The International 2026 is the 15th edition of Dota 2's flagship tournament and the largest annual event in esports. This channel hosts the official PGL-operated English broadcast every day of the event: 12+ hours of group stage, playoff, and grand final coverage, plus analyst desk and post-match recaps.
What this channel covers
- **Group Stage** (Aug 13-16) — Swiss-system, 5 rounds. Every series is Best of 3.
- **Playoffs** (Aug 20-23) — Double-elimination bracket, Bo3 except Grand Final (Bo5).
- **Opening Ceremony** (Aug 13, 02:00 UTC) — team introductions and the first match.
- **Closing Ceremony + Grand Final** (Aug 23) — trophy lift, MVP award, closing show.
Why PGL runs the broadcast
PGL has been producing Dota 2 esports since 2017 and has run The International since 2024. Their English broadcast is the standard in the scene: 5-camera in-game coverage, a custom observer UI built in-house, and a desk of ex-pro analysts (Fear, Cap, Blitz, KillerPigeon, etc.). The audio mixing, the camera work, and the post-game breakdowns are broadcast-quality.
Schedule (all times UTC)
- **Aug 13 (Thu)**: Opening ceremony + Group Stage Day 1. First match 02:00 UTC, last ~14:00 UTC.
- **Aug 14 (Fri)**: Group Stage Day 2. 02:00 - 14:00 UTC.
- **Aug 15 (Sat)**: Group Stage Day 3. 02:00 - 14:00 UTC.
- **Aug 16 (Sun)**: Group Stage Day 4 + tiebreakers. 02:00 - 16:00 UTC.
- **Aug 20 (Thu)**: Playoffs Day 1. 02:00 - 14:00 UTC.
- **Aug 21 (Fri)**: Playoffs Day 2. 02:00 - 14:00 UTC.
- **Aug 22 (Sat)**: Playoffs Day 3 (semifinals). 02:00 - 16:00 UTC.
- **Aug 23 (Sun)**: Grand Final + closing ceremony. 02:00 - 14:00 UTC.
When is the channel live?
Continuous for 10 days. The channel is offline between events — the general PGL Dota 2 channel (`/channels/pgl`) carries Wallachia and DPC Majors when TI is not running.