Dota 2 The International: Yakutou Brothers replace Gamin Gladiators

The International 2025 has a new contender after a late shake-up. On August 27, organizers announced that Chinese Dota 2 squad Yakutou Brothers—also known as Yakult Brothers—will take the spot left vacant by Gaimin Gladiators, who withdrew just weeks before the start of the title’s biggest event.

The addition means China will have three representatives at The International in Hamburg, joining Team Tidebound and Xtreme Gaming in the 16-team field set to begin on September 4. For Yakutou Brothers, it’s a chance at redemption after narrowly missing direct qualification earlier this year, falling to Xtreme Gaming in the Chinese regional final.

Speculation initially pointed to OG Esports as a possible replacement, given their third-place finish in the Western Europe qualifiers. However, Valve instead chose to extend the direct invite to Yakutou Brothers, leaning on the team’s consistent showings in Tier 1 events throughout 2025. The squad recorded multiple deep runs, including top-six finishes at BLAST Slam II and DreamLeague Season 26, along with a runner-up result at ACL x ESL Challenger China.

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  Fast Payouts

Yakutou Brothers TI 2025 Roster

The Yakutou Brothers’ lineup heading to Hamburg features:

• Jin “flyfly” Zhiyi
• Yi “Emo” Zhou
• Xiang “Beyond” Zhenghong
• Zhibiao “BoBoKa” Ye
• Chon Kien “Oli” Chan

This roster is far from inexperienced on Dota’s biggest stage. Flyfly, Emo, and Oli previously played together at The International in 2021 with Invictus Gaming, finishing fourth. BoBoKa earned a top-four finish with Team Aster in 2022, while Beyond competed at TI 2024, placing in the top 16 with Team Zero.

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  The bookies' bookie

While the news of Gaimin Gladiators’ withdrawal continues to reverberate, the spotlight now turns to Yakutou Brothers. This will be their first TI appearance under the current banner, and with a mix of proven veterans and regional momentum, expectations are high.

Although the region has high hopes for Yakuotou Brothers, top esports betting sites don’t agree, marking them as +6600 outsiders in the outright win market for TI 2025.