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Nigma Galaxy Revives Rat Dota on The International 2025
The International 2025 has already surpassed expectations with a series of surprising results ranging from Nigma Galaxy showing an unexpected performance to the rebirth of Rat Dota at the hands of Daniel "Ghost" Chan. At the same time, Team Spirit’s loss against Xtreme Gaming shattered at least half of the predictions that had them breezing through the Group Stage undefeated.
Let’s take a closer look at what Rat Dota is, where it comes from, when it works best, and how the Dota 2 community reacted to its return in Nigma Galaxy’s first match. This is a journey back in time through a slice of Dota history — and a handy reminder of a strategy that can save games when everything seems lost.
Nigma Galaxy: Dire Straits at The International 2025
Nigma Galaxy has been an inconsistent squad in 2025, often swinging between brilliance and underperformance. This time, they reached into the depths of TI’s history books, with Ghost drafting Lone Druid in the opening map of their first match against BetBoom Team.
As mentioned in our TI preview, BetBoom looked like the clear favorite on paper. And when the game began, it seemed that way in practice too. Ghost had a rough start, going 0/3 within the first seven minutes. BetBoom was cruising, and the game looked destined for a stomp.
Caster Niklas "Wagamama" Högström even highlighted how grim the situation was, as Lone Druid suffered the dreaded “walk of shame” — dying without a teleport scroll and trudging back to lane on foot. To make matters worse, Ghost lost his spirit bear for a full 90 seconds — an eternity in farming terms.
Taking a Page from the Book of Legends
Starting from such a disadvantage forced Ghost — and Nigma as a whole — to stall BetBoom’s advance while he farmed. Then, he shifted gears and took a page out of AdmiralBulldog’s legendary playbook: Rat Dota.
For newer players who never witnessed The International 3, here’s the story: Alliance popularized a strategy where heroes with global presence and strong pushing abilities would create distractions (teamfights, Roshan contests, smoke ganks) while another hero relentlessly split-pushed the opposite side of the map. This became known as Rat Dota.
Alliance famously used Nature’s Prophet and Lone Druid for this strategy, and Ghost revived it brilliantly at The International 2025. The result? A chaotic game of cat-and-mouse, where BetBoom’s entire focus shifted to stopping a lone sneaky bear tearing through their structures.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The greatest strength of Rat Dota is its ability to flip the script against stronger opponents. We saw it firsthand as Nigma Galaxy not only weathered the storm but also turned the pressure back on BetBoom. Every teamfight became bait, every advance a distraction — all while Ghost’s bear shredded buildings.
If you ever find yourself cornered in a game, with the right hero, you can do the same: let your team fight without fully committing, kite, stall, and push elsewhere. It’s frustrating for opponents, sometimes even hated, but it wins games that seem unwinnable.
That said, Rat Dota is risky. If your team collapses in a single fight, the strategy crumbles instantly. Playing this way is walking a fine line between brilliance and disaster, demanding constant awareness of momentum shifts. One misstep, and the game is gone.
A Reaction Fiesta
Despite Nigma Galaxy narrowly winning the series 2–1, it was Ghost's the Lone Druid performance in their first match on The International 2025 that stole the show. Big names across the community reacted — including the Rat King himself, AdmiralBulldog.
Even Bulldog thought Ghost had thrown the match when he died in the final fight, but after buying back, BetBoom saw thenselves forced to concede not to waste energy on an uphill battle against Lone Druid.
Streamer Janne "Gorgc" Stefanovski also joined the hype. His reaction video — cheekily titled “Nigma can win TI 2025 with this hero” — showcased the excitement around Rat Dota’s return.
And if that wasn’t enough, two-time TI champions Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen and Sébastien "Ceb" Debs were visibly entertained watching BetBoom repeatedly commit to teamfights while forgetting their base was being chewed apart by Ghost’s bear.
Closing Thoughts
The first few days of The International 2025 have been packed with surprises — from Nigma Galaxy’s revival to Team Nemesis’s unexpected sparks of brilliance. As the Group Stage continues, the excitement only builds, and we’re keeping a close eye on all the twists to come.
If you’re as hooked as we are, check out our Day 1 recap and stay tuned to the news section of the Strafe website for more updates on TI 2025, Dota history, and the strategies shaping the meta!
Featured Image Source: Liquipedia and game-tournaments