A comprehensive betting guide for The International 2025

The 2025 International (TI14) is set to be the biggest event of the Dota 2 calendar. This brings the best players and teams from across the world, as they compete for millions of dollars in prize money. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• TI is the pinnacle of Dota 2, featuring the world’s best teams.
• Rising regions like SEA, NA, and SA could offer strong betting value.
• The event provides numerous betting opportunities through Dota 2 gambling.

TI 2025 is the culmination of a big year of competitive Dota 2. With all the best teams competing for a chance at winning a big payout, the matches will have high stakes. You will get never-before-seen matchups, and Gamdom is the best platform to place wagers. Get to know more about it with this Dota 2 The International betting guide.

Understanding The International 2025

By looking at Dota 2 The International 2025, you can see the top teams competing for the biggest accolade in professional Dota 2. Since you are interested in placing bets on The International, you must understand the event more.

Format

The International follows a format that rewards consistency and adaptability. It starts with a big Swiss-format group stage, where all participants are split into balanced groups. Every team plays a round-robin series, with top performers advancing to the upper bracket of the main event, while the lower finishers drop into the lower bracket in the knockout stage.

For the main event, the tournament transitions into a double-elimination bracket. Teams in the upper bracket have a safety net, as they will fall into the lower bracket. For that lower bracket, teams must fight for survival across every series. This creates high-pressure scenarios for teams and thrilling comebacks that are fun for esports bettors.

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Schedule

TI 2025’s group stage and special elimination round will run from the 4th of September to the 7th. Following the group stage, the Playoffs take place from the 11th of September to the 14th. It will be played at the Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany, the same country where the first-ever TI was held.

Why it matters for bettors and players

You can strategically look into the Dota 2 TI schedule and format to make the best wagers. For the players, this is the biggest tournament of the year that could make their careers. Not only do they get a boost to their legacies when they succeed at TI, but they also get life-changing prize money. The stars usually perform and influence the Dota 2 The International betting markets most when they are under pressure.

Analysing the tournament favourites

TI 2025 features the best Dota 2 TI teams in the world. However, there are a certain few that have separated themselves from the rest. Being the favourites at TI can be challenging, as most of them have fallen like OG at TI6 and PSG.LGD in TI8. 

Here are the favourites to expect: 

Team Spirit: The three-time champions in the making

The winners of TI10 and TI12, Team Spirit, are still a juggernaut in the Dota 2 scene. Anchored by the legendary carry player Illya ‘Yatoro’ Mulyarchuk, this is one of the most talented teams in the Dota 2 TI tournament. 

This team still has three of the players from the initial TI10 win, while Denis ‘Larl’ Sigitov was part of the TI12 team. Alexandr ‘rue’ Filin is the newest addition to this team, as he joined shortly after TI12. 

Team Spirit is one of the toughest teams to play against in professional Dota 2. They usually love helping Yatoro farm the resources, so he can be unstoppable when the late-game starts. However, fellow two-time TI winner Magomed ‘Collapse’ Khalilov serves as the team’s playmaker, and he often finds a way to win games for Team Spirit, which will be important for this tournament again.

PARIVISION: Led by No[o]ne- and hungry for success

Spirit is not the only organisation from the Eastern European region to be a favourite for TI14. PARIVISION is also a fantastic team that has one of the most intriguing rosters in the TI teams. They have Alan ‘Satanic’ Gallyamov as their carry, who is on loan from Spirit.

However, the biggest name here is Volodymyr ‘No[o]ne-’ Minenko. He has been at it for a long time, as he was once part of the Virtus.pro team that kept competing at the highest level in the late 2010s. Now, he is looking to finally win this tournament like many of his CIS peers.

This is a talented team that thrives in team fights. Expect players like Dmitry ‘DM’ Dorokhin and Edgar ‘9Class’ Naltakian to be playmakers. If they can keep playing and beating opponents with their prowess at teamfights, PARIVISION could be the team to beat during TI14.

