Dota 2’s The International 2023 Location Revealed

From 2012 to 2017, The International took place in Washington, U.S. That’s about half of all the TIs that have ever taken place so far. We now know that after six long years, Dota 2 and esports’s most luxurious event is set to return to its cradle.

Will North America finally bring the Aegis home the way Evil Geniuses did in 2015? They’re surely going to have the crowd for the attempt in October.

TI12’s Format & Schedule: What to Expect

Valve is yet to make the official announcement regarding TI12’s structure. That said, it’s very likely that not much will change in the upcoming TI — as those who have been familiar with the Dota 2 professional and Dota 2 betting scene for the past couple of years can safely assume.

We know that the experimental last chance qualifier (LCQ) has been dropped — along with it 2 unfortunate, desperate teams — and that we’ll probably see a quick reversion to the TI10 format.

Here’s a refresher on what that looks like:

• Group Stage — Two groups with 9 teams each go into a round-robin stage. Best of two series, 18 teams in total. The last finishers in both groups get to board a plane.
• Playoffs — 16 teams head to the main event. The 8 best performers in the group stage go to the upper bracket, the rest go to the lower bracket. Last winner gets the ultimate boon.

The group stage will start on October 14, while the playoffs will proceed from October 27 – 29. More information regarding the tickets to the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle — the exact location of the event — will follow.

For now, there’s still a tall list of Dota 2 tournaments on the agenda. The last Tour is just about to begin, and the regional qualifiers still await after the Bali Major, the final Major of the year.

Betting on TI12

The International 12 will be the biggest esports event in 2023 (surprise, surprise). It’s where the finest Dota 2 teams in the world will face each other, harder now more than ever with the game having undergone its biggest change in years.

Whether TI12 will break beyond TI11’s $19 million prize pool or not, the writing is pretty much on the wall saying it’s the next entry in the Top 10 most expensive esports events in history.

For many bettors, this also means the markets that the bookies will offer before and during the tournament will be the hottest markets of the year, resulting in great Dota 2 betting for beginners and high rollers alike.

Of course, the same bookies will be vying for attention as they usually do, especially when highly viewed events like The International are on the line. This will result in a bonus bonanza that everyone can benefit from — as a lot of people did in the last TI.

Those who want to use the first wave of promos to their maximum value may want to keep an eye on the outright odds for TI 12, where the potential payouts hit the ceiling. Betting on the outright market does require a lot of awareness of Dota 2’s competitive scene though.

Then again, there’s more than enough time to prepare.

Media credits: Valve Corp. via Dota2.com