The International 2025 Format

Starting from the first The International, which took place in 2011, hundreds of thousands of Dota 2 fans gather annually in anticipation of intense and spectacular battles. The International can be considered one of the most significant championships in all of esports, so its format receives great attention. In this article, we will tell you about The International 2025, the tournament format, dates, and other important information.

The Road to The International Format

As in almost all past TIs, Valve has decided to split the entire tournament into two parts: The Road to The International and The International itself. In fact, it is the same event, but their importance is entirely different.

The first part of Dota 2’s main event of the year starts with the group stage, which will take place from September 4 to September 7. The matches will follow a Swiss system with sixteen teams competing in a best-of-three (Bo3) format. The top three teams advance to the playoffs, while teams placing 4th to 13th will enter a special elimination round. The remaining teams will be eliminated. In this special elimination round, ten teams will compete, with the top five advancing to the playoffs.

The International 2025 Format

During the winter, Valve had already made an announcement regarding its flagship event, but without revealing the official dates and additional key details, leaving fans eagerly awaiting more news. On April 1, 2025 (hopefully, it wasn’t a joke), the company finally announced the full details of the 14th edition of the tournament.

The playoffs will start on September 11 and run until September 14, culminating in the grand finale of the entire event — The International 2025 Grand Final. The eight best teams, who made it through both the group stage and the special elimination round, will compete in a double-elimination bracket with Bo3 matches. The world champion will be determined in a Bo5 Grand Final.

Additionally, in recent years, it has become common for only the final days of the tournament to be held in a stadium with a live audience. Whether this trend will continue for TI 14 remains to be seen.

About The International 2025 (TI 14)

The International 2025 will take place from September 4 to September 14. The tournament has returned to its roots and will be held at the Barclays Arena in Hamburg. Sixteen teams will participate, but which ones will receive direct invitations and who will qualify will be revealed later.

The teams will battle for the world champion title and an impressive prize pool, which consists of $1.6 million provided by the developers, along with an additional percentage from in-game purchases. An interesting fact: at TI 10 in 2021, the tournament set a record prize pool in gaming history, exceeding $40 million. Will this year’s event come close to that mark?

You can follow the match results and predictions for the most thrilling clashes on EGamersWorld!