The International 2025 Qualifiers: Eastern Europe and South America

The International 2025 Qualifiers: Eastern Europe and South America

Eric Oliveira

9 Jun, 2025, 07:01

|

Last updated: 9 Jun, 2025, 07:06

We continue into the premier qualifier season, and today we have the results for The International 2025 Qualifiers in Eastern Europe (EEU) and South America (SA). Both regions delivered exciting matches and dramatic conclusions after a three-day run.

Eastern Europe kicked off earlier with fairly straightforward results, as Aurora Gaming emerged victorious in the end. South America, on the other hand, had its ups and downs—Heroic was seen as a favorite, but their path to the Grand Finals was nothing short of thrilling.


The International 2025 Qualifiers: Eastern Europe

We’ll start today’s recap with Eastern Europe, where 10 teams battled for a single coveted slot at The International 2025. Aurora Gaming entered the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals as an invited team. Their run was dominant, with clean 2-0 victories over Quantum and One Move, leading them to the Finals against Natus Vincere.

Unlike their secondary squad (NaVi Junior), Natus Vincere’s main roster had a rough 2025. That performance gap was evident in their match against Aurora Gaming. While NaVi managed to tie the series 1-1, they ultimately dropped the final game and lost 2-1.

Aurora Gaming was the first team to get to The International 2025 Qualifier Grand Finals.
Aurora Gaming advanced to the Grand Finals, while NaVi got one more chance in the Lower Bracket. — Credit: Strafe

In the third-place decider, NaVi faced Cyber Goosea surprise stack led by Solo that had stunned fans with a flawless 2-0 streak through the Lower Bracket. Their momentum continued as they took on NaVi, who started the series with a 1-0 lead but lost 2-1 after a remarkable comeback by Cyber Goose.

In the Grand Finals, however, Aurora Gaming proved untouchable. They delivered a clean 3-0 sweep against Cyber Goose, securing their spot at The International 2025.

Aurora Gaming was the first team qualified to The International 2025. - Credit: Twitter (@AuroraDota2_GG)
Aurora Gaming became the first team to qualify for The International 2025. — Credit: Twitter (@AuroraDota2_GG)

The International 2025 Qualifiers: South America

In contrast to EEU, South America offered a much more complex and dramatic path to the Grand Finals. Both Edge and Heroic started in the Upper Bracket, but only Edge made it through directly to the final series.

Edge began their campaign in the Quarterfinals — just like Aurora — and took down AllStars with a solid 2-0. In the Semifinals, they faced a tougher challenge from OG.LATAM, where they came back from a map down to win 2-1. They followed that up with another 2-1 win over Heroic, sending the favorites to the Lower Bracket.

Edge went against the expectations on the Upper Bracket finals.
As usual, the South American Qualifiers brought us a big surprise. — Credit: Strafe

In the Lower Bracket Finals, Heroic took on OG.LATAM in a tense series. After three grueling maps, they secured a 2-1 victory and earned their rematch against Edge in the Grand Finals.

With a 1-0 map disadvantage going in, Heroic rallied in spectacular fashion. They took three straight maps and claimed a 3-1 series win, punching their ticket to The International 2025.

The International 2025 Qualifiers for South America has a champion.
Congratulations to Heroic—and now it’s time to focus on the EWC Qualifiers. — Credit: Twitter (@heroicdota2)

This concludes the first two regions of The International 2025 Qualifiers, with Aurora Gaming and Heroic securing their places. Up next: China and North America, whose qualifiers run from June 9th to June 12th.

With the TI Qualifiers behind them, Heroic now turns their focus to the Esports World Cup. While Aurora Gaming already secured their spot via the EPT leaderboard, Heroic will have to fight again.

If you want to follow Heroic’s journey in this new challenge — from June 11th to June 13th—check out our Dota 2 news section at the Strafe website for full coverage!

Featured Image Source: Twitter (@pglesports)

Latest news

BLAST Slam VIII Will Bring Changes to the Series

BLAST Slam VIII Will Bring Changes to the Series

The BLAST Slam has established itself as one of the biggest tournaments in the Dota 2 professional circuit, and the eighth edition of the series will introduce several changes, including an expanded lineup and a new Group Stage format.
4 Jul
Eric Oliveira

Dota 2 Update: Fixing Dark Carnival

With the debut of a new event, Dota 2 also had a selection of bugs that needed fixing. If you have had any problems with Dark Carnival, take a look at what was fixed to check if you problem was solved.
2 Jul
Eric Oliveira

The International 2026: Regional Qualifier Results

After a long wait for the Open and Closed Regional Qualifiers to conclude, we finally know the nine teams that will join Valve’s direct invites at The International 2026.
28 Jun
Eric Oliveira

Esports Nations Cup 2026 Qualifiers Preview

The Esports Nations Cup 2026 Regional Qualifiers are about to start and we will take a look at the competition's format, schedule and participating countries fighting for a slot in the tournament that so far will still take place on November 2 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
27 Jun
Eric Oliveira

Tundra Esports Founder: “Maintaining a top-tier Dota 2 roster has become increasingly expensive."

Tundra Esports founder Maxim Demin spoke to Esports Insider in an interview and shed some light on the reasoning behind selling his organization's former top-tier Dota 2 roster to 1Win Team.
27 Jun
Eric Oliveira

Dark Carnival: The Long Wait Is Over

The Dota 2 community waited for months for a new event and now everyone can dedicate their time to a new event called the Dark Carnival. The event continues the story that started 2 years ago on Ringmaster's official teaser.
26 Jun
Eric Oliveira

New Study Finds 400 Million Gen Z Consumers Regularly Engage With Esports

The numbers are in, and they're hard to argue with. A new whitepaper from ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), Hero Esports, and Niko Partners titled The Esports Generation: Who They Are & Why They Spend dropped today, and it paints a picture of an audience that is bigger, more engaged, and more commercially valuable than many brands still realize
25 Jun
Thales Costa

Comments (0)

Log in to comment on this match