“This is the only tournament in my career after which it was so hard” - DM’s journey through the prism of The International

The editors at The International 2026 talked with Team Yandex offlaner Dmitry 'DM' Dorokhin. Together we remembered every “Int” in which the DM went to the trophy. Memories and thoughts of an e-sportsman are in our material.

The interview was recorded before the start of The International 2026

This is not a completely standard interview: it is structured around 5 main questions that will be repeated over and over again. The fact is that these questions will relate to different periods in the DM’s career, and more precisely, to different “Ints”.

The idea is to track how the player's memories and perceptions of certain events change through the prism of time and experience. The interview includes 5 general questions, only the wording will change:

• Tell us about your team with which you approached this The International.
• What shape were you in before the start of the tournament?
• How do you like the atmosphere of the competition?
• Do you remember what happened in the game after which you left TI?
• What conclusions did you draw for yourself then?

The DM path is in our material.

The International 2019, Shanghai

• Alik 'V-Tune' Sparrow;
• Dmitry 'DM' Dorokhin;
• Gleb 'Funn1k' Lipatnikov;
• Nikola 'LeBronDota' Popovic;
• Sergey 'Ecnart' Slobodyanyuk.

Let's rewind the time to your very first attempt to get to Int. 2019, by the way, is also Shanghai TI. You are playing in open qualifiers with Aachen City Esports. Please tell us everything you remember about this interesting team.

The vibe was this: we thought we had a good chance of passing the qualifier. It seems that it was later won by the team MATUMBAMAN - Chaos Esports Club, right? [Yes]. It seems like they are, yes. But we still thought that we could compete with them normally.

I don’t remember who we lost to. In my opinion, the future Alliance [in the second qualification, the DM lineup lost to Team Bald Reborn. — Approx. ed. ]. In fact, the mood was fighting. We had some Strats, we were tripping somewhere, there were Cancer Heroes in the pool, V-Tune was in pretty good shape back then. That is, there was preparation, but somehow we fell apart and didn’t even understand why. At least, I don’t remember anymore, to be honest. Something didn't work out for us.

This was your period in the mid lane. What kind of pool did you have?

I played heroes like Sand King, Venomancer. Well, I also took classic Persians like Storm Spirit and Ember Spirit.

In general, you have already partially answered this question, but I repeat: what were your expectations from those qualifications?

As I said, expectations were normal. We believed that we could fight. There was no such thing with us that we would just play qualifiers. No, we had the intention of going to TI. But it happened as it happened.

Do you still remember what it’s like to play in open qualifiers? Considering how long you've been involved in this.

Yes, really a long time ago... The vibe was... You take your first steps in eSports - like this. Through thorns to the stars, so to speak.

The next question - and if you don’t remember, you can say so, this is the point of the question - do you have anything in your memory about that game, after which you were eliminated from the qualifications?

No. I don't even remember who we played against, to be honest.

What was the main conclusion you made for yourself then?

In fact, I did not draw any specific conclusions. I was just surprised that things didn’t work out for us at all. Although we could pass. But I didn’t try to draw any conclusions.

The International 2021, Bucharest

• Egor 'Nightfall' Grigorenko;
• Danil 'gpk' Skutin;
• Dmitry 'DM' Dorokhin;
• Vitaly 'Save-'Melnik;
• Ilyas 'Kingslayer' Ganeev;

• Anatoly ' boo1k ' Ivanov (coach).

You got to your first TI together with Virtus.pro. And you did it as confidently as possible: a direct invite for the top 3 in the DPC. How would you characterize this team?

At that time it was a team of such young talents. Well, obviously, I’m talking about the others - I wasn’t the youngest even then. Okay, relatively young. We were at our first very big tournament.

How did you approach the tournament? And did you believe in victory at The International 2021?

The shape was pretty good. I remember that we played well in QB against so many teams. But against LGD Gaming, let’s say, we won probably 2 out of 5 games. That is, it was the hardest with them, and we thought that this was the main super favorite.

Have you played with Team Spirit?

We didn’t play a single QB with the Spirits, so I didn’t know what to expect from them. Well, in general, we were counting on, I think, at least the top 3. At least I had such expectations, provided that we played well. And we started to play well online in general.

