Valve has announced new information regarding the schedule for the largest Dota event of the year, The International 11. The event, which will take place in Singapore, will last from Oct. 8-30 — much longer than the typical week and a half used for previous iterations of the tournament.
The International travels to Singapore this October for four consecutive weekends of Dota action. https://t.co/LBqwoJ8ka7 pic.twitter.com/4RyeAaiNF9
— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) June 1, 2022
The last chance qualifier will kick off the month long event and run from Oct. 8-11, with upper and lower division teams from each region competing in a double-elimination bracket to determine an extra representative for said region.
Once those teams have been decided, the tournament will transition into a group stage format, which will run from Oct. 15-18. Twenty of the best Dota teams in the world will then be whittled down to the remaining 16 as they fight it out for a spot in the double-elimination playoff bracket.
The playoffs will take place in SunTec Singapore, one of the largest convention areas in Southeast Asia. A week from the final playoff match, the Grand Final of the International 11 will take place in the Singapore Indoor Stadium from Oct. 29-30.
The new format left the Dota community with a mix of emotions. While some, such as ex-analyst Alan “Nahaz” Bester, expressed excitement for the new format, others brought up issues. One of the largest complaints concerns the higher risk of COVID-19 exposure as the event drags on. With week-long gaps between the most important games, players are at more risk than ever, and Dota fans have had their fair share of COVID-19 getting in the way of events this year.
Another complaint is that the spread-out format leaves less room for the Cinderella runs that the community loves during The International. Team Spirit and OG are some of the best examples of unexpected performances that captured viewers’ attention.
