One year after the postponement – due to Covid19 – of last year’s edition, the great appointment with The International (TI10), the Dota 2 eSport event staged by Valve, returns! Let’s find out all the latest updates …
After a year of stop imposed by the spread of the Covid19 pandemic all over the world, The International, the most famous and awaited Dota 2* eSport event, is ready to be the protagonist of the world videogame scene with important dizzying challenges and cash prizes.
The event is organized by the developer Valve Corporation who, this week, announced important details in view of the 2021 edition.
Let’s find out the main innovations introduced on Wednesday!
About Dota 2
Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Valve. The game is a sequel to Defense of the Ancients (DotA), which was a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Dota 2 is played in matches between two teams of five players, with each team occupying and defending their own separate base on the map. Each of the ten players independently controls a powerful character, known as a “hero”, who all have unique abilities and differing styles of play. During a match players collect experience points and items for their heroes to successfully defeat the opposing team’s heroes in player versus player combat. A team wins by being the first to destroy the other team’s “Ancient”, a large structure located within their base.
Dota 2 has a large eSports scene, with teams from around the world playing in various professional leagues and tournaments. Valve manages an event format known as the Dota Pro Circuit, which are a series of tournaments that award qualification points for earning direct invitations to The International, the game’s premier annual tournament.
Media coverage of most tournaments is done by a selection of on-site staff who provide commentary and analysis for the ongoing matches, similar to traditional sporting events. In addition to playing live to audiences in arenas and stadiums, broadcasts of them are also streamed over the internet, and sometimes simulcast on television networks, with peak viewership numbers in the millions.
Location and dates of the 2021 Dota 2 championships
The International 10 (TI10) is ready to make its big comeback on the global eSport scene;
In fact, a few days ago (Wednesday), Valve announced some unpublished details, including when and where the maxi event of this 2021 will take place.
In particular, the change of location that will bring the championships to Romania in October should be highlighted immediately! An unexpected news as we remember that originally, event number 10, was supposed to take place in Stockholm, Sweden!
A change of destination that will bring the competing teams and numerous supporters to the prestigious Arena Națională (one of the largest stadiums in Romania).
The developer of Dota 2 released these details with a post published on his website announcing: The Dota 2 International Championships will be held in Bucharest, Romania from 7 to 17 October.
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On the occasion Valve Corporation also said:
“We are grateful for the partnership we have formed with Romania and the city of Bucharest and look forward to reuniting with the global Dota 2 community, both in person and virtually from October 7-17, 2021, to celebrate the players of elite and the incredible following of The International. Prepare yourself. Finally the battle begins! “
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Postponement of the 2020 event and change of location
Valve Corporation began working with Sweden to organize and host the 2020 tournament as early as 2019 (one year earlier). Tournament scheduled from 18 to 23 August 2020 at the Avicii Arena in Stockholm.
With the spread of the pandemic, the hypothesis of a postponement has become certain and this has led the organizer to suspend the event for safety reasons.
“The International Dota 2 was not the only eSport event to be postponed due to Covid19. A problem that has also damaged the Olympics and the European Football Championships and many other events around the world”
The International had been rescheduled from 5 to 15 August 2021 but, a month ago, with a new update post, Valve again postponed the event explaining that despite the different security measures adopted and the pandemic conditions improved throughout the world, the Swedish Sports Federation has decided not to accept elite eSports events on the territory.
A ban that would have effectively prevented all non-EU players from participating: the entry of these players into Sweden would be subject to the approval of individual border agents.
This detail called into question the teams’ abilities to field their full rosters and made it impossible to guarantee the integrity of the tournament, so on June 21, Valve chose to delay the tournament again to move it to a new location.
On Wednesday, the organizer announced that the international championships will be officially held at the Arena Națională in Bucharest, Romania, starting on 7 October and ending on 17 October.
The new tournament venue can normally accommodate up to 55,000 fans, but it remains to be seen how Valve will set it up for The International.
In conclusion, Valve also said the event will be open to the public and ticket information will be available soon.
The International 10 – Mind-boggling prize money!
This is the final tournament of the Dota Pro Circuit and the 10th annual edition of The International returning to Europe for the first time since 2011.
The invitation format is similar to the format used for the previous International, so a Points system based on regional leagues and official sponsored majors will be used to determine the teams invited.
It is no coincidence that TI is considered one of the largest eSports events on the planet!
This year it will be giving away the largest prize pool in the history of the competition, with over 40 million dollars!
As usual, the figure started from 1.6 million made available by the organizer …. This figure has gradually increased with the contribution of all users who have purchased the Dota 2 Battle Pass, which includes a series of additional content to be redeemed.
Info: There are various levels of Battle Pass: the cheapest costs $ 9.99 while the most expensive and richest is sold for $ 44.99.
The International 10 – format
As of 2019, 66 different teams have appeared in The International’s group stages.
The first International was by invitation only, in 2012 Valve implemented the qualification phase. In the following years, the number of qualifying places increased and the number of invitations decreased.
Since 2018 there have been no direct invitations, instead the most successful teams in the Dota Pro Circuit qualify directly, while the others have the opportunity to qualify through the regional qualifiers.
Teams
- 12 teams qualify through the Dota Pro circuit
- 6 teams qualify through the Regional Qualifiers*.
*one team each from North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China and Southeast Asia
Group stage
7 October – 10 October 2021
Main Event
12 October – 17 October 2021
Everything will culminate with the top 2 teams facing each other for the Aegis of Champions on 17 October.
In addition to the Aegis of Champions, players will also compete to win a share of the huge prize pool of $ 40,018,195.
The International: emotions, live and more …
The great battles of the Dota 2 circuit and of eSports in general do not stop only at the races scheduled for the maxi events 2021!
Throughout the year, adrenaline and tussle are guaranteed by countless more and less important videogame appointments! Matches that can be followed in streaming or live on the various gaming platforms available on the web and through which it is possible to manage the best bets on Dota 2!
For those who do not know it yet, there are many bookmakers who for some time now have been offering very interesting odds and bets on videogames events including The International 10!
One more reason capable of making the passion and fun for eSports unique and even more electrifying!
More about The International
International, often abbreviated to TI, is an annual tournament organized by Valve. In 2015 Valve increased the number of hosted events, founding the Dota Major Championships which incorporates The International into its structure. The International remains the largest and most prestigious event on the Major Championship circuit.
The first International was held in Cologne, Germany, during the Gamescom fair, to introduce Dota 2 to the world audience. He attracted attention thanks to his incredible $ 1.6-million-dollar prize pool (with $ 1 million for the champion). 16 teams were invited to play for the title.
In 2012 The International moved to Seattle, Washington. The prize pool remained at $ 1.6 million. Only 14 teams were invited; two additional slots were awarded to the winners of the regional qualifiers.
Since 2013, the Dota 2 community has been able to contribute to the prize pool. The 2013 International’s total prize has grown to $ 2.8 million. The prize pool exceeded $ 10 million in 2014 and $ 20 million in 2016.
In 2018, after six years in Seattle, The International was held in Vancouver, Canada. In 2019, The International was held in Shanghai, China, the prize pool exceeded $ 34 million, becoming the largest prize pool for any single eSports tournament until it was surpassed by The International 2020.
Source: Liquipedia