How did you like your first TI in terms of atmosphere and organization?

Well, there wasn’t much of an atmosphere there because there were no spectators.

And the organization was normal, but kind of... So average, not really cool. For example, at The International 2026 everything is much better in terms of lunches and so on.

So, in general, normal “Int”, covid. There was no “wow” effect from the fact that this was my first TI.

In any case, 5th-6th place is more than worthy for Int’s debut, especially since the future champions stopped you. What do you remember about that series against Team Spirit? Did you even think that you could lose to them?

In general, I never say: “We lost here, but we should have won.” I don’t like to set myself up that way. But perhaps some people then had certain, let’s say, inflated expectations. People put pressure on themselves - perhaps. Again, I don’t know how it really happened.

After all, Team Spirit was the team against which we won all the official games before. And here we are playing for relegation, a team from our region... And a match against a team from your region is still a little extra pressure. So for some, the episode was harder than it should have been.

But to be honest, I didn’t experience anything like that. I don’t really have any homies in Team Spirit. In short, as it is. I tried. Lost. As you already said, to future champions. “Spirits” are great. And our journey is over. Generally.

Additional question: did you feel any emotions when Team Spirit won Int?

Honestly, no. I was upset precisely because I lost, and not someone else won. The first time was difficult - a month or a couple of weeks. This is the only tournament in my career after which it was so difficult.

What was the main conclusion you made for yourself then?

I was still a very young player then. So the thought was: “You just have to become better.” No matter how funny it may sound, you just need to play better.

The International 2022, Singapore

• Roman ' RAMZES666 ' Kushnarev;
• Danil 'gpk' Skutin;
• Dmitry 'DM' Dorokhin;
• Daniyal 'yamich' Lazebny;
• George 'Xakoda' Lipartia;

• Artyom 'Fng' Barshak (trainer).

New "Int", old tag. What do you remember about that season in general and this particular roster?

Hmm... I remember that season because it was a little... Heavy. As it happened: Ilyas [Kingslayer. — Approx. ed. ] stayed for the first round of the DPC, but then left Dota altogether because it was hard for him, public opinion put pressure on him, people wrote all sorts of things. In short, roughly speaking, something like that. Now he doesn’t seem to be playing at a professional level, for sure.

On the other hand, I met some cool new people. I can highlight, for example, RAMZES666. He's a very cool teammate, a very cool dude. This is one of the good things about that period. It was really cool. With him I really felt like a teammate. The vibe was a great plus.

So what? At Inta itself there was a fierce rush, because there were certain misunderstandings, let’s call it that. And if someone has misunderstandings, then the atmosphere in the team is no longer the best. Therefore, the run gets even stronger.

Overall, a brutal run. Superrunning is already the answer to the next question. We were in super run form. Although they could pass and take a good place anyway. We could have fought for the same top 6, perhaps even for the top 3, if there had not been “mode: dobeg”. But it is what it is.

It seems to me that overall it was a difficult season: you were one DPC point short of a direct invite to The International 2022, in the final of the regional qualification you lost to BetBoom Team with Daxak, and in the Last Chance you were one step away from the main stage of the tournament.

How do you like the format of The International 2022: Last Chance Qualifiers?

This is a cool stage. The fact that there are so many different teams from other regions competing for the opportunity to play in the main stage is a cool experience. I think there should be more of this. I think it would be cool [if Last Chance Qualifiers were brought back].

Do you remember anything from the match against Team Liquid, after which you were eliminated?

No, no. Super run.

What was the main conclusion you made for yourself then?

It should not be allowed that people on the team openly express dissatisfaction with each other in a bad manner. This is not team behavior. This will only be a super run - this should be avoided.

The International 2023, Seattle

• Artem 'Yuragi' Golubev;
• Bozhidar 'bzm' Bogdanov;
• Dmitry 'DM' Dorokhin;
• Sebastian 'Ceb' Felix Albert Debs;
• Kartik 'Kitrak' Rati;

• Mikhail 'Misha' Agatov (trainer);
• Evgeny 'Chu' Makarov (assistant coach).

• Roman ' RAMZES666 ' Kushnarev;
• Gleb 'kiyotaka' Zyryanov;
• Matvey 'MieRo' Vasyunin;
• Vladislav 'Antares' Kertman;
• Alexey 'Solo' Berezin;

• Dmitry 'DM' Dorokhin (trainer).

