TI14's Laning Behemoths

Everyone who knows anything about esports knows that The International is one of the biggest events of the year, and this year’s tournament — also known as TI14 — was no exception. Months of top competitive Dota 2 play led to the best teams in the world taking to the stage, and across eight action-packed days we witnessed some of the most memorable clashes of the year.

Throughout TI14, the world’s best teams battled through tense drafts, made breathtaking comebacks, and put up some of the best individual performances of the last year. In the end, it was Team Falcons who hoisted the Aegis of Champions. But focusing solely on the winning lineup doesn’t tell the whole story. TI14 wasn’t just defined by those left standing as the confetti fell, but also by the players across every team whose incredible displays of skill showcased the caliber of the competition.

To shine a light on those standout performers, Team Liquid partnered with SAP to analyze the stats from TI14. Using SAP’s advanced statistical tools, we pinpointed several of the most impactful players across various roles, from that data, we’ve compiled a list of the top carry, midlaner, offlaner, soft support, hard support, and most efficient overall farmer, culminating in a look at the event’s most compelling, and surprising, MVP candidate - outside of the winning team.

Standout Carry: Ame

AVG Hero Damage: 31,388

Few players at TI14 generated as much buzz as Wang “Ame” Chunyu. He entered the event with high expectations around him, and exceeded them almost immediately. Across his first five matches, Ame posted an outrageous KDA line of 46/1/44, a master class in both mechanical precision and macro awareness.

​Ame’s individual performances helped build the hype around his play at TI14, and fueled the disappointment from his eventual loss. Look at the series against Aurora, for example, where his Ursa and Sven dominated. An 18-0-4 game on Ursa and a crushing 10-0-10 performance on Sven set the tone for the rest of his tournament run, which was one of calculated aggression in teamfights, near-flawless positioning, and almost no unnecessary deaths until the final game of the tournament.

Though his team fell short in the grand final against Falcons, losing 3-2, Ame’s impact throughout the tournament never dipped. He consistently navigated high-pressure late-game situations with aplomb and delivered lethal contributions in critical fights. His average hero damage of 31,388 highlights the weight he carried across the event as Xtreme Gaming’s star player.

​Standout Midlaner: gpk

​AVG Kills: 6.4, AVG KDA: 6.9

​While Ame dominated the headlines, BetBoom Team’s midlaner, Danil "gpk" Skutin quietly put forward one of the most reliable and high-impact tournament performances out of any core player. With an average kill count of 6.4 and an average KDA of 6.9, gpk provided BB Team with a reliable bulwark to fall back on.

​He was also incredibly difficult to punish. With single digit deaths per game, he was one of the midlaners with the lowest deaths, reflecting not just his raw survival instincts but his disciplined positioning and draft flexibility. There were no flash-in-the-pan performances. Instead, gpk’s impact was consistent, and it kept his team going when it mattered.

All of that was on full display in the lower bracket against HEROIC, where gpk set the pace and tone of the match. He ganked lanes, set the tempo for rotations, and enabled the rest of BetBoom’s cores to scale. His presence in mid lane anchored them and allowed them to build momentum.

While Ame was an explosive star player for Xtreme Gaming, gpk was a rock for BetBoom. His performance wasn’t as flashy, but it was still no less impressive. His blend of efficient laning, minimal deaths, and high average kills tells the story of a player who not only excelled individually but also elevated his entire roster by refusing to fold under the pressure of Dota 2’s biggest stage.

​Standout Offlaner: ATF

​AVG Stuns: 47.5

​Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf is a quintessential playmaker. Team Falcons’ Aegis-winning run was a team effort, but if you had to point to a single player’s performance as being the most impactful, it would be hard to pick anyone but ATF. Over the course of the event he averaged 47.5 stuns per match, reflecting how frequently he initiated or followed up during team engagements.

But ​what truly separated ATF from the rest of the offlane pack was his willingness to blur the lines between roles. He didn’t simply play frontline initiators. Instead, he occasionally adopted pseudo-carry responsibilities when the draft demanded it. Or, in the case of the final game of the tournament, he completely took over the role of the carry. His Ursa, a hugely unorthodox pick, helped swing the momentum in Falcons’ favor, and secured the win.

