Invictus Gaming is one of the most prestigious organizations in Dota 2, with many notable achievements including winning The International 2012.

Chinese e-sports giant Invictus Gaming (IG) has officially withdrawn from the Dota 2 arena as their Dota 2 division is temporarily suspended, information announced via official social networking sites such as Weibo and X on Monday, December 2. The decision comes not long after IG ended its partnership with G2 Esports in October.

The organization left an emotional message before officially withdrawing, honoring its proud 13-year journey in Dota 2. This is certainly a sad day for IG fans, but they are also no need to worry too much. The organization has emphasized that this decision is only temporary and that they may return in the future.

Why did Invictus Gaming disband?

IG did not provide any specific reason for the dissolution of the Dota 2 squad, only mentioning "various factors".

“Due to various factors, after careful consideration, the club decided to temporarily move the iG.DOTA2 discipline to inactive status this season,” the IG announced.

Performance may be a factor, but this does not appear to be the main cause, as IG has still performed well – although not reaching the team's historically high expectations – in recent tournaments. .

In September, IG qualified through the China regional closed qualifiers to qualify for BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024, defeating teams Team Zero and Azure Ray. However, this squad competed in the main event under a different name - Yakult Brothers.

Before IG, LGD Gaming also followed a similar path. The team not only struggled in international tournaments but also in regional qualifiers, leading to its dissolution.

This is a general trend in this once strong region. The Chinese professional Dota 2 scene is facing a worrying decline, with a shortage of new generations of players. In addition, the ranked system (pubs) is in chaos as many professional players and players have switched to playing on Southeast Asian servers.

The legacy of Invictus Gaming

Few organizations can maintain such long-term influence as IG in Dota 2, demonstrating their solid foundation and stable performance over more than a decade.

IG launched Dota 2 in 2011, with a roster of new players who quickly rose to global stardom, including Ning “xiao8” Zhang and Fei Chi “Ferrari 430” Luo. In 2012, IG made history by becoming the second team to win The International (TI), Dota 2's annual world championship, and the first Chinese team to achieve this feat.

IG's success doesn't stop there. They continue to maintain high performance, adapting to the changes of Dota 2 through many roster changes. In addition to winning TI 2012, some of IG's other notable achievements include winning the ONE Esports Singapore Major and placing 4th at TI 2021.