In 2023 you moved to the European region. How did you like the experience in OG?

Normal experience. Quite a positive organization. I also moved to another city, they gave me a little advice and help.

Yes a normal experience. It’s not hard for me to play in a European team, English is more than pleasant for me, and this is the language that I speak in current realities, probably as much as Russian.

So what? Strange season. In the first round of the DPC, we were supposed to qualify for the tournament, but we were super spoiled in drafts against Nigma Galaxy. Then some replacement of Misha for a coach, we take another player, there is something else, fifth or tenth. And then rumors began about Taiga and his betting epic.

In short, the run-up didn’t just start there, but when you play with new players every 2 months, this is not a very healthy story.

How did you approach the qualifications for The International 2023? And did you believe in the passage to “Int”?

He obviously believed and tried. But... I don't even remember who we lost to.

Quest Esports with TA2000.

Ah, I understand. We were closed there at Naga Siren. Well, in reality we just lost to a more stable team that improved during the season.

In general, yes, the point is that this is a stable team with a stable composition, which got better, and we moved back and forth.

How does it feel to not qualify?

But I ended up going to Int as a 9Pandas coach. It was a cool experience, by the way. When I was given this opportunity, I was super energized and very glad that I would work with cool guys from a very promising team.

How do you like being a coach?

I liked it. And I would definitely take a closer look at this in the future, especially considering that at that time I was not the best coach. I performed some tasks, but I wasn’t really a super-megacoach.

But now I’ve already worked with a bunch of coaches and I understand what kind of coach you can be and how to work. This is very cool, I really liked it. And I'm actually grateful to 9Pandas for this opportunity.

What was the main conclusion you made for yourself then?

First, I made a conclusion about how to become a strong coach. This was purely a conclusion for the future for myself.

I think it’s also cool from the point of view that you, as a player, understand what kind of coach you want to have next to you.

In fact, coaches are different. For example, let's take Team Liquid - one coach, one might say, is responsible for morality, and the other is responsible for the game component.

I think that if I had the knowledge that I have now, I could be both of these coaches. I can support the guys morally, because, well, that’s the kind of person I am; and I can tell from the game moments, since I have certain competencies - after all, I’ve been playing competitive Dota for a long time and watching.

The International 2024, Copenhagen

• Alimzhan 'Watson' Islambekov;
• Vladimir 'No[o]ne' Minenko;
• Dmitry 'DM' Dorokhin;
• Vladislav 'Kataomi` 'Semyonov;
• Dmitry 'Fishman' Polishchuk;

• Filipe 'Astini' Astini (trainer);
• Alexey 'TheChosenOne' Karanevich (assistant coach).

You stayed in Europe, but moved to Entity, which was later signed by Cloud9. What can you tell us about this season and the roster?

The beginning of the season was like this... At first we were shocked that we couldn’t play very well with such a line-up of good players. The half-run started up a little. But then Astini came - he set up the game, adjusted the macro, and we started playing well, really showing results.

And the “we can be one of the best teams” mode has already turned on. We can definitely be in the top 6 best teams in the world. Actually, we finished “Int” in 5th-6th place - the most suitable place for us at that “Int”.

Those who were higher were really better than us. Obviously, somewhere in the paint, somewhere in the draft, it would be possible to go further. But the result speaks for itself: I lost to Team Liquid 0-2, I lost to Team Falcons 0-2. As it is.

This is not the first time you have spoken about the impact of Astini and the desire to continue working with it. Can you expand on this topic? What attracted you to him as a mentor?

Because this is a coach who just gives plus a vibe - he is the heart of the team, the vibeman - but at the same time he has great knowledge of Dota. That is, he can set up a team game and explain how to play a map.

In fact, this is a super trainer. Team Liquid has 2 coaches who deal with these tasks, but here it’s all in one person.

Did you remember anything about the atmosphere and organization of The International 2024 in Copenhagen?

To be honest, I don’t remember anything directly. In terms of emotions, it was a fairly calm tournament.

What went wrong in the decisive series against Team Falcons?

They were simply better as a team. Better ideas, better pool, better play. And in principle, in that lineup we had a bad win rate against Team Falcons.

