Although Dota players aren’t known for their love of cooperation, there is one thing that they agree on. Every member of the Dota community is waiting for the one, most important day of the year – the start of The International!

The Dota 2 International is the biggest eSports tournament in the world. featuring one of the biggest prize pools in the history of gaming. Organized on a yearly basis, this tournament spread over a couple of weeks allows the best teams to compete against one another and become this year’s champions.

The Dota 2 International 2023 is happening shortly, so let’s dive into what players can explain in this year’s tournament!

When And Where Does International 2023 Start?

The International 2023 will start on October 12th and end on the 29th of the same month, with a final match between two of the best teams out of the 20 that qualify. Players who qualify for the 2023 Dota 2 international will be playing in Seattle, Washington USA. The tournament is split into two phases, each taking place at a different venue. The playoffs weekend will take place in the Seattle Convention Center’s Summit, while the finals weekend will be hosted in the Climate Pledge Arena. Unlike previous years, this year all the matches will be held during the weekend, in three circuits starting on Friday and ending on Sunday each.

What Is The Tournament Structure?

There are some significant changes to the tournament structure in the International 2023, introduced in order to make it easier for gamers to follow the tournament and not miss a single game. Here’s a simple breakdown of what you can expect.

Regional Qualifiers

There are two different ways in which a pro team can qualify for a place in the International 2023: invitations through the Dota 2 pro circuit and regional qualifiers. The best teams on the Dota 2 pro scene that have excelled this year will be invited to the tournament, with a total of twelve teams qualified for an invitation. Prior to the event there will also be a series of regional qualifiers, through which a total of the best eight teams will qualify for their spot in the International. This year there will be one team each from North America, Eastern Europe, China and Southeast Asia, as well as two teams each from Western Europe and South America.

Group Stage

The international itself consists of two distinct phases. As always, this year the tournament also starts with a Group Stage. However, this year there will be some significant changes to the game’s structure. In the previous years, two groups of ten teams each would play in a round-robin format over four days. If this sounds confusing, well, that’s because it is. It also meant that each team could be playing up to nine matches in the group stage. To fix this issue, Valve has decided that this year, the group stage will include four groups of five teams each, with each team playing only four matches in the first phase. Each team that finishes the last in their group stage gets dropped from the tournament, and the second phase starts.

The second half of the group stage includes a total of sixteen teams, playing head-to-head matches, for their spot in the playoffs. The sixteen teams will then play a series of best-of-three matches, which will determine their position in the playoffs. The winners get to start the playoffs in the upper bracket, while the teams that didn’t do so good will have to play in the lower bracket.

Playoffs

After the group stage ends, the first phase of the playoffs starts, with eight teams competing for a spot in the final upper bracket. The top eight teams play in best-of-three matches to determine which teams will have the privilege of starting the tournament in the upper bracket. The four losing teams, however, will have to compete in the lower bracket, making their time a little bit more difficult.

The International

While both the playoffs and the group stage are known as the Road To The International, the final stage is The International itself. It features four top teams playing in the upper bracket, while the other twelve are competing in the lower bracket. The International 2023 weekend will start on October 27th and finish on October 29th with a grand finale between the best teams in the game. The first two days will feature a series of best-of-three matches between the teams, while Sunday 29th will host three different teams aiming for the finals. The final day starts with a match to determine the finalist of the lower bracket, and finally, the final match of the tournament, which will feature the best teams qualified competing for the aegis of champions in a best-of-five match.

What Are The Ticket Prices?

This year’s International will include two different tickets, for each of the tournament’s stages.The playoffs tickets will cost $99 and will go on sale on August 28.

The finals weekend tickets are more expensive, costing a total of $669. Players who bind their steam account to their tournament pass, will also receive one Treasure of The Crimson Witness 2023. During the event players will also have a chance of scoring additional treasures. The treasure contains a collection of rare Dota 2 items, that are available only for the ticket owners.

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Will There Be An International 2023 Battle Pass?

You might have already heard, but this year Valve has introduced one, significant difference. This year there will be no battle pass for the tournament. Valve claims that they want to focus on the viewer’s experience this year, instead of making the International about cosmetics or microtransactions. While this has been a somewhat controversial decision, players won’t be able to purchase a battle pass this year, and the tournament will feature less microtransactions.

In Conclusion

Although we aren’t sure yet what the prize pool will be, we can expect it to be at the very least three million dollars. Although a lot of details are still in the dark, we already know that the international 2023 will be an absolutely epic event. Check out the rest of our blog, for more Dota 2 news and guides!