Kuroky is now a coach, Miracle is retired, and W33 is a full-time streamer. Times have changed, but Nigma’s passion stayed intact. This is the story of a team that missed TI for 5 years — but still kept trying to qualify.
It's just like the old The International 9 days, but it’s 2025. Johan “N0tail” Sundstein is now OG’s coach, and Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi holds the same role with Nigma Galaxy. The rivalry? Still alive and well. One of the most anticipated matches finally happened in the Western Europe Closed Qualifiers, with a single TI 2025 slot on the line.
The tale of Nigma's resilience finally meets a 2-1 victory over OG. And, after five years of playing together, GH and Kuro can finally say they are back at The International. This is how they accomplished it.
OG came to the series with a hard defeat behind. They had a winning streak until the Upper Bracket finals, where they lost to NaVi Jr, and just like that, they had to play against the best Nigma Galaxy in years.
Game #1: Nigma overpowers OG from the first minute
Literally. Before the horn even sounded, Nigma’s hard carry traded his Marci for four kills — on Bane, Doom, Enchantress, and Void Spirit. They also secured three bounty runes, kicking off the game with a massive gold lead.
We’ve seen OG run carry Void Spirit before, but this time they sent him mid with StormStormer. Even so, the early bloodbath was too much to recover from. Nigma Galaxy controlled the map with relentless Io + Marci rotations, and in just 27 minutes, OG’s first TI 2025 qualifier game was over. One more loss and they were out.
Game #2: Drow is scary, but Doom is scarier
No more Void Spirit. OG changed things up and went for a completely different draft in Game 2. It started evenly, with both teams trading gold and kills, but OG slowly took control.
By minute 27, they had a 12K net worth lead — mostly thanks to Doom’s ridiculous farm. But just when it looked over, Nigma Galaxy proved they weren’t done yet.
They baited out OG’s teamfight, defended the Roshan timing, and stalled the game long enough to recover some of their deficit.
Still, OG remained patient. When Nigma finally dropped their guard, OG caught Tony “No!ob” Assaf’s Centaur — their best hope to force a Game 3 — and closed out the match.
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Game #3: Nigma proves they deserve The International 2025 over OG
The final game was about experience, teamwork, and mental strength. OG is a fairly new team, while this version of Nigma Galaxy has been fighting for a breakthrough for over a year. This is also the first time the organization will reach TI in five years. That's five years without KuroKy on Dota 2’s biggest stage.
It was an emotional match — especially watching Daniel “Ghost” Chan shine again. He’s been standing in for Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi, who’s still on a health break. In this game, Ghost’s unkillable Sven gave us moments to remember — like when he tanked a four-man gank long enough for his team to turn the fight.
But even Ghost is human. His few misplays gave OG their only real chance at a comeback.
OG dragged the game out as long as they could, but Nigma’s draft was built to end it. Once N0tail’s squad ran out of buybacks, the MENA team pushed for victory.
With their win over OG, Nigma finally broke their curse and qualified for The International 2025. And with that, a new chapter begins.
What’s next for The International 2025?
A lot of beautiful stories are about to unfold:
- Ame’s last shot at the crown
- KuroKy’s return after five long years
- Three teams filled with three-time hopefuls… and more
Make sure to follow how every one of these stories unfolds in our Dota 2 section!
