NaVi Junior and Virtus.pro Try To Hop Into Western Europe for TI

NaVi Junior and Virtus.pro have opted to relinquish their slots in the Eastern Europe Qualifiers for The International 2025. The reason? Instead of battling for a single spot, both teams believe they have a better chance of qualifying through the Western Europe Qualifiers, which offer two slots.

While Eastern Europe presents more competition for a single spot, Western Europe currently has only four announced teams — none of which are considered particularly dominant. With that in mind, NaVi Junior and Virtus.pro will compete in the Western Europe Open Qualifiers to fight for a place at The International 2025.

According to VP’s official Twitter post, this switch had been planned in advance. — Credit: Twitter (@virtuspro)

NaVi Junior and Virtus.pro Going West

Earlier this season, NaVi Junior made a bold move by participating in Western Europe tournaments. Despite the region being the toughest in the current Dota 2 scene, they achieved a Top 8 finish at PGL Wallachia Season 4.

Now, just months before The International 2025, Virtus.pro is following suit. According to Virtus.pro's Head of Dota 2, this “region hop” was already planned, but the TI invites were announced before the team could formalize the transition.

The decision was partly logistical — most of Virtus.pro’s roster already resides in Western Europe. Meanwhile, NaVi initially announced both their rosters would compete in Eastern Europe. This was made public via their website and official Twitter account on May 15th and has not been updated or corrected since.

Here’s how the updated qualifiers currently stand:

• Eastern Europe (1 slot)
  • Aurora Gaming
  • Natus Vincere
  • One Move
  • L1GA TEAM
  • (+4 teams from Open Qualifiers)

• Western Europe (2 slots)
  • Nigma Galaxy
  • MOUZ
  • OG
  • AVULUS
  • (+6 teams from Open Qualifiers)

Given that NaVi Junior and Virtus.pro are strong candidates to take two of the six open qualifier slots in Western Europe, both regions will likely see four new teams emerge through the Open Qualifiers. However, Western Europe has the added advantage of an extra slot for The International.

To stay updated on the Closed Qualifiers and more coverage of The International 2025, follow the news on the Strafe website!

Featured Image Cover: Twitter (@virtuspro and @natusvincere)