ATF On Why Dota 2 Star Ame Keeps Losing TI Finals

While Team Falcons were celebrating as they lifted the Aegis at The International 14, one of Dota 2’s most painful storylines reopened. Wang “Ame” Chunyu is now 0-3 in The International grand finals, still chasing his first victory.

In a podcast episode in January, offlaner Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf offered a theory that might explain why Ame has never crossed the finish line. 

A Pattern That’s Impossible to Ignore

ATF, now a TI champion and arguably the best player in the world, recently won his first International title after defeating Ame and Xtreme Gaming in the grand final of TI14. 

In a segment, podcast host Austin “Cap” Walsh brought up ATF’s last-pick Magnus in the Game 5 decider. Cap asked whether Ame’s history with the hero was already in ATF’s head, knowing that Ame had already lost two TI Game 5s to Magnus before this one. 

ATF admitted that Magnus wasn’t just a good option – it was the only one he could see:

Sometimes, I just look back and say: “If they ban Magnus, what the f*ck was I supposed to pick? Because I was not going to play Pangolier, because I already lost two games with this hero already. So there was something wrong, and I shouldn’t pick this hero. But like, if Magnus was banned, I actually didn’t know.

In that game, after we picked Medusa in the 18th slot, I said I only had Magnus. And I was looking for other [heroes], but I just didn’t know. No other options.”

Ame’s Bad History With Magnus

The third time wasn’t the charm for Ame. He has now lost three TI grand finals in a row. 

There have only been four TI finals in history that went to a full five games, and Ame has fallen victim in all three. And in every one of those Game 5 deciders, the opposing team drafted Magnus. 

TI8 – PSG.LGD vs OG (2018)

Magnus: Sébastien “Ceb” Debs

In Ame’s first TI grand final, PSG.LGD were the favorites against OG. The series went to five games, and in the deciding map, PSG.LGD had a comfortable 6,000 net worth lead at 23 minutes. However, that changed after a key fight near the Roshan Pit.

In the fight, Ceb’s Magnus landed a solo Reverse Polarity on Ame’s Terrorblade, killing him on the spot. This successful fight completely turned the game on its head, allowing OG to win the game and series. 

TI10 – PSG.LGD vs Team Spirit (2021)

Magnus: Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov

TI10 was the most well-known example. Again, PSG.LGD entered the grand final against Team Spirit as the clear favorites – even more heavily favored than they were against OG at TI8. 

Team Spirit’s Offlaner Collapse had been picking Magnus throughout the entire event, including in earlier games against PSG.LGD. However, Ame and company decided to let Magnus through in the deciding game. Once again, it turned out to be a costly mistake, as Collapse’s Magnus ended up with the victory. 

This series was what propelled Collapse and Magnus to become one of the most iconic player-hero combos in Dota 2.

TI14 – Xtreme Gaming vs Team Falcons (2025)

Magnus: Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf

Just a few months back, Ame found himself back in the grand final. In the deciding game of TI14, ATF last-picked Magnus into Ame’s Juggernaut.

The Jordanian gave Ame a very hard time in the laning stage, even killing him. He went on to find impactful Skewer plays that helped Team Falcons extend their lead and close out the game. 

Was Magnus Really the Problem?

The Magnus theory is interesting, as the pattern is very real. But was the hero really the reason why Ame had three chances and blew them all?

At TI8, PSG.LGD were steamrolling OG in the early- to mid-game, and Ame was at the top of the net worth chart. However, Ame barely found any impact in the all-important Roshan fight. Shortly after, he even got picked off alone, allowing OG to snowball their advantage. 

The grand final of TI10 was quite the mess for PSG.LGD. The entire team looked uncoordinated, so it’s hard to pin the blame on a single person. However, Ame did have two relatively bad deaths, where he got picked off while farming alone. Still, these mistakes don’t justify placing the entire loss on him. 

Ceb released an analysis video, where he focuses on Ame’s Juggernaut gameplay in Game 5 of TI14. He mentioned that the game was very difficult and that the margins were small. But, the two-time TI winner made one thing clear: Ame had several chances to win the game, but he didn’t take them. 

So, Magnus did appear in all three TI finals, forming a very clear pattern. But, from what we’ve seen across these three matches, it seemed like Ame couldn’t execute his usual gameplay under pressure. After all, he entered the finals as the clear favorite in most of the matches. He had his opportunities, but simply didn’t capitalize.