Here are all the notable roster changes in the post-The International 2026 Dota 2 roster shuffle.
With the conclusion of The International (TI) 2026, a new Dota 2 competitive season is set to begin. And before the tournaments of the new season can kick off, teams will be shuffling their rosters to give themselves a better chance at contesting the Aegis of Champions next year.
GosuGamers has compiled a handy list of all the notable roster changes, as well as player movements and retirements to help you keep track of how the competitive Dota 2 landscape will look like for the 2026-2027 season:
17 September
Team Yandex sign ATF as new offlaner, DM benched
Team Yandex have signed 
Ammar “ATF” Assaf as their new offlaner to replace 
Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin, who has been placed on the inactive roster.
ATF joins Yandex as a free agent following 
Team Falcons' exit from the competitive Dota 2 scene earlier this month. He is the second member of the former Falcons roster to move to a new team for the upcoming season, following 
Oliver “Skiter” Lepko's signing with 
Aurora Gaming.
Yandex's signing of ATF follows a commendable run for the team in The International 2026, where they finished in third place after losing to eventual champions 
Team Spirit in the lower bracket finals.
16 September
Aurora Gaming bench Nightfall and sign Skiter as new carry player
Aurora Gaming have benched carry player Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko to make way for former Team Falcons carry player Oliver “Skiter” Lepko. Skiter joins Aurora as a free agent following Falcons' exit from the competitive Dota 2 scene earlier this month.
Nightfall joined Aurora in February 2025 as the team moved to Eastern Europe after two years of competing in Southeast Asia.
Aurora benching Nightfall to make way for Skiter follows a disappointing run for the team in The International 2026. They notably squandered two opportunities to advance to the Playoffs, losing to 
Team Liquid in the final round of the Group Stage then falling to 
BetBoom Team in the Elimination Stage. Aurora finished in 9th-13th place as a result.
14 September
BetBoom Team reveal new roster with swedenstrong, Save on mid, and TORONTOTOKYO as coach
BetBoom Team have revealed its new roster for the 2026-2027 competitive season will feature position 4 support player 
Vitalie “Save-” Melnic shifting to the mid lane role to fill the spot vacated by Danil “gpk” Skutin. Georgii “swedenstrong” Zainalabidov joins BetBoom to take over the position 4 support role from Save, while Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek will be taking over as coach from boolk.
According to BetBoom, Save's decision to switch to the mid lane role is something “he has wanted to try himself" for a long time. The team added that they believe in his capabilities and are ready to support him in this new role.
Meanwhile, swedenstrong joins the team as the position 4 support player after successfully clearing tryouts. TORONTOTOKYO also enters a new chapter of his career as a coach. The TI 2021 champion previously played as the mid laner for Team Spirit from 2020 to 2022, the position 5 support for BetBoom during his first stint with the squad from 2022 to 2024, then as offlaner for Aurora Gaming from February 2025 to January 2026 and briefly for 
OG from April to July of this year.
13 September
Team Liquid parts ways with Ace
Team Liquid have announced that they have parted ways with offlaner 
Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard following the team's 5th-6th place finish at The International 2026.
Ace joined Liquid last September alongside longtime 
Gaimin Gladiators teammate 
Erik “tOfu” Engel. During his year-long stint with Liquid, Ace helped the team win two Tier 1 tournaments in BLAST Slam VI back in February and 1win Essence II in early August.
Liquid have yet to announce who will be taking over as their offlaner following Ace's departure.
BetBoom Team announce gpk and boolk have gone inactive
BetBoom Team have announced that mid laner Danil “gpk” Skutin and coach Anatoly "boolk" Ivanov will both be inactive for the start of the 2026-2027 season.
Gpk will be taking some time off from the competitive scene “most likely until the New Year” due to both physical and mental exhaustion after two long seasons. The mid laner also assured that he has no plans of retiring any time soon.
"My plans are to focus on my health, get a couple of check-ups done, stream different games for you guys from time to time, and then come back to competitive Dota with renewed energy! I’m not retiring! Not a chance,” said gpk.
