Can China end its 10-year Aegis drought at The International 2026?

Zloster Published August 12, 2026

China is set to welcome Dota 2’s biggest tournament of 2026: The International. The competition will be held in Shanghai, which raises the question: can the Chinese Aegis drought come to an end? The region will have three representatives making it interesting to analyze their actual chances of succeeding.

China’s 10-year Aegis drought

A quick look at the Chinese Dota 2 TI 2026 participants reveals that some have played in previous TIs. Sadly, none of them were able to lift the Aegis because the last time this happened was in 2016.

Ten years ago, Wings Gaming defeated Digital Chaos at TI6, and this was the last time we saw an Asian team dominate the competition. Newbee and Invictus Gaming were the only two Chinese powerhouses to win the biggest Dota 2 event before that.

Image credit: Valve

Vici Gaming could be the surprise

Vici is one of the Chinese Dota 2 teams that secured a slot via the qualifiers, but this doesn’t mean it’s not good. On the contrary, the squad recently secured a top-four finish at the Esports World Cup 2026. It actually lost the third-place game against Team Yandex, but Vici’s overall performance was good.

Team Resilience faces a difficult test

Team Resilience is the last Chinese squad at The International 2026 in Shanghai and it faces a big challenge. The team lacks XG’s experience and hasn’t achieved results comparable to Vici’s. It’s definitely one of China’s biggest wild cards, but who knows, it may exceed our expectations.

Overall, China has a genuine opportunity to win. Yes, it will not be easy because the European teams are dominating, but it’s not impossible either. XG and Vici will have to step up their game if they want to bring the Aegis back to China.

Xtreme Gaming is China’s biggest hope

A deeper dive into the Xtreme Gaming TI15 roster shows that this is China’s biggest hope of lifting the Aegis. Aside from being the only team from the region to get a direct invite, XG also reached the Grand Finals last year. In fact, it was in a good position to win, but ended up losing the series 3-2.

Xtreme Gaming is among the TI15 championship contenders because it knows how to survive under high pressure. Led by Wang “Ame” Chunyu, one of the Dota 2 players you should definitely focus on, XG has a legit chance at lifting the Aegis.

Featured image credit: Wings Gaming

Related to:

Vici Gaming

Team Resilience

Xtreme Gaming The International 2026 Group Stage