The uncrowned king tale will go on, but Team Falcons are your well-deserved TI Champions.
After five intense games with not many kills, but lots of tension, Team Falcons rose as The International 2025 Champions by beating Xtreme Gaming at the Grand Final.
But the celebrations are silent for many. Some even call it a "curse" that started in the year 2018, when Wang "Ame" Chunyu made it to the Grand Final, and lost 3-2 to OG. In 2021, with the same team, Ame finished second one more time, losing 3-2 to Team Spirit. Now, it's the same 3-2 score, another year without the crown.
But if we see the other side of the story, this is a dream come true for the Falcons. Andreas "Cr1t-" Nielsen has one of the longest lists of attempts to win The International in history, and he finally made it. Aui_2000 is the first coach to win it twice, with one Aegis already achieved as a player in 2015. It's also the two-time Championship for Skiter and Sneyking, and the first for Ammar and Malr1ne.
Team Falcons year was not what they expected, but they close the season with the one goal everyone looks up to. And they don't look like they're satisfied yet.
The International 2025 Grand Final recap
If you missed the action of this year's Finals, don't forget that Valve uploads the full stream on their YouTube Channel. Here's a summary of the events that led to Team Falcons first crown.
Game 1: XG shakes Skiter's Sven pick
The International 2025 Grand Final's first game was an easy run for Xtreme Gaming. Despite how tied the draft looked, there's a reason why Mars is one of the most contested offlane picks of the tournament.
Falcons tried to play around their strongest carry pick: the Sven. However, he faced Mars and Hoodwink, one of Xtreme Gaming's most successful lane combos. Ame's Ursa had too many opportunities to delete heroes, and the team set the perfect fights for him. The networth difference wasn't showing a huge gap between both teams, but one die-back from Skiter was all XG needed to close the game.
Game 2: The match Xtreme Gaming won't talk about ever again
There wasn't too much to say about the second game. XG chose five heroes to play fast, and they never did. On the other side, Falcons had a clear idea: abuse their Primal Beast pick. The Chinese team closed the game with only two kills. This gave Falcons the much-needed boost to tie the series and keep dreaming of their first TI 2025 Grand Final win.
To make things a little more fun, the cameras catch Stanislav "Malr1ne" Potorak primal-roaring in real life.
Game 3: The crown is close
The armor-reduction strat makes a comeback for the third game of The International 2025 Grand Final. This time, Team Falcons tried to play the counter-initiation combo with Ringmaster and Pangolier, but Sven was too quick to get the kills.
After a long game, Xtreme Gaming had everything they wanted: BKBs, net worth advantage, and Roshan's immortality on Ame. When it looked like Falcons were able to hold their high ground for a little longer, Skiter made a mistake. He tried to clean the creep wave without his teammates ready to help him, and Ame took the chance to kill him and win the game.
Game 4: Ammar The Carry
The draft took the whole venue by surprise. When everyone expected a Dawnbreaker or even a Tidehunter, Ammar pressed the unexpected button. Suddenly, Ursa joined the main stage. It's not the first time he played a carry hero in the offlane, but it's still a bold bet when you are one game away from elimination.
The execution was beautiful and in as short as 33 minutes, Team Falcons stomped Xtreme with a 15-4 score. The ghost of the second place roared one more time. It was do-or-die one more time for Ame.
Game 5: A mistake that cost The International 2025 Grand Final
Sometimes, it's one mistake. It's a hard game, getting harder to close. It's the mental warfare against the expectations. This story started with one decision: Xiao8 felt confident and let the Naga Siren pass, despite being the most banned hero of the tournament. 128 bans, to be specific. The plan was to counter her with Earth Shaker. However, all efforts were futile when the Song of the Siren started.
They also went with Juggernaut, a hero picked only four times, with a 50% win rate. This was their answer to Medusa, a hero who struggles to survive the Diffusal Blade itemization. Ame built this item and managed to force the late game with lots of net worth disadvantage. But one fight gave Medusa the chance to break high ground. And, after that, it was a matter of time.
Minutes later, the "gg" was called. It's another The International Grand Final without Ame lifting the Aegis, and a new curse is born. While Ammar raises a victor with 20 years old, Ame is now referred for another year as the uncrowned king.
The next Champion will rise in Shanghai, China. There's no information on the future for Ame, or for any of the teams. The infamous TI-shuffle season will now begin, and many new rosters will emerge, while other legendary players will announce their retirement.
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