
The sixteen best Dota teams in the world spent the last week battling through an intense Group Stage, and now only eight contenders remain. In a matter of hours Team Vision, Team Liquid, Nigma Galaxy, Team Falcons, BoomBoys, Team Spirit, Iron Wing, and Team Yandex will begin the final push to claim the Aegis of Champions as they all fight to be the last team standing at The International 2026.
The double elimination bracket that will crown our champions kicks off at SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai on Thursday, August 20 and will culminate in a best-of-five Grand Finals on Sunday, August 23. We congratulate everyone who has made it this far, and we eagerly await the final test.
If you're heading to the arena in Shanghai to watch The International live, a flurry of activity awaits you. Check out some of the more important details below.
The International pre-show begins each day at 9:30 AM China Standard Time. Things officially kick off with the Opening Ceremony at 10 AM on Thursday, and the first series is scheduled to start soon after. On the following days, matches will begin at 10 AM. Take in the full schedule of matches available here.
Each day of the Main Event, fans will have the chance to attend meet and greets with teams and talent on the 2F Concourse of the arena. Fan participation will be determined by a random draw of eligible ticket holders who have purchased tickets prior to 5 PM the day before. Selected fans will be notified electronically — as well as on TV displays throughout the venue concourse. More information on slots and eligibility will be provided on site.
Attendees should pick up their commemorative badges and event swag bags when they scan a digital ticket for their first entry into the venue. Remember to bind your badge to your Steam account to ensure you're eligible for Crimson Witness Treasure drops on the First Blood of each game at The International.
To help things run smoothly, here's a rundown of some venue details you should know:
What time do doors open? Arena doors open every day at 8 AM China Standard Time, two hours before the first match. Please note that entry will not be allowed after 9 PM each evening.
Where should I enter the arena? Please queue for entrance at the arena's Gate 0 Plaza. Those with 1F Stands and Suites tickets, please queue at the left-side (facing the venue) security checkpoint. Those with 3F Stands tickets, please queue at the right-side (facing the venue) security checkpoint. After passing through the turnstile for ticket verification, please collect your swag bag.
Can I sit anywhere or are there preassigned seats? Seats at The International 2026 are assigned. Please make sure to queue in the entry area designated outside of the arena for your seating sections.
Is re-entry permitted? All ticket holders are permitted to enter and exit the venue up to THREE times per match day. For re-entry, please re-queue in the designated lane.
The Secret Shop will operate in SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center from August 20 - 23, opening each day at 9:00am and closing after the first break of the last series of the day. Customers are welcome to purchase directly from on-site cashiers or use the Perfect World app to place an order for pick-up.
In addition to SecretLab and SteelSeries booths in the concourse, The International Players Jackets and Championship rings from all previous years will be on display. Plus, all fans are invited to leave their mark on the event by signing one of the graffiti walls. There will also be opportunities to take photos with cosplayers roaming the arena on Saturday and Sunday, and don't forget to check out the handmade embroidered Aegis of Champions on display throughout the event.
Don't miss the best of this year's crop of Dota 2 cosplay, on display in the arena on August 23 before the Grand Finals.
Even if you can't make it to the arena, there are still a ton of options to catch all the action at The International. From Twitch to YouTube to Steam, The International will be streamed on multiple platforms in multiple languages.
Fans interested in purchasing swag from this year's offerings are welcome to purchase online. We have two shops available, depending on which part of the world you're in. Fans located in China can purchase through https://wmsjdj.tmall.com/ and fans everywhere else can head over to https://pwrdesports.aliexpress.com/ to check it all out.
It's the final countdown: Players and talent have landed, and all of the pieces are falling into place to make Shanghai the center of the Dota universe for the next two weeks. It's time to finish crafting your fantasy rosters, lock in your first round of predictions, and get ready to tune in because The International 2026 is almost underway.
Whether you're looking to watch online, find Dota activities in Shanghai to keep you busy until streams start, or looking for merch you can wear while you're out in Shanghai waiting for games to start, we've got you covered below.
Sixteen teams have earned the right to compete for the Aegis of Champions in Shanghai, but only eight will face off in the main event. First, they must survive the gauntlet of the Swiss Format Group Stage.
Group Stage games begin on Thursday, August 13 and wrap on Sunday, August 16. In that span, all sixteen teams will play best-of-three matches against other teams with the same overall series record. A fourth series win will earn a team an automatic berth at The International; a fourth loss will result in elimination.
