DOTA 2’s biggest tournament, The International, has faced multiple delays due to the ongoing pandemic. It was supposed to be held from August 18th to August 23, 2020, in Stockholm, Sweden but was delayed to August 5th – August 15th, 2021. However, earlier this year, Valve announced that their request to identify DOTA 2 Tournaments as an elite sport was denied by the Swedish Minister of the Interior, due to which it would be difficult to obtain a visa for the participating teams. Valve further assured all fans and players that “[they are] committed to hosting The International this year in a way that is both safe for all involved, and properly celebrates the players and fans of DOTA 2.”
On Wednesday, Valve revealed a new venue for The International which will now be held in Bucharest, Romania in Arena Nationala which has the capacity to host 55,634 spectators at once. Valve stated that “[they] are grateful for the partnership we have formed with Romania and the city of Bucharest, and very much look forward to gathering with the global DOTA 2 community, both in-person and virtually, to celebrate the elite players and amazing fandom at The International.”
The Group Stage will start from October 7th through October 10th while the Main Stage will kick off on October 12th. On October 17th, the final two teams will be competing for their share of the $40,018,195 prize pool.
While tickets aren’t on sale yet, Valve says that we can expect “additional information on ticket sales” very soon.
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