UK-run organisation Team Nemesis have qualified for the 14th DOTA 2 The International tournament.
The all-Filipino squad defeated Talon Esports 2-1 to become the first Southeast Asian team to qualify for this year’s event.
They are also the first Filipino team to qualify for the prestigious tournament since 2019.
The organisation has only existed for five months.
Back in January, Team Nemesis formed from the remaining staff of the shutdown Into The Breach esports organisation.
At the time, UK organisation ITB had just won the HALO Kick Off 2025 LAN in London the day before its closure.
They had also recently signed an ambitious Dota 2 roster, led by The International 2017 winner Ivan ‘MinD_ContRoL’ Ivanov and respected British analyst Robson ‘TeaGuvnor’ Merritt as coach.
Now, the remaining staff have helped lead the new Team Nemesis into Dota 2’s The International.
And yesterday, the Apex Legends roster of Team Nemesis also qualified for the Esports World Cup after coming third in the Global Series Split 1 Pro League in EMEA.
Speaking about a triumphant 24 hours, Team Nemesis co-founder and COO Sebastian ‘Veb’ Lubczyk emotionally tweeted out:
“This is exactly why I started my career in esports — to reach this moment! I’m going to TI with my own team!
“From the very beginning, when we created Nemesis, I knew that everything we were doing was guided by a clear vision, and we were bringing out the full potential of our players.
“The first Filipino team at TI since 2019 — and three of our players have never been to TI before! This is just the beginning.
“I’m incredibly proud and overjoyed that in just five months we’ve achieved so much across multiple tournaments — Majors, EWC, and now The International.
“As someone who began their journey in this industry with this goal in mind, I can’t even begin to describe how proud and happy I am.”
Team Nemesis’ other co-founder and CEO, Chris ‘Momo’ Evans, added: “Dota has been a lifelong passion of mine.
“The first TI I watched was back in 2012, and ever since, this game has been a constant in my life—both in the best and worst ways (iykyk). Ultimately, it’s what got me into esports in the first place.
“Now, I’ve been lucky enough to surround myself with an incredible group of people at Team Nemesis, and we’re going to TI. That alone is a dream come true—but the fact we’re going there to compete makes it even sweeter.
“I’m genuinely pinching myself that we’ve achieved this in just five months of work.”
In my seven years of esports writing, I’ve introuduced esports coverage to newspapers, interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry, and driven viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I’m most proud of the latter.
