This One’s In The Bag
It’s been a little bit since we last checked in with the Dota 2 community. The sequel to one of the very first MOBA games, Dota 2, has been having a rough couple of years recently – not only has the player base seen a sharp decline, but the upcoming The International 10 – Dota 2 championships have suffered some pretty serious setbacks.Â
The International 10 (or TI10, if you’ve not got the time for the full title) marks the 10th anniversary of The International, Dota 2’s premiere esports event. However, there’s been a lot of trouble with actually getting to it so far – initially, it was planned to take place in Sweden over the summer, but now it seems plans have changed.
Following the decision of the Swedish Sports Federation not to include esports in the pandemic restriction exemptions available to other elite sports, the event was put on hold indefinitely. Now, a new location has been found, and the dates are set in stone.
While the qualifier rounds took place as planned on June 23rd, The International 10 will occur between October 7th and 17th: group stages will run from October 7th-10th, Main Stage play will start on October 12th, and the finale will be held on October 17th. The event will be held in Bucharest, Romania, with the finale taking place in Romania’s largest stadium, Arena Nationala.
In the announcement of the new location and dates, the Dota 2 team stated: “We are grateful for the partnership we have formed with Romania and the city of Bucharest, and very much look forward to gathering with the global Dota 2 community, both in-person and virtually, to celebrate the elite players and amazing fandom at The International. Prepare yourselves. At long last, the battle begins.”
After the numerous setbacks TI10 has faced so far, it’s great to see the team back on their feet and ready to host what may be one of the first major in-person esports events of the post-pandemic age.