The International will officially be returning this July, and Valve just released some information about the location, tickets and schedule of the tournament. The ticket sales will be launching this week, on April 4th, at 11:00 CET.
The fourth version of the International will take place this summer, with the strongest teams in the world battling for the biggest tournament prizepool in eSports. After months of speculations, Valve has just released official information regarding this year's event, which will take place in July.
Location
The International IV's location will be the KeyArena, a multi-purpose stadium of the Seattle Center facilities, in Seattle. The 17.000 venue will be able to accomodate a vast crowd of Dota 2 enthusiasts, an amount way higher than Benaroya Hall, the host of the latest two versions of The International which had room for roughly 3,000 visitors. The location change was required due to the increasing popularity of the massive event held each year by Valve.
Tickets
There will be three types of tickets available for those who wish to attend The International IV:
- General Admission - $99
- Floor Seats - $199
- VIP package - $499
The VIP Package includes floor seating, access to the 6-day play-offs before the Main Event, access to After Party and the chance to meet the players and other personalities that will be attending the event.
The ticket sales will begin on April 4th, at 11:00 CET (3PM PDT) through Ticketmaster.
Teams and Schedule
Unlike the previous versions of the tournament that took place in August, this year's main event will take place in July. The six-day playoff stage will begin on July 8th, replacing the former Group Stage of the previous events. More information on the new format is expected soon. The main event (or championship event, not to be confused with playoff phase) will be what fills the KeyArena between July 18 and 21, Friday to Monday.
A total of 16 participants will be competing in The International IV, including 11 invited teams. In addition, four regional qualifiers will be held in May, with their four winners receiving an invite to the tournament. The four runner-ups of the qualifiers will be flying to Seattle as well to battle for the final spot. This means that a total of 19 teams will travel to Seattle this year, compared to last year's 17. The qualifiers will start on May 12th and conclude on May 25th.
Source : Dota2.com
