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Dota 2's post-TI roster market is already burning down teams: Falcons exits and OG tears up its lineup
The International was supposed to identify Dota 2's best five-player team. A few weeks later, it has become the starting gun for demolition. Team Falcons has left the esport completely, OG is down to two players from its TI lineup, and Xtreme Gaming is rebuilding around Ame. The traditional post-TI shuffle has wasted very little time dismantling teams we were just watching in Shanghai.
By Maëlle Dota 2 
The post-International 2026 roster shuffle accelerated sharply this week.
On September 9, OG announced the departures of Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer, Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto and Timothy “TIMS” Randrup.
That leaves John Anthony “Natsumi-” Vargas and captain Rolen Andre Gabriel “skem” Ong as the remaining players from the lineup that ended the season.
OG now needs three additions before the rebuild becomes a complete five-man roster.
OG returned to TI only to go straight back into reconstruction
The season had actually provided a rare period of momentum for the two-time International-winning organization.
After several unstable years, OG pivoted toward a Filipino lineup, produced a series of encouraging tournament finishes and qualified for TI 2026 through Southeast Asia.
That qualification ended a four-year absence from The International.
Shanghai did not extend the recovery.
OG was eliminated during the Group Stage and finished 14th-15th.
The consequence is now three empty positions. Natsumi- and skem at least provide a foundation, but OG has not yet announced the rest of its next lineup.
Two days earlier, Falcons chose the much more radical option
Team Falcons is not replacing three players.
The organization is leaving competitive Dota 2 entirely.
Its September 7 announcement ends a run of almost three years. Falcons said it was shifting resources toward esports titles offering greater strategic alignment and long-term operational stability.
That decision is striking because the team is not leaving after years of irrelevance.
Falcons exits with nine Tier 1 tournament victories and the 2025 International championship on its résumé.
Its core of Skiter, Malr1ne, ATF, Cr1t- and Sneyking also achieved an unusually long lifespan for a modern Dota roster.
799 games together, then no team at all
The lineup played 799 games with the same five players.
It won 523 of them, a win rate of roughly 65.5 percent.
In a scene where a roster can be replaced after two disappointing tournaments, staying together for almost three years had become remarkable in itself.
The run ended with a 7th-8th finish at The International 2026.
That would be an excellent result for most teams. For the defending champion, it preceded the end of the entire project.
Cr1t- and Aui_2000 are not even looking for another organization
Falcons' departure also produced two exits that go beyond changing jerseys.
Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen announced his retirement from professional competition.
Coach Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling retired as well.
The other players from the former Falcons lineup had not all publicly confirmed their next destinations when the organization announced its exit.
If they continue competing, Skiter, Malr1ne, ATF and Sneyking immediately become some of the most significant names available in the market.
Xtreme Gaming had already begun its own teardown
China is going through the same post-TI instability.
On September 4, Xtreme Gaming parted ways with NothingToSay, Xxs, fy, xNova and coach LaNm.
Ame remains as the central player around whom the organization can rebuild.
One year earlier, Xtreme Gaming reached the grand final of The International 2025.
At the 2026 event in Shanghai, it failed to reach the playoffs after losing its deciding Group Stage series to Team Resilience.
A roster expected to contend for a title on home soil became an almost completely new project within days.
Meanwhile, Team Spirit kept collecting Aegises
All of this upheaval comes only weeks after a final dramatic enough to dominate an ordinary offseason.
Team Spirit defeated Team Vision in a five-game grand final to win The International 2026 in Shanghai.
Yatoro and Collapse became three-time TI champions, Larl earned a second title, and not_me and rue joined them as first-time winners.
Spirit had reached the arena through the elimination route after stumbling late in the Group Stage.
The next season therefore begins with a very Dota contradiction: the world champion looks relatively intact while several famous rivals have already ceased to exist in their previous form.
The post-TI period remains Dota's wildest transfer window
Dota 2 does not have the orderly transaction calendar of a tightly franchised league.
After The International, contracts expire, players test new combinations and organizations can change regions, rebuild completely or simply leave the game.
This year's shuffle has already moved beyond the normal exchange of players between teams.
The 2025 world champion organization has exited the esport. Two major figures have retired. OG needs three players. Xtreme Gaming has kept only Ame as the obvious centerpiece of its rebuild.
The International 2026 ended only a few weeks ago.
The 2026-2027 Dota season is already preparing to look very different.