The International 2026 is the main tournament of the year in the world of Dota 2. The battle for the championship title will take place in Shanghai, China, from August 13 to 23 at the legendary Oriental Sports Center arena, where the decisive playoff matches will be held. This will be the fifteenth World Championship, bringing together 16 of the strongest teams on the planet.
Dates and Venue
The International returns to Shanghai after seven years – the Chinese capital last hosted Dota 2's premier tournament in 2019. The competition will be held in two stages:
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Group Stage ("Road to The International"): August 13–16.
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Main Stage (Playoffs): August 20–23 at the Oriental Sports Center arena.
Tournament Format
In 2026, Valve introduced an updated competition system to make the tournament even more dynamic and unpredictable.
Group Stage (August 13–16)
16 teams will compete in a Swiss-system format. All matches are played in a best-of-3 (two wins needed) format. Following the group stage:
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Top 3 teams advance directly to the playoffs.
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Teams ranked 4th through 13th enter the elimination round.
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The remaining teams are eliminated from the tournament.
Elimination Round
From this stage, an additional five teams will earn spots in the playoffs, after which the tournament will continue with the top 8 teams.
Playoffs (August 20–23)
The final part of the tournament will feature a double-elimination bracket. All matches except the grand final are played in a best-of-3 format. The grand final will be the culmination of the tournament and will be played in a best-of-5 (three wins needed) format.
Prize Pool
The base prize pool for The International 2026 is $1,600,000. Unlike the record-breaking $40 million in 2021, Valve has returned to a more modest base amount in recent years. There is currently no announcement regarding additional crowdfunding contributions through in-game purchases.
Participants
The International 2026 will feature 16 teams. Seven received direct invitations from Valve, while the remaining nine qualified through regional qualifiers.
Direct Invitations:
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Aurora Gaming
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BoomBoys (BetBoom Team)
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Team Falcons – reigning The International 2025 champion
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Team Liquid
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Iron Wing (1win, ex-Tundra Esports)
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Xtreme Gaming
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Team Yandex
Regional Qualifier Winners:
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Europe: Team Spirit, Team Vision (PARIVISION), HULIGANI (L1GA Team), Nigma Galaxy
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China: Team Resilience, Vici Gaming
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Southeast Asia: OG
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North America: GamerLegion
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South America: LGD Gaming
Team Rosters:
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Team Falcons: Skiter, Malr1ne, ATF, Crit-, Sneyking
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Team Liquid: Mixke, Nisha, Ace, Bdi, Toru
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Xtreme Gaming: Ami, NothingToSay, Xiss, Fy, Xnova
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Team Spirit: Vatoro, Laril, Collapse, Not Me, Rule
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Team Vision: SATANIC, NOJOINE-, NOTICED, SCLASS, DUKALIS
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BB Boys: Kiritych, gpk-, Mered, Save-, Katadmi
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Iron Wing: Pure, BZM, 13, Ari, Whitemon
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OG: Natsumii, Yopaj, Raven*, Tims, Skem
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GamerLegion: Ghost, Rcy, Fayde, Bignum, Speed
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LGD Gaming: Yuma, Tailung, Wisper, Thiolicor, Ki
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Vici Gaming: Shiro, Xm, Bach, Xing
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Nigma Galaxy: SumaiL, Lorenof, Darai, Omar, GH
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Aurora Gaming: Nightfall, Mikoto, Vis, Mira, Kadri
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Team Yandex: Watson, Chira Junior, OM, Savisa, Malady
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Team Resilience: Erika, Echdzz, Niu, Planet, Zzq
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HULIGANI: Ssnovvi, Mirage, Vazya, Sayun, Respect
The International 2025 Champion: Team Falcons
The defending champion of The International is Team Falcons, who won TI 2025 in Hamburg. In the grand final, the European squad narrowly defeated China's Xtreme Gaming with a 3:2 scoreline.
This victory brought Team Falcons $1,145,108 from the total prize pool of $2.69 million. For Oliver "Skiter" Lepko and Jing "Sneyking" Wu, this title was their second career win – they previously won The International 2022 as part of Tundra Esports. Russian player Stanislav "Malr1ne" Potorak also secured his first TI championship title.
Team Falcons enter TI 2026 as one of the main favorites, holding the status of reigning champions.
Where to Follow the Tournament
Don't miss a single match of The International 2026! Full tournament coverage is available on the leading Dota 2 portal – DLTV.
On DLTV you will find:
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Real-time livescore – up-to-the-minute match results without delays;
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Full schedule with accurate start times for each match;
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Detailed statistics for teams and players;
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Official streams and VOD recordings;
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Tournament brackets and updated team rosters.
DLTV is your primary source for professional Dota 2. Follow The International 2026 with the leading Dota 2 portal!
The International 2026 starts on August 13, 2026. Visit DLTV to stay updated on all the action and find out who will become the Dota 2 world champion!