DOTA 2 The International 10: Latest News, New Schedule, Participating Teams, And More


Credit: Image via Valve

The International(TI) is one of the longest-running and most successful annual esports tournaments.

Since the very first TI in 2011, the tournament has featured some of the largest prize pools in esports history.

The 10th iteration of TI is no different. Boasting a staggering prize pool of more than $40 Million, TI 10 is set to shatter all esports records once again.

Considering the massive roadblocks faced by the organizers, be it the Swedish Sports Federation or the struggle of finding a new venue, Valve has done exceptionally well to ensure that The International 10 is not delayed any further.

Latest News

5th October 2021 - OG has recently confirmed that Sebastian "Ceb" Debs has been granted medical clearance to participate in TI10. Having said that, all the participating teams have made it to the venue and are currently settled in their hotel rooms. Additionally, the teams have also gotten a chance to resume their practice in the training rooms available at the hotel.

Apart from these, Valve has confirmed that Team Aster will be participating in the championship. However, the team will be playing all of their matches from the isolation room to prevent the spread of the virus.

4th October 2021 - With less than a week to go before the group stage of TI10 kicks off, there have been quite a few interesting developments in the esports scene.

While Team Aster's entire team tested positive for Covid, OG's celebrated off-laner, Sebastian "Ceb" Debs had to undergo an emergency eye surgery and could miss out on the team's quest for a third consecutive championship.

Apart from these, Valve came forward to announce that the ticket sales for the event has been cancelled. Anyone who has already purchased tickets to the event will be receiving a full refund from Valve.

The organisers have further revealed that the continuously growing numbers of covid as well the restrictions implemented in Romania are the prime reason behind an International without the fans.

29 September 2021 - With less than 10 days to go for the group stage of TI10, the hype surrounding the event has reached new heights. It is safe to say that after the gap left in 2020, this year's International will definitely set new highs for the esports industry.

20 September, 2021 - Ticket Sales for The International 10 are set to go live in two days as Valve is yet to reveal the in-game rewards for the Free Compendium. Having said that, it is safe to say that there's a high chance of tickets getting sold out very quickly after they go live.

Considering that there was no TI in 2020, the entire community is eagerly waiting for the biggest esports tournament that DOTA 2 has to offer.

Prize Pool Distribution

  • Champions - $18,200,000
  • Runner-up - $5,200,000
  • Third - $3,600,000
  • Fourth - $2,400,00
  • Fifth and Sixth - $1,400,000
  • Seventh and Eighth - $1,000,000
  • Ninth to 12th - $800,000
  • 13th to 16th - $600,000
  • 17th and 18th - $100,000

Featuring a staggering prize-pool of over $40 million, TI10 is set to become the highest paying tournament in the history of esports.

Participating Teams

12 teams have received a direct invite for TI 10 based on their DPC points.

These teams are:

  • Evil Geniuses
  • PSG.LGD
  • Virtus.pro
  • Quincy Crew
  • Invictus Gaming
  • T1
  • Vici Gaming
  • Team Secret
  • Team Aster
  • Alliance
  • beastcoast
  • Thunder Predator
  • Team Spirit (Eastern European Qualifiers)
  • SG e-sports (South American Qualifiers)
  • Fnatic (Southeast Asian Qualifiers)
  • Undying (North American Qualifiers)
  • Team Elephant (China Qualifiers)
  • OG (Western European Qualifiers)

Having said that, OG will be trying to secure third victory in a row at The International. However, the competition will be extremely fierce as all the teams that have qualified for the DOTA 2 Championship will pose a serious threat to OG's dominance at TI.

UPDATE - The classification for the Group Stages has been announced. You may check it out below:

Group A:

  • Alliance
  • Aster
  • Evil Geniuses
  • Invictus Gaming
  • OG
  • T1
  • Thunder Predator
  • Undying
  • Virtus.pro

Group B:

  • Beastcoast
  • Elephant
  • Fnatic
  • PSG.LGD
  • Quincy Crew
  • SG Esports
  • Team Secret
  • Team Spirit
  • Vici Gaming

Schedule

The regional qualifiers for the remaining six slots are scheduled to begin on June 23rd and are supposed to run through July 10th. This means that DOTA 2 fans will be able to recognize the final 18 teams participating in TI10 on July 10th.

Considering the massive number of top-tier teams still in contention of a slot for TI10, it is safe to say that the regional qualifiers will be a delight for DOTA 2 fans across the globe.

The Group Stage for TI 10 is scheduled to begin on October 7th and end on October 10th.

Following that, the main stage matches will be played from October 12th to October 17th.

Venue

The International 10 was set to be held at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Also known as the Avicii Arena, the indoor stadium was supposed to play host to the best DOTA 2 teams across the planet for a chance to hoist the Aegis of Champions. However, owing to troubles with the Swedish Sports Federation, TI10's venue has been shifted to Bucharest, Romania.

Romania's largest stadium, Arena Nationala will be hosting the top 16 DOTA 2 teams from October 12th to October 17th.

The International 10 Compendium

Despite not having a Battle Pass during TI10, Valve has released an exclusive compendium for the DOTA 2 Championship. This compendium focuses on the Player Supporter Cards that went live a few months ago. The compendium will allow players to get a much more immersive experience of TI10 from the comfort of their gaming desks.

TI10 Broadcast Talent

With less than a month to go for TI10, Valve has finally revealed the official line-up of talents who'll grace us with their analysis, casting, and so much more. Here is the official Broadcast Talent for TI10.

TI10 Heartbreaks

Since the final 18 teams were confirmed for the TI10, various notable rosters have either released their entire line-ups or declared them inactive. While EHOME had announced that their entire roster will be inactive after failing to qualify for TI10, TNC Predator recently announced the disbanding of their entire roster. TNC's disbanding comes as a shock to most DOTA 2 fans from the SEA region as a major part of the team had been together for over 4 years.

However, the saga of player kicks and roster disbands surrounding TI is not a surprise for anyone who has been following the DOTA 2 esports scene for a while. Having said that, it remains to be seen where these star professionals end up honing their DOTA 2 skills in the next season.

History of Prize Pool

The International has featured some of the highest prize pools in the history of esports.

Here's a list of prize pools for all the Internationals held so far,

  • The International - $1,600,000
  • The International 2 - $1,600,000
  • The International 3 - $2,874,380
  • The International 4 - $10,923,977
  • The International 5 - $18,429,613
  • The International 6 - $20,770,460
  • The International 7 - $24,787,916
  • The International 8 - $25,532,177
  • The International 9 - $34,330,068
  • The International 10 - $40,018,195

The Chinese Year

Ever since the very first TI, there has been a recurring cycle of winners that feature teams from the Chinese region every even year. Similarly, every odd year has witnessed a champion from the western regions like Europe or America.

However, OG broke the cycle in TI8 and many fans have been left wondering if the cycle will make a return at TI10.

Given that four teams from the Chinese region have already qualified for TI10 while there is still an additional slot from the regional qualifiers, the cycle could indeed make a return at TI10.

Additionally, teams like Invictus Gaming and PSG.LGD have already secured Major championships in their journey to TI10. This only goes to prove that the Chinese teams are eagerly waiting for the TI lights to turn on for them to hoist the Aegis of Champions.

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