 of 482 participant representations and 98 of the interval’s 241 top-eight locations. It additionally contributed 14 champion representatives via Invictus Gaming in 2012, Newbee in 2014, and Wings Gaming in 2016. Wong ‘ChuaN’ Hock Chuan’s Malaysian itemizing on Invictus Gaming‘s profitable roster is why these three titles produce 14 Chinese language champion representatives reasonably than 15.
Since Wings lifted the Aegis in 2016, China has not gained a single TI. Chinese language gamers accounted for as a lot as 35% of all TI representatives in 2015, however that share fell to 12% in 2022 and 9% in 2023. Although China recovered to 16% in 2026, none of its 13 representatives completed inside the highest eight.
Japanese Europe is on the rise, and it’s not all due to Staff Spirit
Japanese Europe provided 131 participant representations throughout the 5 Internationals from 2022 to 2026, in contrast with 75 from Western Europe, 71 from Southeast Asia, and 57 from China. Its share of the sphere climbed in each version throughout that interval: 19% in 2022, 29% in 2023, 31% in 2024, 34% in 2025, and 39% in 2026.
Furthermore, thirty-one of the 80 gamers on the newest Worldwide had been grouped beneath Japanese Europe, which is greater than thrice the area’s 9 appearances at TI 2019.
Russia and Ukraine make up practically 90% of the area
This enhance has been pushed closely by Russia and Ukraine. Extra particularly, Russian gamers recorded 138 TI appearances, reaching the highest eight 75 instances and profitable on 12 of these events. Ukraine gamers added one other 70 appearances, together with 32 top-eight finishes and eight title-winning runs.
Collectively, the 2 international locations make up 208 of Japanese Europe’s 234 appearances, or nearly 89%.
Japanese Europe’s latest power is just not purely a quantity impact, both. The area secured 68 of the 200 top-eight locations accessible from 2022 to 2026 and 11 champion representations. Total, Japanese Europe provided 29.8% of all gamers from 2022 to 2026 however accounted for 34% of the interval’s top-eight appearances
Western Europe has turned fewer appearances into extra trophies
Western Europe is available in second place, behind China with 260 appearances, however leads all areas with 26 TI champion appearances. It has additionally positioned 129 representatives inside the highest eight, giving it a 49.6% conversion fee throughout the complete interval.
Its championship unfold can also be fairly broad.
Alliance‘s all-Swedish lineup gained in 2013, Staff Liquid‘s multinational roster triumphed in 2017, and OG adopted with back-to-back TI titles in 2018 and 2019. Later, Tundra Esports lifted the Aegis in 2022, Staff Liquid returned to the summit in 2024, and the European members of Staff Falcons added two extra champion representations in 2025.
Sweden leads Western Europe’s TI participant pool
Sweden has offered extra gamers than any Western European nation, recording 65 TI appearances.
Of these, 33 resulted in a top-eight end, and eight claimed the TI title. Finland, Poland, and North Macedonia have fewer representatives, however carried out effectively. Finnish Dota 2 gamers transformed 14 of 19 appearances into top-eight finishes, whereas Poland and North Macedonia every went six-for-seven.
These samples are too small to crown them the “strongest international locations at TI,” however they present how a restricted participant base can repeatedly seem on elite multinational rosters.
Throughout the 5 most up-to-date editions of TI, Western Europe positioned 49 of 75 representatives within the high eight – a 65.3% conversion fee. That was larger than each area with no less than 50 appearances through the interval, though Japanese Europe provided 56 extra gamers.
Southeast Asia’s numbers haven’t translated into deep runs
Southeast Asia produced probably the most fascinating outcomes.
The area accounts for a large 241 appearances throughout the dataset, solely 19 fewer than Western Europe, however recorded simply 80 top-eight finishes and three champion representations. In the newest 5 TIs, it recorded 71 appearances and solely 11 top-eight outcomes, reflecting a conversion fee of 15.5%.
The identical sample seems on the nation degree. Malaysia has the third-most participant appearances in TI historical past with 85, whereas the Philippines ranks sixth with 68. Nonetheless, Malaysian gamers have reached the highest eight 33 instances, in contrast with simply seven for Filipino gamers.
Among the many international locations with no less than 20 appearances, the Philippines has the bottom top-eight fee at 10.3%, under Brazil’s 11.5%.
South America has established a daily TI presence
South America has adopted a special trajectory.
The area had no participant illustration at TI earlier than 2017. Solely 5 gamers competed that 12 months, with the quantity peaking at 22 in 2023. Peru alone accounts for 55 appearances, the eighth-highest complete amongst all international locations. Nonetheless, solely 21 of South America’s 87 appearances ended within the high eight, and none claimed a title.
MENA has overperformed
MENA has a really completely different report.
Its 51 appearances are fewer than 1 / 4 of Southeast Asia’s, however 34 reached the highest eight, whereas six grew to become champions. The 66.7% top-eight fee is the best of any area, though the comparatively smaller variety of appearances means it shouldn’t be taken as proof that MENA has TI’s strongest general expertise pool.
A extra worldwide TI, however not an equal one
Primarily based on this evaluation, it’s clear that The Worldwide’s nation map is much extra various than it was throughout Dota 2’s early “China vs. Europe period.” South America is now a everlasting a part of the sphere, MENA gamers are showing on extra elite rosters, and multinational groups have made nationwide boundaries more and more extra porous.
Even so, the very high of TI stays extremely selective. China, Japanese Europe, and Western Europe provided 61.0% of all participant representations however 70.5% of all top-eight finishes. In addition they account for 60 of the 75 champion representations recorded throughout the 15 editions – precisely 80%.
Although China has recovered a bit when it comes to participant illustration, its authentic heart of gravity has weakened dramatically because it chases its first Aegis in a decade. In contrast, Japanese Europe has expanded into the most important trendy expertise bloc, whereas Western Europe stays probably the most dependable championship connector.
Methodology: How I crunched the numbers
All knowledge, together with participant rosters, nationality, and last placements, had been collected from Liquipedia on Sep. 3, 2026.
The evaluation covers all 15 editions of The Worldwide from 2011 to 2026, excluding TI10, which was postponed to 2021. A participant is counted as soon as for every TI by which they appeared, that means repeat members contribute a number of appearances throughout completely different years. Nation labels observe these proven by Liquipedia for every match and don’t account for twin nationals.
Gamers listed on the primary roster or individually as substitutes had been included, whereas coaches and different workers had been excluded. Notably, TI 2011 produced 82 participant appearances. It’s because Liquipedia lists six gamers for Scythe Gaming and consists of Roman ‘rmN-’ Paley as an alternative to GosuGamers that 12 months.
For tied placements, gamers ending third–4th had been included within the top-four totals, whereas these ending fifth–sixth or seventh–eighth had been included within the top-eight totals. Nations had been subsequently grouped into broader areas to trace how TI’s geographical steadiness has modified over time.
