The International (TI) is an annual esports championship for the five-on-five video game Dota 2. Organized by Valve, the game's creator, it is the final event of the professional Dota 2 season and currently includes 16 teams. The tournament first took place in Germany at the 2011 Gamescom to promote the game's release. It was later held in Seattle, where Valve is based, until it returned to international locations starting with The International 2018 in Vancouver.
The tournament's prize pool has been funded by in-game purchases since 2013, with 25% of the money from these purchases going directly to the prize pool. The International has the largest single-tournament prize pool of any esports event, reaching up to $40 million in 2021. The most recent champion is Team Falcons, who won The International 2025. OG, Team Spirit, and Team Liquid each have two International victories since the tournament began.
History
Valve announced the first edition of The International on August 1, 2011. Sixteen teams were invited to compete in the tournament, which marked the first public viewing of Dota 2. Valve funded the event, including a $1 million grand prize, and Nvidia provided the hardware. The tournament took place at Gamescom in Cologne from August 17–21, 2011. The competition began with a group stage, where the winners of each of the four groups advanced to the winner’s bracket, and the other teams entered the loser’s bracket. The rest of the tournament followed a double-elimination format. The final match was between Ukrainian team Natus Vincere and Chinese team EHOME, with Natus Vincere winning the series 3–1. EHOME received $250,000, and the remaining $350,000 was split among the other 14 teams.
In May 2012, Valve confirmed that The International would be held annually. The International 2012 took place at the 2,500-seat Benaroya Hall in Seattle from August 31 to September 2. Teams competed in glass booths on the main stage. The total prize pool remained at $1.6 million, with $1 million awarded to the winning team. Chinese team Invictus Gaming defeated the previous winners, Natus Vincere, 3–1 in the grand finals. In November 2012, Valve released a free documentary about the event, featuring interviews with teams and coverage from the preliminary stages to the finale.
The International 2013 was held again at Benaroya Hall in Seattle from August 7–11. Sixteen teams participated, with thirteen receiving direct invitations and the final three determined through qualifying tournaments and a match at the start of the event. In May 2013, Valve introduced an in-game battle pass called the Compendium, which allowed players to contribute to the prize pool. A quarter of the revenue from the Compendium was added to the base $1.6 million prize pool. The total prize pool reached over $2.8 million, making it the largest in esports history at the time. Kaci Aitchison, a KCPQ news anchor, hosted the event, providing commentary and interviews. At its peak, the tournament was viewed by over a million people simultaneously through live streaming platforms like Twitch.
The International 2014 occurred from July 18–21 at KeyArena in Seattle. Eleven teams received direct invitations, while four additional spots were determined by regional qualifiers between May 12–25. The final spot was decided by a wild card qualifier involving runners-up from regional competitions. Tickets sold out within an hour of going on sale in April. The crowdfunded prize pool reached over $10.9 million, setting a new esports record. Eight Dota 2 players became the highest-earning esports athletes, surpassing the top-earning player at the time, Lee "Jaedong" Jae-dong of StarCraft. The event was broadcast for the first time on ESPN networks.
In April 2015, Valve introduced the Dota Major Championships, a series of four annual tournaments, one for each season. The Fall, Winter, and Spring Majors were sponsored by Valve but organized by third-party hosts in different countries, while the Summer Major was The International. This format was first used during the 2015–2016 season, featuring the Frankfurt Major, Shanghai Major, and Manila Major, followed by The International 2016. In the 2016–2017 season, the number of Major tournaments was reduced to three: the Boston Major, Kiev Major, and The International 2017. Starting with The International 2017, the number of participating teams increased from 16 to 18.
For the 2017–2018 season, Valve launched the Dota Pro Circuit, a series of tournaments that awarded qualifying points. The eight teams with the highest point totals received direct invitations to The International 2018, while ten other teams qualified through regional tournaments. The circuit aimed to make the selection process for direct invites clearer and more transparent. During the 2017–2018 season, the Dota Pro Circuit included nine Majors (excluding The International 2018) and 13 Minors.
The International 2020 was the first event to be skipped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally planned for Stockholm, Sweden, the Swedish Sports Federation refused to recognize esports as a sport, complicating visa arrangements for international players. Valve rescheduled the event and renamed it The International 2021, which took place at the Arena Națională in Bucharest, Romania, in October 2021. It set a record for the largest prize pool in esports history at $40 million.
The International 2022 expanded to 20 teams and was held in Singapore in October 2022, won by Tundra Esports. It had the lowest prize pool since The International 2015, at $18.9 million. The International 2023 was held at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, which replaced KeyArena, and ran from October 27–29. In September 2023, Valve announced that the Dota Pro Circuit would end after the 2023 season.
Format
Starting with the second tournament, teams qualify through a combination of ways. Some teams receive direct invitations based on their yearly performance, while other spots are earned by competing in qualifier tournaments. The main tournament usually begins with a group stage where each team plays against every other team in the group, followed by a main event where teams compete in a double-elimination bracket, meaning a team is eliminated only after losing twice.
Since The International 2013, the tournament’s prize money is mostly raised by players buying a special item called the Compendium. This item gives players access to exclusive in-game items and other rewards. Twenty-five percent of the money earned from yearly Compendiums is added to the prize pool. Player contributions are the main source of funding for the tournament’s prize money. Each year from 2013 until 2022, the prize pool grew larger than the previous year. The International 2021 had the largest prize pool, giving $40 million (£29 million) to participating teams. However, prize pools began to decrease in the mid-2020s. The International 2024 had the smallest prize pool since crowdfunding began, totaling $2,602,164.
The Aegis of Champions is a trophy given to the winning team of The International. The back of the trophy has the names of all players on the winning team permanently engraved. The trophy is designed with elements from Norse and Chinese culture and is made from bronze and silver by the prop studio Weta Workshop. Small copies of the trophy are sometimes given to Compendium owners who reach a high level in the Compendium.
Media coverage
The main way International events are covered is through the video game live streaming platform Twitch. This is done by esports teams and staff who provide live commentary, analysis, match predictions, and player interviews during the event, similar to how traditional sports events are covered. Many streams are available in different languages, mostly English, Russian, and Chinese. Sometimes, a "newcomer stream" is offered to help viewers who are not familiar with the game understand it better.
In 2014, Valve released a free documentary called Free to Play, which followed three players during the first International in 2011. In 2016, Valve started making a series of documentary episodes called True Sight, which is seen as a follow-up to Free to Play. More episodes were made, showing the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021 tournaments. However, True Sight stopped being made after the 2022 tournament.