The International 2018 groups are now official

With only two days left for the biggest Dota 2 event of the year, The International 2018 groups have been drawn and made official. 

The posting of the groups is always one of most anticipated parts of The International, throwing the hype into overdrive. Teams will have less than two days to prepare for their groupstage opponents. The stakes are high as one team from each group will not step foot on the main stage, making an early exit following the conclusion of the group stage. 

Group A:

Winstrike
Fnatic
PSG.LGD Gaming
Mineski
Evil Geniuses
VGJ.Thunder
Team Liquid
OG
Invictus Gaming

Group B:

ViCi Gaming
PaiN Gaming
Team Serenity
OpTic Gaming
Virtus Pro
TNC
VGJ.Storm
Team Secret
Newbee

 

The International 2018 Format:
 

• Group Stage - August 15th - August 18th, 2018
  • All eighteen teams are divided into two groups where they play in a Round Robin format
    • All matches are played in a Bo2
    • The top four teams in each group advance to the Upper Bracket of the Main Event
    • The bottom team in each group is eliminated
    • The remaining teams advance to the Lower Bracket of the Main Event
       
• Main Event - August 20th - August 25th, 2018
  • Sixteen teams play in a double-elimination format over six days
    • Eight teams begin in the Upper Bracket, eight in the Lower Bracket
    • First Lower Bracket round is Bo1, Grand Finals are Bo5, all others rounds are Bo3

 

The International 2018

The International 2018 is set to begin on August 15 and scheduled to run through August 25. For the first time ever, The International will be held in Vancouver, Canada with a total of 18 teams competing. Currently, the prize pool is over a staggering $24 million with just two days left until the big event.