It wasn’t just one thing that stood out for ATF. Instead, a combination of mechanical confidence, laning resilience, and playmaking courage was what made his performance special.

​Best Soft Support: 9Class

​AVG GPM: 388, Unique Heroes Played: 11

It’s unfortunate that in the wake of TI14, the biggest storylines about Edgar "9Class" Naltakian weren’t his unique and mechanically gifted performances, but allegations that he cost his team the tournament with his play. In reality, with his unique hero pool and high effectiveness with his picks, he helped put Parivision in a position to succeed. 

Bringing out heroes like Monkey King, Centaur, and Slark in the support position showed his willingness to challenge conventions. His ability to flex onto these heroes gave his team options in drafts and often caught opponents off guard. The fact he played 11 different heroes across the event also demonstrated his adaptability and the confidence his team had in his flexibility.

​Statistically, his average GPM of 388 highlighted how adept he was at squeezing value out of limited map space. Supports always sacrifice farm, but 9Class still managed to remain relevant in both itemization and rotations.

Even in games where critics focused on his riskier decisions, his presence contributed to dynamic drafts and unexpected teamfight setups. Those thrilling moments that saw him make a clutch escape or execute on mechanically difficult plays in the heat of the moment are what should define his performance at TI14.

​Best Hard Support: Sneyking

​AVG Hero Damage: 11,500, AVG Deaths: 4.3

As the calm and reserved support that anchors Team Falcons’ fast-paced playstyle, Jingjun "Sneyking" Wu delivered a support masterclass at TI14, minimizing the impact of deaths in the often sacrificial role of support. With just 4.3 average deaths a game, he died when necessary, but rarely got caught out.

He also put up a surprisingly impactful damage output for a position five, averaging 11,500 hero damage. But, beyond the numbers, Sneyking’s contribution in the grand final was the highlight of his TI. His consistency helped stabilize his team during rough laning phases, enabling cores to reset or recover in seemingly lost situations. Even if they couldn’t always deliver early, Sneyking’s reliable play ensured that Falcons rarely dropped the ball in late game. Though his performance was not as flashy or as audacious as ATF’s, it was indispensable to Team Falcons' championship run. 

​Most Efficient Farmer: Satanic

​AVG GPM: 817, AVG Last Hits: 630

​In a tournament filled with monster carries, Alan "Satanic" Gallyamov managed to stand out specifically for his farming efficiency. Whether under pressure or in an open-map scenario, he accrued gold at a pace few players could match, and was the most efficient at securing farm during the entire tournament.

​With an average GPM of 817 and 630 last hits per game, Satanic topped the charts in both economic measures of mastery. This means he wasn’t just a good laner. He was playing an incredible macro game as well, knowing exactly when he could sit in lane and farm, when to rotate and farm jungle, and — crucially — when to join his team and fight. In a game where it’s easy for high farm carries to disappear, Satanic remained a net worth leader without disappearing from team engagements, making him a dual threat.

By mid-to-late game in many series, he had clearly pulled ahead of other carries in total farm. That meant he was able to get critical items online earlier than expected, and put his team in a better position overall.

​An Uncrowned MVP

Analysing the statistics provided by SAP, there’s a slightly surprising conclusion that we can come to about who the statistical MVP was at TI14: Ame. That’s something anyone who played TI14 fantasy in the Dota 2 client can attest to.

His average hero damage of 31,388, flexible hero pool (14 heroes played), and unprecedented early-tournament KDA of 46/1/44 created an overall profile that few players could match. Across the series, he consistently dictated pacing, turned skirmishes, and drew respect bans from opponents. Even in the final defeat to Falcons, his influence on drafts and the flow of fights remained visible.​

Obviously, a finals MVP should come from the winning team, and ​calling him the best player of TI14 is undeniably controversial. But perhaps the title of “Uncrowned MVP” is perfect for the “Uncrowned King.” Ame is a player whose individual dominance transcended his team’s eventual second place finish.

Regardless of who ended up hoisting the Aegis, all the mentioned players’ standout performances shaped the tournament’s identity. It was regarded as one of the most impressive editions of The International in recent memory, with consistently high-quality matches — and with the help of SAP, we were able to get a much better understanding of the numbers behind it all.