After two months of anticipation, Valve has finally unveiled new details for the upcoming Dota 2 grand showdown, The International 13. The company has announced that six teams have received direct invitations to The International 2024, and provided insights into the qualifiers stage that will determine the remaining contenders for the main event.
Earlier, Valve had revealed that the 2024 edition of TI will take place at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark. This marks the first time the event will be held in Europe since 2021, when it took place behind closed doors in Bucharest, Romania.
At that time, it was expected that the initial invite process would return for most teams, potentially drawing from the ESL circuits following the discontinuation of the Dota Pro Circuit after the Bali Major 2023. However, some details remained under wraps until today.
The teams receiving direct invitations are Team Spirit, Xtreme Gaming, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, Gaimin Gladiators, and BetBoom. Each of these teams reached the finals of at least one major tournament this year and consistently placed in the top six at major events.
For other teams, they will need to battle through a series of qualifiers leading up to the main event, similar to previous seasons:
- Regional qualifiers open bracket: June 3 to 8
- Regional qualifiers closed bracket: Following the open bracket
- The Road to TI (TI group stage): September 4 to 8
- The Road to TI (TI playoffs): September 10 to 12
- TI 13 main event (TI top eight playoffs)
The qualifiers will see the top two teams from China, South America, Southeast Asia, and Western Europe advance to Copenhagen, while North America and Eastern Europe will each send one team.
This year’s TI will feature 16 participants, down from 20 in the last two years and 18 in the four years prior, indicating that fewer than the standard 12 invites may be issued. Tickets for the main event will be available for purchase on June 10.
