The short version

  • $1.6 million prize pool, funded directly by Valve as a fixed amount — no Battle Pass or Compendium crowdfunding this year
  • 16 teams total: 7 direct invites + 9 regional qualifier winners
  • Direct invites: defending champions Team Falcons, Team Liquid, Tundra Esports (Western Europe); Aurora Gaming, Team Yandex, BetBoom Team (Eastern Europe); Xtreme Gaming (China)
  • Qualifier slots: China (2), the newly unified Europe region (4), Southeast Asia, North America, and South America (1 each)
  • Swiss-style group stage: August 13–16, cutting 16 teams to 8
  • Playoffs: August 20–23 at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China
  • Ticket sales opened June 10 — single-day and two-day bundle options, all seating assigned

The International’s fifteenth edition has its complete 16-team field locked in, and the format is set: a Swiss-style group stage narrows the field before the surviving eight teams meet on Dota 2’s biggest stage in Shanghai.

How teams got in

Seven teams received direct invites this year: defending champions Team Falcons, along with Team Liquid and Tundra Esports out of Western Europe; Aurora Gaming, Team Yandex, and BetBoom Team from Eastern Europe; and Xtreme Gaming representing China. With only seven direct slots handed out, the other nine spots were fought over in regional qualifiers — China and the newly-merged Europe region got extra weight, with two and four slots respectively, while Southeast Asia, North America, and South America each produced a single qualifier winner.

Format and schedule

The Road to The International group stage runs August 13–16 as a Swiss-style bracket, trimming the 16-team field down to the final eight before the in-arena playoffs take over August 20–23 at Shanghai’s Oriental Sports Center.

Prize pool

The prize pool sits at $1.6 million, well below the crowdfunded Battle Pass peaks of TI’s earlier years — Valve ended the Battle Pass/Compendium funding model after TI 2023, so this year’s pool is a fixed amount funded directly by Valve rather than something that grows via in-game sales as the tournament approaches. Ticket sales for in-person attendance opened June 10, with single-day tickets or two-day bundles covering the Thursday/Friday and Saturday/Sunday blocks, all seats assigned rather than general admission.

Why it matters

Team Falcons head into Shanghai as defending champions looking to become back-to-back winners, and with Europe’s qualifier region now unified rather than split, the regional balance of the bracket looks noticeably different from past years. Worth watching whether the smaller, Valve-funded prize pool (versus TI’s historic Battle Pass-fueled highs) changes how teams and organizations approach the event.

Sources: Liquipedia — The International 2026, GosuGamers — Direct invites, regional qualifier slots, and schedule announced, GosuGamers — All TI 2026 qualifier winners, Dota 2 — The International 2026 Ticket Sales