LGD Gaming is heading to The International 2026

Over the past few months, South American Dota 2 has seen many storylines, but none quite matches that of LGD Gaming. With the HEROIC organisation deciding to step away from the game in early May, the team played under the banner of ex-HEROIC for a short time. By the end of May, we got the big news of LGD Gaming’s return to Dota, as they signed the roster, and moved into qualifier season.

Now, with all qualifiers over, LGD has a massive few months ahead with the Esports World Cup and The International 2026 on their agenda.

LGD unstoppable in TI qualifiers

South America was possibly one of the most stacked regions when it comes to qualifiers for The International 2026. PlayTime, Amaru Gaming, Estar Backs, LGD Gaming, and Team Nemesis were just a few of the teams involved. Unfortunately for SA, only a single spot was available at TI through qualifiers for the region. That spot, by the end of the qualifier, was undoubtedly LGD’s, as they dropped only a single game throughout the entire event.

After a rough few months of losing their organisation, the team has seen some amazing performances since joining LGD. While qualification to the Esports World Cup 2026 saw them play in the Western Europe region, the team followed up with a magnificent second place finish at BLAST Slam VII, losing in the grand finals to Team Yandex.

However, the bigger journey was the SA regional qualifier for TI 2026. Along their path the finals, LGD took down Amaru and PlayTime, before PT returned to face them for the spot at TI. In a completely one-sided best-of-five series, LGD dominated their opponent, securing a 3-0 victory and the tournament win.

With that, LGD becomes the third team overall to qualify to The International via regional qualifiers, after China saw Vici Gaming and Team Resilience lock themselves in for the upcoming prestigious event. Qualifiers are still underway, with Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe still in hot pursuit of their region’s victors.