The International 2021, also called The International 10 (TI10), was the tenth version of The International, an annual Dota 2 world championship esports tournament. Valve, the game’s developer, hosted the event. Teams qualified through the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), a year-long series of tournaments that awarded points. The top 12 teams with the most points were directly invited to TI10. Additionally, six more teams earned spots by winning regional qualifiers in early 2021. The tournament took place in Bucharest, Romania, with the main event held at the Arena Națională behind closed doors due to gathering restrictions in the city.
Since 2013, the prize pool for The International has been raised by the Dota 2 community through in-game purchases. For TI10, the total prize money reached $40 million, the largest esports prize pool in history. This was the first International held since 2019, as the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Grand Finals featured PSG.LGD and Team Spirit, with Team Spirit winning the match 3–2 in a best-of-five series.
Background
Dota 2 is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game created by Valve. In the game, two teams of five players compete by choosing characters called "heroes," each with special skills and abilities. Teams work together to destroy the enemy team's base, which ends the match. The game is viewed from above, showing a small part of the map near the player's character and a mini-map that displays allies. Enemies are visible outside the "fog of war," which refers to areas of the map that are hidden until explored. The map has three similar paths, or "lanes," between the two bases. Each side has defensive towers to protect their base. Periodically, the team's base sends weak computer-controlled creatures called "creeps" down each lane toward the enemy base. These creeps fight any enemy hero, creep, or structure they meet. If a hero is killed, they return to their base after a delay that increases as the match progresses.
In 2021, a battle pass for Dota 2 was released in June, allowing players to fund the tournament prize pool by purchasing the pass. A quarter of the revenue from the pass was added directly to the prize pool, which totaled US$40,018,195. At the time of the event, the game included 121 playable characters called "heroes." Before each tournament game, team captains hold a draft to choose which heroes their teams will use. Captains take turns banning seven heroes and selecting five heroes for their team. Once a hero is chosen, no other player can select that hero in the same match. This process helps teams plan carefully and prevent opponents from using heroes that could counter their team's strengths or exploit weaknesses.
Format
The event followed the delay of The International 2020, which was first planned to take place at the Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2020. It was postponed indefinitely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Valve tried to hold the event in Stockholm again, but the Swedish Sports Confederation decided not to recognize esports. This decision made it harder for many people to get visas to enter Sweden because of the country’s strict rules during the pandemic. Valve asked the Swedish government to help resolve the situation, but when no solution was found, the event was moved to Romania.
The event was originally planned to allow a live audience, who would need to wear face masks and show proof of vaccination. However, one week before the event, Valve announced that only teams, production staff, and other necessary workers would be allowed to attend. This change happened because of increasing COVID-19 cases in the area and new rules from the Bucharest government. All ticket sales were refunded.
The International 2021 included a series of qualifying tournaments called the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) in early 2021. The top 12 teams from these tournaments received direct invitations to compete. After additional tournaments in June and July 2021 for regions such as China, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, North America, South America, and Southeast Asia, six more teams were invited, making a total of 18 teams.
To prepare for the main event, two groups of nine teams each played in round robin group stages from October 7 to 10, 2021. In these groups, teams played two games against each other. The top four teams in each group advanced to the upper bracket of the main event, while teams ranked fifth through eighth moved to the lower bracket. The teams that finished last in both groups were eliminated. The main event took place at the Arena Națională in Bucharest from October 12 to 17, 2021.