Team Liquid: Defending champions with more to prove

While the Eastern European giants are the favourites, it is hard to discount the defending champions. They are essentially the same team, except for Jonáš ‘SabeRLight-’ Volek, who joined the team when Neta ‘33’ Shapira left for a Tundra Esports return, where he is the team captain. 

Liquid is known for its methodical approach, as it loves controlling the game from the laning phase. With that style, they can dictate the game’s pace and make the opponents adjust to them. They are a consistent team that will always be a threat to win trophies.

They still have the core partnership of carry Michael ‘miCKe’ Vu and mid-laner Michał ‘Nisha’ Jankowski, who are still among the most talented players in the world. If they get enough resources, expect them to take control of the game. This often leads to a victory, especially as they look to successfully defend their title.

Tundra Esports: A roster brimming with talent

Since 33 left Liquid to lead the Tundra Esports team, there is already a winning pedigree with this team. 33 and Martin ‘Saksa’ Sazdov were TI winners back in 2022, so they want to replicate that with this team. They have enough talent to do so, as Remco ‘Crystallis’ Arets and Bozhidar ‘bzm’ Bogdanov are also superb as the two core players. 

Matthew ‘Whitemon’ Filemon completes the team as the hard support. He is one of the smartest supports in the game with his ward placement and positioning. With 33 helming the squad as captain and David ‘MoonMeander’ Tan Boon Yang as the coach, this team has all the tools to surprise people.

Dark horses for The International 2025

The spotlight is on the favourites, but several teams could cause major upsets at TI. Considering that favourites often have a bad history at previous editions of TI, certain dark horses could win TI14. Here are some of them:

• BetBoom Team: BetBoom could become a surprise team at TI14 after a successful spell across the pre-TI season with victories at PGL Wallachia Season 5 and FISSURE Universe: Episode 4.

They have a talented roster with Ivan ‘Pure’ Moskalenko serving as their hard carry. Thankfully, the team has even more talented players, including Danil ‘gpk’ Skutin and team captain Vitalie ‘Save-’ Melnic, who is also known for his flashy playmaking skills as the soft support.

• Nigma Galaxy - A team that features familiar veterans for older Dota 2 fans. Nigma Galaxy is finally at TI, and they have the talent to beat almost any team. With Sumail ‘SumaiL’ Hassan as the carry, he can lead this team to victory with his skill set.

The team still has the TI7-winning support duo of Kuro ‘KuroKy’ Salehi Takhasomi and Maroun ‘GH’ Merhej. Those are the three familiar names, but Tony ‘No!ob’ Assaf and Omar ‘OmaR’ Moughrabi have the talent to keep up with them. This team could be the surprise team that people should be on the lookout for.

• Xtreme Gaming - Another team with many familiar players to the older Dota 2 fans and bettors. In past editions of TI, China always stood out with their top teams. This year, Xtreme Gaming and its talented roster could pull off an upset. 

Wang ‘Ame’ Chunyu, Lin ‘Xxs’ Jing, and Zhao ‘XinQ’ Zixing are all fixtures of the Chinese Dota 2 scene. Ame, in particular, has been called the Uncrowned King, as he has showcased arguably the highest ceiling out of any carry player in the world across Dota 2’s history. If they can meet that potential, they could be a dark horse for this event.

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Important factors for The International 2025 betting

After learning more about the favourites and dark horses, here are some of the important factors you must consider before placing your bet:

Draft dynamics

Dota 2 games are often won and lost in the draft phase. Teams that have flexible hero pools and unpredictable strategies often have advantages since they are versatile with their strategies.

You should follow these drafting trends by learning more about the metagame’s underrated heroes and how it looks ahead of TI14. Smart Dota 2 TI predictions through your draft knowledge, hero bans, and popular picks could lead you to winning.

