The International 10 - Details, Participants, and Answers to FAQs

The Dota 2 World Championship of 2021, also known as The International 10, will be the biggest event in the history of the game. With 18 participants and $40 million in prizes, this tournament promises to offer a memorable esports spectacle for all who come to see it in Romania’s National Arena stadium or simply follow it from the comfort of their homes.

The International 10 Details

TI10 features 18 teams. 12 of them have received direct invitations because they finished the Dota Pro Circuit 2021 in the top 12. The other 6 had to qualify and come from the 6 major regions of DPC: China, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, North America, and South America. Because of this rich diversity, if you enjoy watching Dota 2, The International 2021 will undoubtedly provide you with a lot of entertainment.

TI10 Schedule

So far, what we know about The International 10 schedule is this: the Group Stage takes place between October 7th – 10th. This phase is followed by a pause day and then the Main Event begins. The Playoffs of TI10 will take place between October 12th – 17th.

TI10 Battle Pass

Usually, for every edition of The International, Valve offers players a Battle Pass. This year, however, because of the cancellation of last year’s TI, there is no Battle Pass associated with the tournament. However, on July 24th, 2021, Valve did release the Nemestice 2021 Battle Pass, which is not related to the tournament and was created purely for entertainment reasons.

Prize Pool

As you might expect for a world championship of Dota 2, The International’s prize pool is bigger this year than in all the previous ones: $40 million. We don’t know how the money will be distributed, but the winner will probably take home close to $20 million.

Who Are the Teams in TI10?

When it comes to TI10, Dota 2’s most skilled competitors will be fighting for the Aegis of Champions this year. The full list of TI10 qualified teams is the following:

·       Evil Geniuses

·       PSG.LGD

·       Virtus.pro

·       Quincy Crew

·       Invictus Gaming

·       T1

·       Vici Gaming

·       Team Secret

·       Team Aster

·       Alliance

·       beastcoast

·       Thunder Predator

·       Team Undying

·       SG esports

·       OG

·       Team Spirit

·       Elephant

·       Fnatic

The top 12 of these teams were directly invited while the bottom 6 had to win the TI10 qualifiers. Of the 6 teams that had to take the long road through Moria, the most important ones are OG, which won the TI10 EU Qualifiers, and Elephant, which won the TI10 Chinese Qualifiers.

The biggest names that have failed to qualify for The International 10 are Nigma, Team Liquid, and Natus Vincere.

The International 10 Favorites

Because of how strong many of the TI10 teams are, the tournament has quite a few favorites. The most important of them are the following:

PSG.LGD

This is the strongest representative of the Chinese region and the winner of some very important tournaments throughout the season. The team played in no less than 5 Grand Finals this year, winning the WePlay AniMajor and the latest Dota 2 event, OGA Dota PIT Invitational.

In many analysts’ eyes, PSG.LGD is the next TI champion. Will it happen? We’ll have to see. It’s quite probable, but at least 3 or 4 formidable competitors will be there to contest them.

Evil Geniuses

EG has had a great season, despite suffering from what the fans have named Arteezy’s Curse, which basically means that the player, while being one of the best carries in the world, simply cannot win a tournament, just as Valve apparently can’t count to 3. But memes aside, EG finished 2nd at both of the DPC 2021 Majors, namely ONE Esports Singapore Major and WePlay AniMajor, clearly proving to be strong enough to win The International 10.

Fly, the team’s captain, has an extremely experienced roster to work with. His teammates, iceiceice, Arteezy, Abed, and Cr1t- are all highly accomplished players who can make the difference when it matters most. We’ll have to see what they manage to achieve at TI10, but the most likely outcome for their team is 2nd or 3rd place.

Virtus.pro

Virtus.pro enters the tournament as Eastern Europe’s best team. Historically, VP is known to choke at The International. They usually start well, reach the top 8, and then lose. Their last two results were 5th – 6th place, which isn’t bad but it’s probably not what they aimed for either. We know this because of the complete roster change they went through after the failure registered at TI9.

