Team Falcons have pulled out of competitive Dota 2. The Saudi-backed organisation confirmed on September 6 that its nearly three-year run in the game is over, ending the longest-standing five-man roster the scene has seen in years and removing one of the biggest brands from the post-TI landscape.
What Falcons said
The announcement came in two parts. First a farewell video summarising the roster’s achievements, then a follow-up statement framing the exit as the result of a review of the organisation’s multi-title roadmap for 2026 and beyond. Falcons made clear the decision is not about Dota 2 as a competitive product but about where the organisation wants to invest long term. The wording pointed to “strategic alignment” and operational sustainability as the deciding factors – a diplomatic way of saying that other titles currently offer a better return on the org’s investment.
The roster that never changed
What makes the exit notable is the stability of the line-up. Skiter, Malr1ne, ATF, Cr1t-, Sneyking and coach Aui_2000 came together in November 2023 and stayed intact through TI 2026 in Shanghai – almost 800 official games at a win rate north of 65 percent. In a scene where rosters routinely reshuffle after every major, that kind of continuity was almost unheard of.
The peak was TI 2025 in Hamburg, where Falcons beat Xtreme Gaming 3-2 to lift the Aegis. Across the post-DPC era the team picked up eleven trophies, seven of them at tier-one level, and for long stretches they were the default favourite at whatever event they entered.
A disappointing final act
The finish in Shanghai was the weakest of the roster’s TI appearances. Falcons went out in seventh-eighth place after losing 1-2 to Nigma Galaxy in the first round of the upper bracket and then dropping another 1-2 to Team Liquid in the lower bracket. For a team that had entered as one of the top three favourites in the outright market, that was a clear underperformance – and with hindsight it looks like the moment the organisation’s review tipped towards an exit.
Where the players go next
The break-up was already partly underway before the announcement. Cr1t- had hinted at retirement immediately after the TI exit, and Aui_2000 announced his departure from professional Dota shortly after the tournament. The remaining four are all expected to keep playing. Malr1ne has said on stream that he and ATF plan to stay together on the same team, Sneyking is being linked with a move to a Chinese roster, and skiter is expected to continue his career at the top level. None of those moves has been officially confirmed yet.
What it means for the scene – and for bettors
Falcons are the second high-profile organisation to leave Dota 2 in as many weeks, following Virtus.pro’s decision to disband its roster after a third straight TI miss. Two departures do not make a crisis, but they underline how thin the top of the scene can look once the TI prize pool is off the table and the off-season sets in.
For the esports bookmakers, the reshuffle is a headache. Falcons were a fixture at the top of every outright market, and their absence means the early 2027 futures will be repriced around Team Spirit, PVISION and whichever new projects ATF, Malr1ne and skiter land in. That uncertainty typically translates into wider, more generous prices in the first tournaments of the new season – a useful window for anyone who follows the roster shuffle closely, especially when combined with a welcome bonus at a new sportsbook.
Expect roster confirmations to trickle in over the coming weeks as the shuffle settles. We will follow up once the ex-Falcons core announces its new home.
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