Another Grand Final without a Champion from China: Falcons conquers The International 2025

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The uncrowned king tale will go on, but Team Falcons are your well-deserved TI Champions.

Team Falcons won The International 2025 championship after a thrilling best-of-five series against Xtreme Gaming. While the matches weren’t high-scoring, they were filled with suspense, ultimately leading to Team Falcons’ victory in the Grand Final.

It’s tough being a fan because while everyone else is celebrating, a lot of us are just feeling… haunted. There’s this running joke, or maybe it’s a real curse, that started back in 2018 when Ame and his team made it all the way to the Grand Finals, only to lose 3-2 to OG. It happened again in 2021, losing to Team Spirit with the exact same scoreline. And now? It’s happened *again* – another year, another heartbreaking 3-2 loss, and still no championship. It’s just… frustrating.

Looking at it from the Falcons’ perspective, this victory is a dream realized. For Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen, it marks the culmination of a long journey, as he’s been trying to win The International for years. Aui_2000 has made history as the first coach to win the championship twice, having previously won as a player in 2015. This is the second championship win for both Skiter and Sneyking, while Ammar and Malr1ne are celebrating their first ever International victory.

Team Falcons didn’t have the year they hoped for, but they finished strong by achieving their ultimate goal. And they seem determined to continue improving.

The International 2025 Grand Final recap

Didn’t get a chance to watch the Finals? No problem! Valve has uploaded the entire stream to their YouTube channel. Here’s a recap of how Team Falcons won their first championship.

Game 1: XG shakes Skiter’s Sven pick

Xtreme Gaming had a dominant start in the opening game of The International 2025 Grand Final. Although the initial hero selection seemed balanced, Mars proved once again why it’s such a popular choice for offlane players throughout the tournament.

Falcons focused their strategy around their powerful Sven player, but they struggled against Xtreme Gaming’s strong lane combination of Mars and Hoodwink. Ame’s Ursa dominated, consistently eliminating enemy heroes, and his team created ideal conditions for him to do so. While the teams’ gold income wasn’t drastically different, a single death for Skiter was all Xtreme Gaming needed to secure the win.

Game 2: The match Xtreme Gaming won’t talk about ever again

The second game wasn’t very competitive. XG intended to play quickly with their chosen heroes, but they didn’t manage to execute that strategy. Meanwhile, Falcons focused on maximizing the strength of their Primal Beast pick. Falcons dominated, only allowing XG to secure two kills, which allowed them to even the series and stay in contention for their first championship at The International 2025.

Okay, so this was a really cool moment! The cameras actually caught Malr1ne – Stanislav Potorak – letting out a legit roar while he was playing. It was hilarious and added a whole new level to watching the stream.

Game 3: The crown is close

The strategy of reducing enemy armor is being used again in the third game of The International 2025 Grand Final. Team Falcons attempted to disrupt the opposing team with a combination of Ringmaster and Pangolier, but Sven reacted too fast and secured the kills.

Xtreme Gaming dominated the late game, securing key items like Black King Bars, a significant gold lead, and control of Roshan. Just when it seemed Falcons might hold on, Skiter made a costly error. He attempted to push the lane alone, and Ame quickly capitalized, killing him and securing the win for Xtreme Gaming.

Game 4: Ammar The Carry

Everyone was shocked by the pick. While most people predicted Dawnbreaker or Tidehunter, Ammar surprised everyone by choosing Ursa. Although he’s played carry heroes in the offlane before, it was a risky move with elimination looming.

Team Falcons delivered a stunning performance, defeating Xtreme 15-4 in just 33 minutes. The pressure of nearly winning before loomed large, and Ame faced another crucial, high-stakes match.

Game 5: A mistake that cost The International 2025 Grand Final

Often, a single error can change everything. The game is incredibly difficult, and becoming even harder to finish. It’s a battle against the pressure of expectations. This particular situation began with a confident decision by Xiao8 to allow the Naga Siren hero to be played, even though she was the most frequently banned hero in the tournament – banned 128 times, in fact. The team intended to counter her with Earth Shaker, but their strategy failed as soon as the Naga Siren activated her ultimate ability, the Song of the Siren.

I was really surprised to see them pick Juggernaut – he’s a rarely played hero, and they hadn’t used him much at all! It seemed like their attempt to counter Medusa, who can really struggle if the other team builds Diffusal Blades. Ame actually did a great job getting that item and pushing for a late game even though they were behind in gold. But one teamfight gave Medusa the opening she needed to push through their defenses, and after that, it felt like it was only a matter of time before they closed out the game.

Shortly after, the match ended. Once again, The International Grand Final concluded without Ame winning the championship, creating a new streak of bad luck for him. While a new champion, 20-year-old Ammar, was crowned, Ame will continue to be known for another year as the player who never quite reached the top.

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2025-09-15 02:43