Virtus.pro finished the Dota Pro Circuit 2021 in 3rd place. The team won both regional competitions (so the Upper Bracket of Season 1 and Season 2 in Eastern Europe) and had average results at the two Majors: 7th – 8th place at the first and 9th – 12th place at the second. However, at two important tournaments that took place during the Summer, the CIS crew finished 2nd and 3rd place respectively. This clearly indicates that they’re in great shape and a top candidate for winning the Aegis of Champions at TI 10.

OG

While it is true that they failed to qualify for the Majors and had poor results all season, OG did exactly what they had done in the previous seasons when they won The International. Their recipe for success is very simple and at the same time very counterintuitive: fail, change your roster, then fail some more, then change your roster again and bring in a world-class carry (in this case, Sumail), qualify for The International by the skin of your teeth, and then win even though nobody gives you the slightest chance of winning.

Ceb and N0tail have mastered this process and couldn’t care less about what happened during the season. They always enter The International convinced that they can win it and determined to prove everyone wrong. This edition could easily be a repeat of what we saw in 2018 and 2019. So far, everything went according to plan. All they need to do now is shock the world again.

Team Secret

Team Secret, much like Virtus.pro, has a reputation for being the king of choking when it matters most. However, let’s not forget that its captain, Puppey, was part of the Na’Vi team that won The International 2011. And at the last edition of the tournament (TI9), he managed to finish 4th. Given how strong his roster is and the fact that he finished the Dota Pro Circuit in 8th place, we should expect Secret to do well at TI10.

Another factor that makes Secret a scary competitor is the long preparation time. The teams have had around 3 months to train for the tournament and Puppey is a legendary captain who always finds the most unthinkable cheese and pocket strategies. At a tournament like The International 10, it’s enough to have around just 5 broken drafts that nobody understands to utilize in key games and the Aegis of Champions is yours.

The International 10 Betting Opportunities

TI10 will offer numerous esports betting opportunities. If you enjoy betting on Dota 2, Rivalry can provide you with a wide range of options. All you need to do is keep an eye on the platform and study the TI betting odds when they become available.

FAQs

Here are the answers to some of the most asked questions about The International 10.

Where is TI10 held?

The International 10 is scheduled to take place between October 7th – 17th in Romania’s biggest stadium.

Does TI10 Have OG?

Yes, it does.

How many Chinese teams are in TI10?

Five.

Is Liquid qualified for TI10?

No.

Is T1 qualified for TI10?

Yes.

Is Nigma Going to TI10?

No.

What is the TI10 prize pool?

$40 million.

What is the TI10 schedule?

It hasn’t been made available yet. But the tournament is scheduled to take place between October 7th - 17th.

Will There Be a TI10 Battle Pass?

No.

How Do I Watch The International 10?

If you want to watch The International 10, all you need to do is find the live broadcast on Twitch. When the tournament begins, you will find 4 separate channels in the Dota 2 section. The event takes place in Europe, so expect an early Eastern European hour for the start of each day, such as 10 or 11 AM.

Who Has Won The International?

Dota 2 is a very complex esports and so far, only one team has managed to win it twice: OG. The history of The International is filled with great moments and great champions. From Natus Vincere, which won the first edition of TI in 2011, to OG, which won the last in 2019. Here’s a full list of TI champions up until this point:

·       2011: Natus Vincere

·       2012: Invictus Gaming

·       2013: Alliance

·       2014: Newbee

·       2015: Evil Geniuses

·       2016: Wings Gaming

·       2017: Team Liquid

·       2018: OG

·       2019: OG

·       2020: N/A (the event was canceled)

With so much history behind us and so much money on the line, it’s easy to understand why The International 10 is such a hyped tournament. Everyone wants to know who will be the next champion of one of esports’ greatest games and the answer will be decided on October 17th.