The International returns to Germany for the first time since TI1. Image via Valve
The International is returning to Germany for the first time in 14 years.
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The International was the most important Dota 2 championship of the year, featuring the highest prize pool across all other tournaments. But that hasn’t been the case since Valve replaced the battle pass with the compendium for crowd-funding TI’s prize pool. Nevertheless, the annual extravaganza still maintains its hype and the respect from winning such a prestigious tournament.
In 2025, The International will return to Germany for the first time since the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2011. The inaugural version of TI, held in GamesCom, Cologne, Germany, featured the highest prize pool across all of esports at that time. The tournament further went on to set several records, bagging up the top seven spots for the highest prize pool for a single event, a record which still stands today.
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming TI 2025.
Dota 2 TI 2025 format and teams
TI 2025 will feature a new format. Image via Valve
Similar to last year’s format, TI 2025 will be split into three sections, but the format will differ from 2024’s group stage, followed by the seeding deciders. Instead, this year will feature a Swiss stage to kick things off, followed by an elimination phase, after which eight teams will make their way into the main event.
- Swiss Bracket
- All 16 teams will play five rounds of best-of-three head-to-head matches. The first round will feature random seeding, while every subsequent round will be seeded based on the same win-loss record.
- The top three teams with four wins each will advance directly to the main event of TI, while the bottom three teams with four losses each will be eliminated from the tournament. The remaining 10 teams placed from fourth to 13th will move over to the elimination round.
- Elimination Round
- The highest-rated teams will face off against the respective lowest-rated teams from the Swiss bracket. The team that finished fourth during the Swiss bracket will face off against the team that finished 13th in the same round.
- The matches in this round will be elimination matches, and the losing teams will bid farewell to TI, while the winning teams will progress to the main event.
- A total of five best-of-threes will be played in this round, meaning that five teams will be eliminated while five teams progress to the main stage to make up the final eight.
- Main event
- Double-elimination bracket featuring best-of-threes.
- Losing teams from the upper bracket will drop into the lower bracket. Losing in the lower bracket will lead to elimination from the tournament.
- The grand final will be a best-of-five.
As you know, The International gets a new format this year. It kicks off with the Road To The International adopting a Swiss style contest followed by an eliminator leading in to the good ole Double Elim Bracket for the Main Event.
Tickets to TI on April 15 @ 10 AM CEST. #TI14 pic.twitter.com/0JVGiULzkz
— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) April 4, 2025
Valve recently announced the names of the invited teams for TI14. A total of eight teams have been invited for the championship, while the remaining eight teams will have to make their way through the regional qualifiers. Two slots have been allotted to Western Europe and Southeast Asia, while the four other regions (Eastern Europe, North America, South America, and China) have been given one slot each for the regional qualifiers.
Here’s the full list of teams that will be participating in TI14:
TeamRosterQualification methodTeam LiquidmiCKe, Nisha, SabeRLight, Boxi, InsaniaInvitationPARIVISIONSatanic, No[o]ne, DM, 9Class, DukalisInvitationBetBoom TeamPure, gpk~, MieRo`, Save-, KataomiInvitationTeam Tideboundshiro, NothingToSay, Bach, planet, y`InvitationGaimin Gladiatorswatson, Quinn, Ace, tOfu, MaladyInvitationTeam SpiritYatoro, Larl, Collapse, rue, MiposhkaInvitationTeam Falconsskiter, Malr1ne, ATF, Cr1t-, SneykingInvitationTundra EsportsCrystallis, bzm, 33, Saksa, WhitemonInvitationTBDTBDRegional Qualifiers – Western EuropeTBDTBDRegional Qualifiers – Western EuropeTBDTBDRegional Qualifiers – Southeast AsiaTBDTBDRegional Qualifiers – Southeast AsiaTBDTBDRegional Qualifiers – Easteen EuropeTBDTBDRegional Qualifiers – ChinaTBDTBDRegional Qualifiers – South AmericaTBDTBDRegional Qualifiers – Eastern Europe
Dota 2 TI 2025 schedule
While the exact schedule for every match remains unknown at this point, Valve has confirmed the dates for each stage of the tournament. Here’s the full schedule for The International 2025:
- The Road to The International (Swiss stage and elimination round): Sept. 4 to 7, 2025
- The International (Main event): Sept. 11 to 14, 2025
You can purchase tickets for the main event and attend the matches live at the Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany.
Apart from that, the closed regional qualifiers for TI14 are underway now, and here’s the schedule for each of the regions:
- Eastern Europe: June 4 to 8
- South America: June 4 to 8
- North America: June 9 to 12
- China: June 9 to 12
- Southeast Asia: June 13 to 17
- Western Europe: June 13 to 17
You can also find a full list of all the matches in our hub of all the qualified teams for The International.
Dota 2 TI 2025 prize pool
Although it always remains a mystery because of the crowdfunding elements involved, it is safe to say that TI 2025 will feature a base prize pool of $1.6 million. It is expected to grow further, however, the rate at which it might grow entirely depends on the available content in the tournament-specific compendium, a part of all earnings from which goes towards the prize pool of TI.
Where to watch TI 2025
TI 2025 will be live-streamed across several channels on Twitch and YouTube. However, the safest bet is to tune in to Dota 2 or The International’s official channels on either platform for live updates from the annual extravaganza.
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