Noteworthy open qualifier winners for The International 2026: CN and EU

Open qualifiers for The International 2026 are complete, and some rather noteworthy teams are hoping to make their way into the main event.

Over the past week, we saw the open qualifiers for The International 2026 take place. Each region had a huge number of teams and stacks involved, as they all attempted to reach the closed qualifiers. Many regions saw some notable players joining into the fray, but with only a few slots available, not everyone would make it through. However, with that said, there some additions into the closed qualifiers, which are now underway for a few regions, that are worth keeping an eye on.

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Returning legends look to reach TI

While the open qualifiers may be over, we definitely saw a few exciting rosters forming, as they tried to make a run through to the grand stage of TI. One of these was “Retirement Home” in Europe, which featured the likes of Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen, Sébastien "Ceb" Debs, and Artour "Arteezy" Babaev. Unfortunately for this stack, they were left on a cliff, unable to reach the closed qualifiers. However, there were more than a few interesting rosters in both EU and CN, with more well-known Dota 2 faces making their way into the closed qualifiers and trying to cement their spot at The International 2026.

With that said, today we are looking at the significant teams that DID make it into the next battle from China and Europe’s open qualifiers.

China

There was a lot going on when it came to the Chinese open qualifiers. The first big news saw Yakutou Brothers losing out on their closed qualifier invite, having made a few roster changes. These changes saw the exit of four players, while Hu “kaka” Liangzhi returned to the frontlines with the squad. YB managed to dominate the first open qualifier, going unbeaten to secure a chance at reaching TI.

Joining them would also be the ex-YB players, Jin “flyfly” Zhiyi, Kam Boon “MooN” Seng, and Thiay Jun “JT-“ Wen, who moved on to Game Master, while another one of the ex-YB players, Ye “BoBoKa” Zhibiao found his way in with Team Refuser. Interestingly, Refuser also features the return of Zhang "Paparazi灬" Chengjun, as well as Du "Monet" Peng. While CN’s closed qualifier has 2 spots available at TI, the bracket is stacked, and with the tournament on home soil, every team will be wanting to win.

Europe

Even without Retirement Home making the closed qualifier cut, EU featured a number of fantastic teams and Dota 2 players. Most interestingly was the newly acquired Rune Eaters roster. While the previous RE roster were let go after they failed to qualify for the Esports World Cup, their new roster featured the ex-Pupsqueak+4 players and were already locked in for the EWC.

With players such as Abdimalik "Malik" Sailau and Marcel "Ekki" Hołowienko, as well as Andrij “Mag” Chipenko in the coaching role, RE could cause some big problems in the EU bracket. Only four slots are open for a combined Western and Eastern Europe at TI 2026 through the closed qualifier, but RE could be a team to be on the lookout for.

TI 2026 closed qualifiers are already underway at the current time of writing, with CN and SA kicking off on June 15th. Later in the week we will see SEA kick off, before EU and NA will be the last to conclude. As both the Esports World Cup 2026 and TI approach, the excitement is building, and teams are getting in their final preparations for a chance to reach the grand stage in Shanghai, China, later this year.