By end of play on Saturday, three teams will have secured spots in The International and three teams will have been eliminated. The ten remaining teams will face off in a special elimination round to decide the rest. Every single one of the five series on Sunday will send one team home and the other onward to the main event.
On Thursday, August 20, The International will move to SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center and open the doors to more than ten thousand fans. Four days of intense play through a double-elimination bracket will culminate in the Grand Finals on Sunday, August 23, and only then will the last team stand victorious and raise the Aegis of Champions.
Tickets for the event are sold out, but there are tons of ways to watch online — and even a handful of special in-person opportunities available around the city of Shanghai.
There's nothing quite like watching the best Dota players in the world face off in a live event, and while life and accompanying biological imperatives can make it difficult to try and watch every single game live, here are all the links you'd need to make a glorious attempt.
Chinese: Twitch: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Stream D; Steam: All Streams; YouTube: All Streams
English: Twitch: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Stream D; Steam: All Streams; YouTube: All Streams
Russian: Twitch: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Stream D; Steam: All Streams; YouTube: All Streams
Spanish: Twitch: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Stream D; Steam: All Streams; YouTube: All Streams; Facebook: All Streams
From August 13 to August 18, multiple Dota heroes will descend upon iconic landmarks across Shanghai, with a giant Aegis of Champions making its grand debut. Meanwhile, several commercial districts have set up check-in spots for fans to visit and collect souvenirs.
Check out the landmark details below or visit Perfect World's Shanghai Dota Tour site for a handy map.
Dota Hero Landmark Locations:
Wujiaochang Commercial District
Wujiaochang Guangchang: Aegis of Champions
Bailian ZX Fun Mall: Queen of Pain, Axe, and Pudge
Shanghai Wujiaochang Wanda Plaza: Juggernaut
Lujiazui Super Brand Mall (Aug 12-18): Windranger
Shanghai EXPO Culture Park (Aug 13-18): Mars and Shadow Fiend
Taikoo Li Qiantan (Aug 18–24): Aegis of Champions, Drow Ranger, Crystal Maiden, and Juggernaut
Standard Check-in Spots: Lujiazui 96 Plaza, New bund 31, Shanghai No. 1 Shopping Center, Expo Place
If you're looking to scope out this year's merchandise offerings, our partner stores are already online for both Chinese and international customers.
For China domestic fans: https://wmsjdj.tmall.com/
For fans everywhere else: https://pwrdesports.aliexpress.com/
The Secret Shop will also operate in SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center from August 20 - 23, opening each day at 9:00am and closing after the first break of the last match series of the day. Customers are welcome to purchase directly from onsite cashiers or use the Perfect World app to place an order for pick-up.
The strength of Dota has always been its vibrant and passionate community. The International is an expression of that, both the in-person event and the many millions who participate online, those watching and those streaming.
Speaking of which: As always, we welcome community streams of the event. There's more detail in the community stream FAQ, but to summarize: You have a lot of freedom in how to stream your TI commentary the way you and your viewers want as long as your stream is based on DotaTV and your own content, not on someone else's stream (including ours).
There's obviously a lot going on already, but there's even more info about The International to come. We'll be back soon to provide more details about on-site events, badges, Crimson Witness drops and more as we move closer to the show. Until then, make sure to get those predictions in. We'll see you when groups start.


Over the past few days we've made various bug fixes and improvements:

Patch 7.41d is out now and you can check out the patch notes here.



Throughout the year, Dota teams around the world battle to prove themselves worthy of direct invitation to The International — and a chance to compete for the Aegis of Champions on the world's biggest stage. Teams that secure invites can begin to focus on their final preparations, while the remaining contenders face one last chance to fight their way in.
With less than three months until we raise the curtains on the big show, we’re excited to extend these seven teams invitations to Shanghai, China to compete in The International 2026:
The seven teams above have already earned invitations, which means there are still nine slots available at TI, just waiting for the squads that can survive the crucible of Regional Qualifiers. This year, we've merged the Eastern and Western Europe qualifiers into one single European qualifier with four advancement slots. Check out the full schedule below.
Once qualifiers wrap up on June 28, we'll have the full tournament field decided, and the next stop is Shanghai. Group Stage kicks off August 13 - 16 with a three-day, five-round Swiss bracket, followed by five elimination matches played on Sunday. The eight remaining teams bring the competition into the arena August 20 - 23, where the Aegis of Champions awaits.
Patch 7.41c is out now and you can check out the patch notes here.