The grace period is over. As of May 4, 2026 , the paperwork for The International is officially in motion. For teams eyeing a trip to China, the time for experimentation is rapidly running out.
Recommended Videos
Valve has laid down a heavy timeline over the past few months leading up to this point:
- December 16, 2025 : The run-up kicked off with Patch 7.40 and the introduction of the new hero, Largo.
- February 12, 2026 : Shanghai was locked in as the official host city for The International 2026.
- March 24, 2026 : The 7.41 Gameplay Patch dropped, flipping the competitive meta on its head just weeks before rosters needed to stabilize.
Players have now had enough time to crack the code on 7.41. Now, it’s about committing to a squad. With the team registration wide open, the posturing is done and the scramble for a spot in Shanghai has begun.
Published: May 14, 2026 12:54 pm