Team Nemesis TI 2025 team profile: Filipino passion meets TI pressure

Team Nemesis might create chaos, laughter, memorable memes or all of the above at The International 2025.

Their potential is just as big as their dreams, and to be honest, Team Nemesis has already taken many by surprise by qualifying for The International 2025. It’s the first all-Filipino team to have qualified for TI since 2019, and the cherry on top is that the scene veteran, Polo "Raven" Fausto, is on the roster. The team was formed in March this year, has already suffered a couple of roster changes and besides the upsets in the TI 2025 Southeast Asia regional qualifiers, they have no achievements under their belt.

No experience, no fear

From all competitors on the Road to The International 2025, Team Nemesis have the fewest matches played. Just 71 games, all disputed on the SEA server. The good news is that they have a 64.79% win rate in all these regional battles, with 46 wins and 25 losses. So far, their most important results as a team are taking down Execration, BOOM Esports, and Talon Esports in the SEA qualifiers for the pinnacle tournament of the year. Their victory there was a shocker as the majority of the fans were expecting to see Talon dominating the bracket.

Team Nemesis are also arriving in Hamburg, Germany, with three TI debutants. Nicholson Montano "Mac" Villanueva, John "Jing" Duyan, and James "Erice" Guerra will experience for the first time in their careers what the TI pressure truly means this coming September. They are Team Nemesis’ mid laner and support duo, and although they have some experience against teams outside Asia, they haven’t had the chance to play against any of the international rosters this year. That could come as a blessing in disguise, as the other teams are also somewhat in the dark regarding what Team Nemesis is capable of.

Team Nemesis roster

• Eljohn "Akashi" Andales
• Nicholson Montano "Mac" Villanueva
• Polo "Raven" Fausto
• John "Jing" Duyan
• James "Erice" Guerra
• coach: Andrei "skem" Ong

No predictions, just Filipino Dota joy

A lot will depend on how Raven will be preparing the rookies for their TI debut. He is not only Nemesis’ most experienced player, but also a true veteran in the scene and one of the first players to bring SEA Dota to a top 8 finish at The International. Back in 2016, he carried the Philippine flag in the Key Arena under the TNC banner.

Nine years later, Raven switched lanes and is now playing offlane. In the modern days of Dota 2, the role is just as crucial and impactful as the carry. Some teams actually rely heavily on their offlaner, especially in the early and mid-stage of the game, and Nemesis is clearly one of those teams.

It is hard to talk about their strategies and drafting patterns. Firstly because of their small sample of matches, with the last official one being played in June, and secondly because most likely Valve will come with a big patch just before TI 2025 to spice things up.

TI 2025 forecast: Why they could overperform

Given their lack of LAN experience in this formula, Nemesis are clearly one of the biggest underdogs at The International 2025. Historically, SEA teams struggle on the TI stage, but they are strong enough to cause some damage, and we expect Team Nemesis to do just that in the group stage at least.

For the first time in the tournament’s history, TI will feature this year a Swiss-format group stage with all series being a best-of-three battle. That should help Nemesis to adapt to the tournament meta and avoid an early elimination. It’s impossible to think that they will place top three in the group stage to advance straight to the playoffs, but they do have a real shot at making it out of the group. The International 2025 will kick off in a month, on the 4th of September, with all 16 teams aligned in a Swiss group stage. The top three teams will head to the playoffs, the bottom three will be eliminated. The teams in the middle of the pack will duke it out in an elimination round.

Until then, rdy.gg will bring you all the information that you need about the pinnacle event of the year and the teams competing for the most wanted trophy in the Dota 2 scene.