Meanwhile, boolk will be away from the team for “a few months” on vacation, citing plans to spend time with his family and attend important events he cannot miss.
BetBoom have yet to announce who will be taking over the roles vacated by gpk and boolk during their time away from the team. These moves come after a fourth place finish for BetBoom at The International 2026.
12 September
OG parts ways with coach 343
OG's roster rebuild continues as the team parted ways with coach 
Adam “343” Shah. Three days prior to this latest roster change, OG also announced of the departures of 
Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer, Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto, and Timothy “TIMS” Randrup. The moves come after an abysmal showing for the team in The International 2026, where they bombed out in 14th-15th place after losing to 
GamerLegion in Round 5 of the Group Stage.
Only John Anthony “Natsumi-” Vargas and Rolen Andre Gabriel “Skem” Ong remain in OG's roster.
11 September
Xtreme Gaming reveal new roster with Xm and XinQ returning
Chinese organisation 
Xtreme Gaming (XG) have revealed their revamped roster for the 2026-2027 competitive Dota 2 season, with mid laner 
Hongcheng “Xm” Guo and position 4 support player Zixing “XinQ” Zhao returning to the team to reunite with superstar carry player Wang “Ame” Chunyu.
Rounding out XG's new roster are offlaner Nicholas Lim “zeal” Eng Han and position 5 support player Zhibiao “BoBoKa” Ye. Former XG assistant coach Wang "Maps" Yutian has also been promoted and is now the team's head coach.
Last week, XG signaled its intent to rebuild the team around Ame by parting ways with Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang, Jing “Xxs” Lin, Xu “fy” Linsen, Jian Wei “xNova-” Yap, and coach Zhi Cheng “LaNm” Zhang.
9 September
OG parts ways with Yopaj, Raven, and Tims
OG are set to begin a roster overhaul with their announcement of the departures of Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer, Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto, and Timothy “TIMS” Randrup. The move comes after an abysmal showing for the team in The International 2026, where they bombed out in 14th-15th place after losing to GamerLegion in Round 5 of the Group Stage.
OG are now looking to rebuild their roster around John Anthony “Natsumi-” Vargas and Rolen Andre Gabriel “Skem” Ong. It remains to be seen if the team will stick to fielding an all-Filipino roster or try to integrate talent from other countries in Southeast Asia or even other regions.
Cr1t announces switch to streaming as he takes “indefinite break” from competitive play
Former Team Falcons position 4 support player Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen has announced that he will be switching to streaming as he takes an “indefinite break” from competitive play and will not participate in the 2026-2027 season. Cr1t made the announcement through his personal X account.
“Not an easy decision and I love this game and appreciate the last many years of my life, I know how privileged I’ve been to be able to make a living doing what I love,” Cr1t said of his decision.
Cr1t previously hinted at his retirement from competitive play following Falcons' disappointing 7th-8th place exit from The International 2026. Two days before Cr1t's announcement, Falcons also announced its departure from the Dota 2 competitive scene.
While Cr1t is no longer actively competing, the remaining four players from Falcons' roster–namely Oliver “Skiter” Lepko, Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak, Ammar “ATF” Assaf, and 
Jing “Sneyking” Wu–remain some of the most sought-after free agents for the upcoming season.
7 September
Team Falcons announce departure from Dota 2 esports scene
Team Falcons announced its exit from the Dota 2 esports scene after almost three years in competition. Falcons first entered the scene in November 2023 with a star-studded roster that featured Oliver “Skiter” Lepko, Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak, Ammar “ATF” Assaf, Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen, and Jing “Sneyking” Wu. 
Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling also joined the team in January 2024 as their coach.
Falcons won nine Tier 1 tournaments, including The International 2025, in the almost three years that it competed in Dota 2. Throughout that period, its roster recorded the most games played together for a single five-man squad in the history of Dota 2 at a whopping 799 games. They won 523 of their games together, which also makes them the game's most successful five-man squad ever with a whopping 65.46% win rate.
Following Falcons' disappointing 7th-8th place exit from The International 2026, both Cr1t and Aui_2000 announced their retirements from competitive play.
