The International 2026 will feature 19 champions from previous tournaments in the series, 7 of whom are two-time champions.
Following the final confirmation of the participants for The International 2026, it was announced that 19 champions from previous tournaments in the series will compete in the year’s flagship event, 7 of whom are two-time champions.
This means that 12 players have the chance to win their second title at The International, while 7 esports athletes could claim their third. Last year’s TI champion, Team Falcons, has kept its roster intact and will defend its title in Shanghai.
Two-time The International champions
- Miroslav “Mira” Kolpakov — winner of TI 10 and TI 12;
- Neta “33” Shapira — winner of TI 11 and TI 13;
- Oliver “skiter” Lepko — winner of TI 11 and TI 14;
- Jingjun “Sneyking” Wu — winner of TI 11 and TI 14;
- Ilya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk — winner of TI 10 and TI 12;
- Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov — winner of TI 10 and TI 12;
- Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen — winner of TI 8 and TI 9.
The International Champions
- Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak — winner of TI 14;
- Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf — TI 14 champion;
- Andreas “Cr1t-” Frank Nielsen — TI 14 champion;
- Michael “miCKe” Wu — TI 13 champion;
- Michal “Nisha” Jankowski — TI 13 champion;
- Samuel “Boxi” Svan — TI 13 champion;
- Martin “Saksa” Sazdov — TI 11 champion;
- Denis “Larl” Sigitov — TI 12 champion;
- Said Samail “SumaiL” Hassan — TI 5 champion;
- Maroon “GH” Merhey — TI 7 champion;
- Zhang “Bach” Zhuida — TI 6 champion;
- Zhang “y`” Yiping — TI 6 champion.
The main tournament of the year, The International 2026, will take place in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, from August 13 to 23. As of this writing, the world championship’s prize pool stands at $2,834,366—it is funded by sales of support packs for teams and lighting crew members.
Photo: Valve.
