Singapore: the very country where SEA greats iceiceice, Deth, and Meracle come from, is set to become the world’s dota capital this year! If your geography’s a bit rusty, we can point it to you: the very tip of the Malaysian peninsula. It’s a country so tiny but blessed with so many Dota talent and will host more of them as TI comes to the tropical country.

Thinking of going to Singapore? Well, who wouldn’t be if 30 of the world’s best teams will be gathered in one roof! So knock knock, before you decide on going to Singapore, we’re bringing Singapore instead to you: here are some stuff in Singapore you definitely won’t want to miss!

What to Expect this TI?

In order to bring a new and exciting experience this time, it is confirmed that Valve is working on a new format and structure for the tournaments that include more breaks and a greater build to the finals, making it more engaging and worth “the biggest celebration” of Dota 2 yet for the fans and the future audience that would likely use a similar system starting from this year.

Starting from the qualifying phase on 8 to 12 October this year, followed by a group stage on 18-20 October, featuring only 20 teams to be battling in the main event, from then, some playoffs which will be played from 20 to 23 October at SunTec Singapore,

After narrowing the field, the survivors will advance to the Finals at Singapore Indoor Stadium on October 29-30. where the Aegis of Champions will lay in wait for the next champion. Or will Team Spirit get to take it for the second time in a row? 

What’s happening there?

Unsurprisingly, Singapore was chosen to host Dota 2’s most glorious event based on event readiness and proximity to more teams as it is near China other than being on SEA. Singapore is no stranger to hosting large esports tournaments: it is home to world-standard facilities and easy licensing of player entry visas, a huge problem when tournaments went to Europe like the recent Stockholm Major where teams literally had to go at the very last minute just to play. For Mind Games 

For the community, Valve also just recently announced the delayed TI Battle Pass because the update is expected to be much larger than usual. Skins and accessories for Dota Plus and more in-game adjustments/refresh patches will also be made available; knowing Valve, there will be a series of patches coming in the form of 7.32 or even 7.33: who knows, we might get to see some unrivaled meta like last TI’s Collapse Magnus or Topson’s Diffusal Gyro.

What you should Look Out For

Three teams have qualified directly to TI11 through DPC points. Featuring PSG.LGD, TSM and the Stockholm Major Champion OG, who have tied the record with Team Secret and Virtus.pro in number of majors won. 

The wonders of TI don’t stop there, however: this is the first TI battle pass in two years! Void arcana might just be coming right up and rumors of a Skywrath Mage arcana are also in the whispers. With the audience too excited for the 30 teams, the all-time biggest prize pool may be recorded along with the typical player rewards systems, battle points wagering, and tipping.

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