Power spikes and timing

With that knowledge of the draft and the best heroes, you can learn more about the hero power spikes during games. Some lineups thrive during the mid-game, but others have late-game scaling, so their heroes are much better in certain situations. 

Win some of your predictions by understanding power spikes and timing during matches.  With the help of Dota 2 betting tips, you must understand how certain heroes work and when they can fully thrive.

Objective control

In Dota 2, objectives are arguably the most important factor for getting wins. Killing Roshan, tower pressure, and map control all lead to victories, so teams that excel in that department are important to know. 

With Team Spirit and Team Liquid serving as two of the favourites, they are also superb with how they control their goals for objectives. You should track these squads and learn what kind of Dota 2 International betting odds can help you with your bets.

Regional play styles

Dota 2 is known for having multiple regions that have popular play styles. Teams from the Southeast Asian (SEA) region are usually aggressive, while teams from North America (NA) love individual flair. If you go further, you can see that South America loves chaotic team fights, while Western and Eastern Europe love playing with structure.

By anticipating how these teams play, you can make predictions about potential upsets or dominant wins. It is also ideal to look into specific teams to understand them better.

What to avoid when betting on The International 2025

You can win some good predictions by knowing what you must avoid with your TI14 wagers. Here are some mistakes to avoid:

• Blindly betting on favourites - Even the most dominant teams can falter in the group stages, so you'd better understand the possible upsets before you predict a favourite to win.
• Ignoring the draft phase - A bad draft can change the game before the horn is blown to start the game. Don’t disregard the advantage of knowing more about the draft and the teams’ preferences.
• Overvaluing star players - Stars matter in Dota 2, but it is still ultimately a team game. Chemistry and coordination matters, as they can outweigh some star-level performances.
• Relying too much on stats - Past results can help, but TI often defies expectations. Roster form, patch changes, and mental resilience matter more than just the raw numbers.
• Betting without understanding patches - Dota 2 is a constantly evolving game due to the different dynamics and the regular patch updates. With those patches, you can understand which heroes are more viable.

Standout players you must consider

While this is a team game, certain star players do stand out and affect results. Here are the star players to take notice of:

• Michał ‘Nisha’ Jankowski (Team Liquid): One of the most consistent mid-laners in the world, Nisha often dominates games. He can also carry games when he has the resources, when he is farmed enough with his last hits and hero kills.
• Volodymyr ‘No[o]ne-’ Minenko (PARIVISION): No[o]ne- is one of the most talented mid-laners in Dota 2 history, and he can control the game with his aggressive style. Expect him to be a playmaker, as he loves taking charge and winning the games from the forefront.
• Illya ‘Yatoro’ Mulyarchuk (Team Spirit): Known for clutch performances and a diverse hero pool, Yatoro is one of the most talented players in Dota 2. He has all the tools to become a three-time champion, as Team Spirit loves funnelling all the resources to him to carry them into the late-game.

How to bet on The International 2025

Now that you know more about TI betting, get to know the step-by-step process of betting on the Gamdom platform:

1. Sign in to your Gamdom account by clicking the ‘Sign up’ button in the upper-right corner.
2. Make sure you connect your assured safe crypto wallet as well.

3. Press the ‘eSports’ button in the sidebar.

   

4. Find the ‘Dota 2’ button and press it. Navigate to the page and find the best markets.
5. Browse and find the markets that fit your preferences. The prediction you can make will show up on the Bet Slip on the right side of the page.
6. Enter the bet amount you want to place for your prediction and finalise it by pressing ‘Place bet’ to submit your wager.

Enter the late game with TI 2025 at Gamdom

The International 2025 is more than just a tournament; it is arguably the biggest one in the esports industry. With all these powerhouse teams, rising challengers, and Dota 2’s ever-changing metagame, it will provide many opportunities for bettors. 

Study up on the game and the many draft dynamics and power spikes. Approach TI with confidence, and enjoy the gambling experience at Gamdom.

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