Skiter, Malr1ne, ATF, and Sneyking have yet to make formal announcements on what would be the next steps for their respective careers now that Falcons has departed the Dota 2 competitive scene. Should those four players still decide to continue their careers, they will be among the most sought-after free agents for the upcoming season.
4 September
Xtreme Gaming parts ways with entire roster except for Ame
Chinese organisation Xtreme Gaming have parted ways with Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang, Jing “Xxs” Lin, Xu “fy” Linsen, Jian Wei “xNova-” Yap, and coach Zhi Cheng “LaNm” Zhang. Only superstar carry player Wang “Ame” Chunyu remains with the team, with the organisation seemingly set on rebuilding around him.
The departure of most of XG's roster comes after an abysmal showing for the team in TI 2026. Despite being the runners-up of TI 2025, XG failed to qualify for the Playoffs of TI 2026 after losing to fellow Chinese squad 
Team Resilience in the final round of the Group Stage.
31 August
Xipto Esports enter Dota 2 with veteran Southeast Asian roster
Singapore-based esports organisation Xipto Esports has entered the Dota 2 competitive scene with a roster of Southeast Asian veterans featuring 
Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon, 
Muhammad “InYourDream” Rizky, Saieful “Fbz” Ilham, Worawit “Q” Mekchai, and Chon Kien “Oli” Chan.
23savage, Q, and Oli notably competed together in the TI 2026 regional qualifiers as part of the 
Grind Back stack, while InYourDream and Fbz were part of the 
REKONIX roster that disbanded in mid-August.
30 August
Beyond parts ways with Yakult Brothers, replaced by 项羽
Chinese stack 
Yakult Brothers have parted ways with offlaner Xiang “Beyond” Zhenghong, with Longwu “项羽” Li (aka xiàng yǔ) coming in as his replacement. Yakult Brothers notably failed to qualify for TI 2026 after finishing third in the Chinese regional qualifier.
29 August
Planet parts ways with Team Resilience, replaced by TK
Chinese organisation Team Resilience has parted ways with position 4 support player Hao “planet” Lin, with He “TK” Boyi coming in as his replacement. Resilience were among the three Chinese teams that failed to defend home ground in TI 2026, getting knocked out in 9th-13th place during the Elimination Round by eventual champions Team Spirit.
24 August
LGD Gaming release South American roster
Prominent Chinese organisation 
LGD Gaming has released its South American Dota 2 roster following the expiration of their contracts. The team notably finished TI 2026 in 9th-13th place, after narrowly losing to Team Yandex in the Elimination Stage.
The team notably competed in TI 2026 with 
Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen as a last-minute stand-in, after mid laner 
Santiago “TaiLung” Agüero Gustavo was banned from competing in the tournament and all future PGL-organised events mere days before it started due to “issues of competitive integrity.”
The former LGD Gaming roster, which includes 
Yuma “Yuma” Langlet, 
Adrian “Wisper” Cespedes Dobles, 
Thiago “Thiolicor” Cordeiro, and Matheus Santos Jungles “KJ” Diniz, are now all free agents. It remains to be seen if Topson will return to retirement or make a full return to competitive play after his spirited run with LGD in TI 2026.
Virtus.pro disband international roster
Iconic Eastern European organisation 
Virtus.pro disbanded its international roster on 24 August. The team notably failed to qualify for TI 2026 after finishing 5th-6th in the tournament's European regional qualifier.
The former Virtus.pro roster, which includes Enzo “Timado” Gianoli, Abed Azel “Abed” Yusop, 
Jonáš “SabeRLighT-” Volek, 
Kirill “Hellscream” Lagutik, 
Tal “Fly” Aizik, and coach Kanishka “Bulba” Sosale, are now all free agents.
23 August
Team Falcons coach Aui_2000 announces retirement
Team Falcons coach Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling quietly announced his retirement from the competitive scene in an interview with Russian publication esports.ru. Aui_2000 told esports.ru that he doesn't “plan on continuing my career in Dota 2” then later said in a post on his personal X account that he will write a blog on his decision to retire.
