TI2025 China qualifiers: Legends return

Some of the biggest names in the Chinese professional scene are making a return to take a shot at qualifying for The International 2025.

China has consistently produced players who have achieved legendary status in the professional scene. However, at the same time, the Chinese region is also famous for its players who retire only to come back time and time again. This year is no different. As the TI season is on, so are the likes of Du "Monet" Peng, Zhou "Yang" Haiyang, Zhang "Paparazi灬" Chengjun, or Lu "Somnus/Maybe" Yao, who haven’t been active since last year’s TI qualifiers.

Along with these legendary players, veteran organisations are also back. Unfortunately for the China Dota fans, LGD is not among the participating teams, but Vici Gaming is back after two years of inactivity.

Vici Gaming are back

VG made its way into the China closed qualifiers for TI2025 via open brackets. They secured their presence in the closed qualifiers by placing top 3 in the first leg of the opens, along with Azure Ray and Excel Esports.

Hu "Kaka" Liangzhi is leading the team in its quest for TI2025. The last time he played competitively? You guessed it, last year’s TI qualifiers. He placed at the bottom in 2024, under the Old Warrior tag. This time around, he is playing with a completely different roster and has Yang and Ori, both also returning after being retired for almost a year.

And to add to that, we should mention that VG’s carry is none other than Paparazi, who switched from mid lane to position one and also changed his nickname to kikyo.

Vici Gaming roster for TI2025

• Zhang "kikyo/Paparazi灬" Chengjun
• Zeng "Ori" Jiaoyang
• Zhou "Yang" Haiyang
• Hu "Kaka" Liangzhi
• Ding "Dy" Cong

VG will have a tough mission in getting to The International this year, as the Chinese qualifiers are quite stacked. The main contenders at the one qualifier slot are Xtreme Gaming, who are fighting with the uncrowned prince Wang "Ame" Chunyu on their side. Unlike many of the CN legends, Ame hasn’t taken any time off this year, so he is well warmed up and ready to make it yet again to TI.

Ame is considered one of the best carry players in the world. He reached the finals day at TI four times in his career, yet the Aegis of Champions is still eluding him. However, he is not the only one in this situation. His former LGD teammate, Lu "Somnus/Maybe" Yao is also competing for the one ticket to TI2025, but with a different team this year. Somnus has played competitively only on a few occasions this season. However, at the end of May, he teamed up with Du "Monet" Peng, Thiay "JT-" Jun Wen, Xiong "Pyw" Jiahan, and Yap "xNova" Jian Wei under the Azure Ray banner and will be looking to make a comeback onto the TI stage.

China regional closed qualifiers for The International 2025 are set to begin on Monday, June 9, with a thriller series, Xtreme Gaming vs Vici Gaming in the first round of the double elimination bracket. The battle for the one ticket to TI2025 will close on the 12th of the month, so stay tuned with ScoreHQ to catch all the updates and see which of the Chinese legends will head to Hamburg, Germany this year