Official announcement for Dota 2 from Valve, published on Steam on August 12, 2026.
It's the final countdown: Players and talent have landed, and all of the pieces are falling into place to make Shanghai the center of the Dota universe for the next two weeks. It's time to finish crafting your fantasy rosters, lock in your first round of predictions, and get ready to tune in because The International 2026 is almost underway.
Whether you're looking to watch online, find Dota activities in Shanghai to keep you busy until streams start, or looking for merch you can wear while you're out in Shanghai waiting for games to start, we've got you covered below.
The International Group Stage
Sixteen teams have earned the right to compete for the Aegis of Champions in Shanghai, but only eight will face off in the main event. First, they must survive the gauntlet of the Swiss Format Group Stage.
Group Stage games begin on Thursday, August 13 and wrap on Sunday, August 16. In that span, all sixteen teams will play best-of-three matches against other teams with the same overall series record. A fourth series win will earn a team an automatic berth at The International; a fourth loss will result in elimination.
By end of play on Saturday, three teams will have secured spots in The International and three teams will have been eliminated. The ten remaining teams will face off in a special elimination round to decide the rest. Every single one of the five series on Sunday will send one team home and the other onward to the main event.
Read the full announcement on Steam
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Patch notes and news tracker by eSportCafe · source: Steam News