Aui_2000's career saw him compete as a player from 2012 to 2018 before spending the remainder of his career as a coach, notably garnering fame as one of the most creative minds in the game. He is the first person to win the Aegis of Champions as both a player and a coach, winning the world championship a total of three times. Aui_2000 won his first Aegis as a player at TI 2015 with 
Evil Geniuses, won his second as a coach for 
Tundra Esports in TI 2022, and his third as the coach for Falcons in TI 2025.
21 August
Nigma Galaxy's SumaiL announces retirement
Nigma Galaxy's superstar carry player 
Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan announced his retirement from competitive Dota 2, after his team got eliminated from TI 2026 in 5th-6th place. SumaiL had already hinted at the possibility of his retirement after TI 2026 shortly after Nigma Galaxy qualified for the tournament back in June.
In an exit interview shortly after his team's loss, SumaiL confirmed that he will indeed be stepping away from the game, saying “[TI 2026] is probably my last event.”
“We tried our best. It looked pretty good, we were one game away from Top 3 last night. And then today was a good series but, I don't know, something went wrong [in game three]. As far as for the team, I'm not sure. This is probably my last event,” said SumaiL.
SumaiL is widely recognised as one of the greatest Dota 2 players of all time, boasting the greatest rookie season in the game's history. He joined Evil Geniuses in January 2015 and became the youngest player to win an official Valve event when he helped EG win the Dota 2 Asia Championships 2015 at just 15 years and 361 days old.
SumaiL then became the youngest player to both play and win TI, when he helped EG win TI 2015 at just 16 years and 176 days old. He also holds the record for the most kills in a single game in TI at 31 kills, a feat he achieved in TI 2018.
Over the course of his career, SumaiL has racked up eight Tier 1 tournament titles, which includes TI 2015. He has also finished third in TI twice in 2016 and 2018, and placed in the Top 3 of nine Majors
Team Falcons' Cr1t announces retirement
Team Falcons' position 4 support player Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen has announced his retirement from competitive Dota 2 after his team got eliminated from TI 2026 in 7th-8th place. Cr1t said in Falcons' exit interview that TI 2026 “is probably the last TI” for him.
“[TI] is always special. Last time when I was here in 2019, was also special. For me this is probably the last TI, happy to do it here. It’s always amazing to be in China but fans all around the world always cheering... It’s a special thing to be at TI and I’m gonna miss it. It’s been a lot of TIs at this point and yeah, it’s been a pleasure,” said Cr1t.
Cr1t ends an illustrious career that began all the way back in 2012, having played for a number of star-studded rosters in both Europe and North America, including OG, Evil Geniuses, 
Shopify Rebellion, and Falcons. He also won 15 Tier 1 tournaments, including the Frankfurt Major in 2015, the Manila Major in 2016, and The International 2025.
Cr1t also revealed during the TI 2026 Group Stage that the tournament would be the last event where the Falcons roster will play together, so expect more roster changes coming from Falcons soon.
19 August
REKONIX disband
Indonesia-based organisation REKONIX announced the disbandment of its roster on 19 August. The team notably failed to qualify for TI 2026 after finishing third in the tournament's Southeast Asian regional qualifier back in June.
The former REKONIX roster, which includes Musthofa “jikroy” Dzikry Pamungkas, Muhammad “InYourDream” Rizky, Saieful “Fbz” Ilham, Abdalla “Dalul” Afemi, Rizki “Varizh” Varizh, and coach 
Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Borislavov Ivanov, are now all free agents.
16 August
Vici Gaming disbands following elimination from TI 2026
Chinese team 
Vici Gaming suddenly announced the disbandment of its team almost immediately after their elimination from the TI 2026 Elimination Stage on 16 August. The disbandment was announced through the Weibo account of the organisation's owner.
The former Vici Gaming roster, which includes TI6 champions Zhang “Bach” Ruida and Yiping “y`” Zhang, renowned veterans Hongcheng “Xm” Guo, Xuanang “Shiro” Guo, and Zixing “XinQ” Zhao, as well as coach Yao "Yao" Zhengzheng, are now all free agents. It remains unclear whether the organisation will continue competing in the Dota 2 scene or quietly retreat once again, as it has done in the past.
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