The International, future plans, and his career—highlights from the Esports Awards podcast with Sheever

Yorien “Sheever” van der Heyden, host of the English-language broadcast studio, reflected on The International, discussed her plans for the future, and reminisced about the early days of her career on the Esports Awards podcast. Read the highlights in our article.

Sheever believes that The International has, over time, evolved into a phenomenon of its own, existing separately from Dota 2. She noted that the tournament has been around since the very inception of the game and has taken on a life of its own and an unspoken status. According to the host, a rule has taken hold in the community: if you haven’t won TI, you can’t call yourself the best. She also emphasized that this sentiment has carried over to a new generation of players who didn’t experience the early tournaments but view it as an event they absolutely must attend.

Yorien called the large prize pool a powerful marketing tool that attracted the attention of even people far removed from esports simply because of the $40,000,000 figure. At the same time, the host spoke positively about Valve’s change, noting that in exchange for a reduction in prize money, users began receiving more content. In her opinion, the current distribution is a good compromise, since beyond a certain point there becomes “too much money,” and viewers end up watching a game played by millionaires.

Sheever entered esports with no prior experience—she simply believed that her passion for World of Warcraft would be useful in real life, and she started by volunteering at amateur Dota 2 tournaments. Her first experience as a commentator happened by chance, out of a desire to fill the silence on air, and although she wasn’t very good at it, the process itself captivated her.

At the same time, a small but dedicated audience on her personal channel supported her sincerely, without any sycophancy. She sees her main goal as a host as helping her colleagues show their best sides, and her optimism is what keeps her happy.

Sheever explained that in this line of work, you never know if you’ll have a job the following month. She added that this pressure is hard to handle, and it’s normal if someone can’t cope with it; she also doesn’t know if she’ll be involved in covering and hosting The International 2026 at all.

Earlier, Vici Gaming offlaner Zhang “Bach” Zhuidi reflected on his career: “My biggest regret is the years when I failed to qualify for The International. When I was at EHOME and Azure Ray, I also had great teammates, like Cty and fy—really good people. And my biggest regret is that I wasn’t able to play alongside them at TI.”

Photo by Adam Lakomy, ESL.