The International 2026 Dota 2 — full schedule, groups, prize pool, every team
TI 2026 — Dota 2's 15th anniversary tournament — runs August 13-23 at Shanghai's Oriental Sports Center. 16 teams, $1.6M base prize pool. Full schedule, group stage format, and the 16 teams competing.
The International 2026 (TI15) opens August 13 at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, the first TI in China since 2019. Here's the complete schedule, group stage format, prize pool, and the 16 teams competing for the Aegis of Champions.
The basics
- Dates: August 13-23, 2026 (11 days)
- Venue: Shanghai Oriental Sports Center
- Prize pool: $1.6M base
- Format: 16 teams → Swiss-system group stage
(Aug 13-16) → double-elimination playoffs (Aug 20-23) → grand final
- Patch: 7.41d (released Aug 1)
- 15th anniversary of The International
(TI1 was 2011 in Cologne)
Schedule
Group stage — Road to The International (Aug 13-16)
16 teams play a Swiss-system bracket in best-of-3 series. There are no pre-assigned groups — the bracket is reshuffled after each round so teams with the same W-L record play each other.
- Aug 13, 02:00-08:00 UTC: Round 1 + Round 2
- Aug 14, 02:00-08:00 UTC: Round 3
- Aug 15, 02:00-13:00 UTC: Round 4 + Round 5
- Aug 16, 02:00-08:00 UTC: Elimination Round
(5 Bo3 matches between the 3-2 and 2-3 teams)
The top 3 teams (3-0 or 4-1 after 5 rounds) qualify directly for the upper bracket of the playoffs. The bottom 3 teams (0-4 or 1-4) are eliminated with the 13th-16th prize. The remaining 10 teams play the Aug 16 Elimination Round for the final 5 playoff slots.
Playoffs — The International (Aug 20-23)
Double-elimination bracket with the 8 qualified teams, held at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center.
- Aug 20: Upper bracket SF1 + SF2, Lower
bracket R1 (4 matches)
- Aug 21: Lower bracket R2 (2 matches), Upper
bracket Final, Lower bracket R3
- Aug 22: Lower bracket Final
- Aug 23: Grand Final (Bo5)
All series are best-of-3 except the Grand Final (best-of-5). The team from the upper bracket has a one-series advantage in the Grand Final (the lower-bracket winner must win 2 Bo5 series).
The 16 teams
Direct invites (7) — based on 2025-26 DPC standings
| Seed | Team | Region | EWC 2026 result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Falcons | EU | Top 2 |
| 2 | Team Liquid | EU | Top 4 |
| 3 | Iron Wing (1w Team / ex-Tundra) | EU | Direct |
| 4 | Xtreme Gaming | China | Top 4 |
| 5 | BoomBoys (BetBoom Team) | CIS | Direct |
| 6 | Aurora Gaming | CIS | Top 4 |
| 7 | Team Yandex | CIS | Direct |
Regional qualifiers (9)
| Seed | Team | Region | Qualifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TEAM VISION (PARIVISION) | EU | EU Qualifier |
| 2 | Team Spirit | EU | EU Qualifier |
| 3 | Nigma Galaxy | EU | EU Qualifier |
| 4 | HULIGANI (L1GA TEAM) | EU | EU Qualifier |
| 5 | Vici Gaming | China | CN Qualifier |
| 6 | Team Resilience | China | CN Qualifier |
| 7 | OG | SEA | SEA Qualifier |
| 8 | GamerLegion | NA | NA Qualifier |
| 9 | LGD Gaming | SA | SA Qualifier |
Note on rebrands: Valve prohibits gambling sponsors on the TI broadcast. 4 teams play under rebranded tags at TI 2026:
- Iron Wing = 1w Team (ex-Tundra Esports)
- BoomBoys = BetBoom Team
- TEAM VISION = PARIVISION
- HULIGANI = L1GA TEAM
The favorites
Based on the 2025-26 DPC season + Esports World Cup 2026 results:
- TEAM VISION (PARIVISION) — EWC 2026
champion, the most in-form team in the world. Satanic's carry is the strongest in the tournament. Favorite to win the whole thing
- Team Falcons — TI 2025 defending champion.
Skiter, Cr1t-, ATF, Malr1ne, Sneyking roster is the most experienced in the field
- Team Spirit — 2-time TI champion
(TI 2021, TI 2023). Yatoro and Collapse are the most decorated active duo in Dota 2
- Team Liquid — EWC 2026 top 4. Nisha's
mid-lane is the best in the EU region
- Iron Wing — ex-Tundra Esports roster
(Pure, bzm, 33, Ari, Whitemon). 33's hero pool is the deepest in the tournament
- Xtreme Gaming — China's best hope.
Strong home crowd in Shanghai
Dark horses: Nigma Galaxy (KuroKy + GH's last stand), Aurora Gaming (Nightfall's mid-lane dominance), BoomBoys (gpk~ + the BetBoom core under a new tag).
Prize pool breakdown
| Place | % of pool | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 45% | $720,000 |
| 2nd | 16% | $256,000 |
| 3rd-4th | 9% each | $144,000 each |
| 5th-6th | 6% each | $96,000 each |
| 7th-8th | 4.5% each | $72,000 each |
| 9th-12th | 2.5% each | $40,000 each |
| 13th-16th | 1% each | $16,000 each |
Total base prize pool: $1,600,000. The Compendium is not a factor at TI 2026 (Valve retired the Battle Pass / Compendium model in 2023).
How to watch
- English (Twitch): dota2ti
- YouTube: Dota 2 official channel
- Steam: Live in the Dota 2 client
- Russian (Twitch): dota2ti_ru
- Spanish (Twitch): dota2ti_es
- Chinese (Douyu): 999
- Chinese (Bilibili): 7738320
All matches are on patch 7.41d. Regional streams in 8+ languages. Free, no paywall.
What's at stake beyond the Aegis
- DPC 2026-27 direct invites: the top 4
finishers at TI 15 get direct invites to the first Major of the 2026-27 DPC season
- Aegis of Champions: the trophy, awarded
to the Grand Final winner
- Player of the tournament: the top
performer gets the MVP award
What to watch for
The story lines heading into TI 15:
- **Can TEAM VISION complete the EWC-TI
double?** The EWC 2026 champions haven't won TI in their org's history (PARIVISION was founded 2024)
- The Falcons three-peat bid — the TI 2024
and TI 2025 runners-up are looking to win their first Aegis
- The CIS resurgence — 6 of the 16 teams
have CIS-region ties, the largest CIS presence at a TI since 2018
- The ex-Tundra story — Iron Wing is
Tundra's 2022 championship roster under a new tag. 33 is going for his third Aegis
- The Shanghai crowd — first TI in China
since 2019. The Chinese teams (Xtreme Gaming, Vici Gaming, Team Resilience) have the home crowd advantage
About 5 minutes read.
