The International 2023: Dates, schedule, Dota 2 teams, tickets, and more

The battle for the Aegis of Champions returns at The International 2023. Here is everything you need to know about TI 2023, Dota 2’s biggest tournament.

The International 2023 will bring 20 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams together for one final round after a long Dota Pro Circuit season with three tours, each leading to a Major event.

The twelfth edition of The International will take place in Seattle, close to Valve’s headquarters. It will be the first TI held in North America since 2018 and marks the event’s return to Seattle, which hosted every edition between 2012 and 2017.

Last year’s event in Singapore saw Tundra Esports crowned the world champion after beating Team Secret in the grand final. Tundra took home over $8.5 million, almost half of the event’s $18,930,775 prize pool.

Below you can find everything you need to know about The International 2023. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

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• Dates, format and venues
• Ticket information
• Will there be a Battle Pass?
• Teams and rosters

Dota 2’s The International 2023: Dates, schedule and venues

The twelfth iteration of The International will take place at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. Opened in 1962 for that year’s World Fair, the multi-purpose indoor arena has a capacity of 18,300 for basketball games and 17,151 for hockey matches.

On August 4, Valve announced the schedule for TI 2023, confirming that the event will kick off on October 12 with the group stage. This is two days earlier than the initial starting date that was announced in a May 7 blog post.

The group stage and the playoffs are part of what Valve described as the Road to the International and will lead to the Finals Weekend, scheduled for October 27-29.

• Group Stage: October 12-15 (Venue TBA)
• Playoffs: October 20-22 (Seattle Convention Center’s Summit)
• Finals Weekend: October 27-29 (Climate Pledge Arena)

Group Stage (October 12-15):

Phase 1:

• 20 teams are split into five groups.
• Teams play each other once in a BO2 match.
• Bottom team from each group is eliminated.

Phase 2:

• 16 teams play a head-to-head match to determine playoff seeding.
• Top 2 teams get paired with either the 3rd or the 4th placed team from the opposite group (A/B and C/D).

Playoffs (October 20-29):

• 16 teams play in a double-elimination bracket.
• 8 teams begin in the upper bracket, 8 in the lower bracket.
• All matches (except the grand final) are BO3
• Grand final is BO5

Dota 2’s The International 2023: Ticket information

On August 19, Valve finally announced all the details about the ticket sale. To minimize confusion due to the names used for the different tournament stages, tickets for the Playoffs and the Finals Weekend will go on sale on different days.

Playoff Tickets (October 20-22)

• Tickets will go on sale on August 28 (10 am PT) on Ticketmaster.
• Fans can buy single-day tickets for $99 USD + fees per ticket.

Finals Weekend Tickets (October 27-29)

• Tickets will go on sale on August 25 (10 am PT) on Ticketmaster.
• Tickets will be sold as a three-day pass for the full stage for $699 USD + fees per pass.
• Attendees who bind their Steam account to their pass will be granted one Treasure of the Crimson Witness 2023 (and will continue to have chances to win more throughout the event).

Dota 2’s The International 2023: Will there be a Battle Pass?

In a June 19 announcement, Valve revealed that it will move away from the traditional Battle Pass system, which has been a huge part of the success of TI as it has been used to fund the prize pool of these events.

Instead, Valve will continue along the path that started with the New Frontiers update. Cosmetic content will become secondary as Valve will focus on rolling out “a variety of exciting updates” that will keep the community interested. “Most Dota players never buy a Battle Pass and never get any rewards from it,” Valve acknowledged.

The developer stated that “work is well underway on a TI-themed update” that is scheduled for a September release. This update, focused on “the event, the players and the games”, will contribute directly to TI 2023’s prize pool, though it’s unclear what sort of impact this new system will have. Last year’s TI event had $18.9 million on the line — the lowest prize pool since TI 2015.

Dota 2’s The International 2023: Teams and rosters

A total of 12 teams will receive a direct invitation to TI12 based on their Dota Pro Circuit rankings. The remaining eight teams will come through the regional qualifiers that will be held across the globe.

Note: Tundra has announced that Saksa is taking “an extended break” due to health issues. He will be replaced by Topson.

Invited Teams:

Qualified Teams: