The International, Dota 2’s annual world championship and arguably the most prestigious event in competitive gaming, has locked in its full 16-team roster. The tournament will take place in Shanghai, China, with the group stage running August 13-16 and the main event playoffs spanning August 20-23.
The full roster and how it came together
Valve, the company behind Dota 2, rolled out seven direct invites around May 25, 2026. The list reads like a who’s-who of competitive Dota: Aurora Gaming, BoomBoys, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, Tundra Esports, Xtreme Gaming, and Team Yandex.
The remaining nine spots were filled through regional qualifiers that wrapped up by late June. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place around June 29, when Nigma Galaxy, a European squad, claimed the 16th and last available slot by winning the European qualifier.
The group stage will use a Swiss-system format, a structure borrowed from chess tournaments where teams are matched against opponents with similar records in each round. Instead of round-robin groups where everyone plays everyone, teams get progressively harder or easier opponents based on whether they’re winning or losing.