What was the main conclusion you made for yourself then?

After that season, I made conclusions about how to improve certain mental aspects: how to approach games and so on.

The International 2025, Hamburg

• Alan 'Satanic' Gallyamov;
• Vladimir 'No[o]ne' Minenko;
• Dmitry 'DM' Dorokhin;
• Edgar '9Grade' Naltakyan;
• Andrey 'Dukalis' Kuropatkin;

• Filipe 'Astini' Astini (trainer).

PARIVISION - it was with this lineup that you broke through your ceiling of 5-6th place at TI. How was this team different from previous ones?

PARIVISION was different in that it was exactly the team with which you can win trophies, which we showed during the season, more than once. As far as I remember, there were at least 3 cups: 2 ESL and 1 DreamLeague.

That is, in fact, it was a team with which you can win the Int: quite competent players, an excellent coach. Everything was in our hands.

How did you approach The International 2025? And did your uniform match the atmosphere in the team?

It seems that there were minor disagreements during the preparation for Int. But, to my surprise, when we started playing, everything gradually disappeared and became normal. There was no rush, we really tried, we were focused.

This was already your third “Int”, where you performed in the main stage. Have you been able to experience at least some of the emotions that you experienced when you first arrived at the main tournament of the year in 2021?

This “Int” was definitely the brightest in terms of emotions. The location was chill, cool, I liked it in Hamburg; and there were a lot of spectators; and the emotions were cool, because it felt like the game was in our hands.

We could have easily played in the grand final, but we stumbled a little. But somehow... I’m, let’s say, not the same young man I was at The International 2021, so defeat was perceived more easily than then.

Actually, this is what the question is about: on the third map against Xtreme Gaming you had a huge advantage, but in the end you gave it away. What's happened?

Standard game on Int. According to the draft, it so happened that we were on a timer. We needed to capitalize on our early advantage. We didn’t implement it enough, then we made a mistake in the fight on Roshan, that’s all - the game is slipping through our fingers. It’s already hard for us: Medusa beats HG, he has a free game on Puck.

One more small follow-up question. I was just sitting in the hall watching your match, and I really remember how you stood up and hugged after the game. Who initiated this? And what did this mean for you personally?

Then I felt that we were really a team. Alan [Satanic. — Approx. ed. ] it was hard after the defeat. And somehow Edgar [9Grade. — Approx. ed. ] suggested that everyone get together. Somehow we did it as a team, such a fond memory.

What was the main conclusion you made for yourself then?

Probably, at that Inte, in terms of mentality, everything was already okay. I just felt like I needed to play a little better. That's it.

It turns out that the cycle is closed, because you made the same conclusion after The International 2021.

Yes (laughs). When you're already with a team that can win INT, you realize that probably if we played 10% better, we could win. I would have forced it to go and demolish it in the 20th minute - quite possibly it would have worked. But you never know.

I’m not one of those who argue: “This guy didn’t press the button! Or this one didn’t press!” - I take everything upon myself. So you just need to play better. This is usually Nightfall's favorite takeaway: "We just need to play better." And I kind of agree.

The International 2026, Shanghai

• Alimzhan 'Watson' Islambekov;
• Ilya ' CHIRA_JUNIOR ' Chirtsov ;
• Dmitry 'DM' Dorokhin;
• Martin 'Saksa' Sazdov;
• Arman 'Malady' Orazbaev;

• Alexander 'Accell' Litvinenko (trainer).

Again TI and again Shanghai - we are back to the very beginning of your journey. Only this time you no longer flounder in the open qualifiers, but confidently receive a direct invitation to the main tournament of the year. I won't ask you about the team uniform. I won't ask you about the atmosphere here. Just tell me: why does Team Yandex deserve to win at INTA this year?

I think we're the kind of people who respect every team. Therefore, we do not have any expectations that we should beat these or others. We'll just play Dota and try to show our best.

And our maximum, as we have already shown in tournaments, is enough to win if everything goes as it should. So we will give our best and do our job. And if this is enough, then we can win.

Earlier, Team Spirit coach Yaroslav 'Miposhka' Naydenov, in an interview, named Team Yandex one of the teams he expects to see in the grand finals of The International 2026.