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 a year-long series of tournaments called the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), which awarded points. The top 12 teams with the most points were directly invited to the tournament. Six additional teams earned spots by winning regional qualifiers held earlier in 2021. The tournament took place in Bucharest, Romania, with the main event held at the Arena Națională behind closed doors because of restrictions on large gatherings in the city.
Like every International since 2013, the prize pool was raised by donations from the Dota 2 community through the game's battle pass feature. The total prize money reached $40 million, making it the largest esports prize pool in history. This was the first International since 2019, as the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Grand Finals were played between PSG.LGD and Team Spirit, with Team Spirit winning the match 3–2 in a best-of-five series.
Background
Dota 2 is a video game released in 2013. It is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game made by a company called Valve. In the game, two teams of five players compete. Each player chooses a character called a "hero," which has special skills. The teams work together to destroy the enemy team's base, which ends the game. The game is viewed from above, and players see a part of the map near their character, along with a mini-map showing their teammates. Enemies are visible outside the "fog of war," which is an area of the map that is hidden until explored. The game map has three lanes between the two bases, and each side has 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 game continues.
In 2021, a battle pass for Dota 2 was released in June. This allowed players to help fund the prize money for tournaments by buying the pass. A quarter of the money earned from the battle pass was added directly to the prize pool, which reached $40,018,195. At the time of the event, the game had 121 playable characters called "heroes." Before each tournament game, team captains take turns selecting and banning heroes. Each team bans seven heroes and selects five. Once a hero is chosen, no other player can use that hero in the same match. This process helps teams plan strategies and prevent opponents from using heroes that might be strong against their team.
Format
The event was delayed from The International 2020, which was originally planned to take place at the Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. 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 under its organization. This decision made it difficult for many people to get visas to enter Sweden because of the country’s strict rules at the time. After asking the Swedish government to help multiple times, Valve decided to move the event to Romania. The event was first 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 essential workers could attend because of rising COVID-19 cases and new rules in Bucharest. All ticket sales were refunded.
The International 2021 included a series of qualifying tournaments called the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) throughout the first half of 2021. The top 12 teams from these tournaments received direct invitations to compete. Six additional teams were invited after double-elimination tournaments held in June and July 2021 for regions including China, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, North America, South America, and Southeast Asia. This brought the total number of teams to 18. To prepare for the main event, group stages were held from October 7–10, 2021. These stages had two groups of nine teams, and each team played two games against every other team in their group. The top four teams from each group advanced to the upper bracket of the main event, while teams ranked fifth through eighth moved to the lower bracket. The team with the lowest ranking in each group was eliminated. The main event is being held at the Arena Națională in Bucharest from October 12–17.