Dota 2 The International 2025 schedule, format, teams, prize pool, where to watch, and more

Here's everything you need to know about The International 2025, this year's Dota 2 world championship tournament.

The International (TI) 2025, this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual multimillion-dollar world championship tournament, is looming ever closer. From 4 to 11 September in Hamburg, Germany, 16 of the best Dota 2 teams in the world will battle it out across three stages of competition to earn the right to raise the 2025 Aegis of Champions.

From the tournament's schedule and format, list of participating teams, prize pool breakdown, and where you can watch the competition, here's everything you need to know about TI 2025:

The International (TI) 2025 schedule and format

Dota 2 developer Valve introduced a revamped format for TI 2025 by adding a new Swiss-format Group Stage and Special Elimination Round, along with tweaks to the Playoff seeding.

In line with the changes introduced to the TI format in 2023, TI 2025 will still be split into two distinct phases: ‘The Road to The International’ and ‘The International’ proper. The Road to The International will feature the new Swiss-format Group Stage and Special Elimination Round while The International proper will feature the Playoffs.

The Road to The International: Group Stage and Elimination Round

TI 2025's Group Stage and Special Elimination Round will run from 4 to 7 September. The Swiss-format Group Stage will see the 16 participating teams compete in a five-round Swiss bracket with best-of-three matches. Teams can only face opponents with the same record in this format (e.g. a 2:0 team will face another 2:0 team, a 1:3 team will face another 1:3 team, etc.).

Teams will need to win four series in order to advance to the Playoffs while those that suffer four losses will be eliminated, with three teams advancing to the Playoffs and three others getting eliminated after the Group Stage.

Following the Group Stage will be the Special Elimination Round. There, the 10 remaining teams will play in a series of best-of-three matches for the remaining spots in the Playoffs. The high seeds from the Group Stage will face the low seeds, with the winners advancing to the Playoffs and the losers getting eliminated.

In total, the Road to The International 2025 will see eight teams advance to The International itself, while eight others will have their journeys cut short early.

The International proper: Playoffs

The International proper, i.e. the Playoffs, will take place from 11 to 14 September, and still features the series' tried-and-tested double-elimination format. However, instead of having some teams start in the lower bracket as in previous editions, TI 2025's Playoffs will have all eight Playoff-qualified teams start in the upper bracket.

As with all previous editions of the event, TI 2025's Playoffs will feature best-of-three matches except for the Grand Finals, which will be a full best-of-five series for the coveted Aegis of Champions.

The International (TI) 2025 teams

TI 2025 features 16 of the best Dota 2 teams from the game's six major regions in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, Southeast Asia, North America, and South America. Eight of the best-performing teams this year earned their spots in TI 2025 through direct invites, while eight other teams had to fight for their place in the event through a series of regional qualifiers in June.

In the regional qualifiers, two slots each were allocated for Western Europe and Southeast Asia, while Eastern Europe, China, North America, and South America each received just one slot.

Here's the full list of teams that will be competing in TI 2025:

Team Liquid – Invited
PARIVISION – Invited
BetBoom Team – Invited
Team Tidebound – Invited
Team Spirit – Invited
Team Falcons – Invited
Tundra Esports – Invited
Natus Vincere – Western Europe Qualifier
Nigma Galaxy – Western Europe Qualifier
Aurora Gaming – Eastern Europe Qualifier
Xtreme Gaming – China Qualifier
Team Nemesis – Southeast Asia Qualifier
BOOM Esports – Southeast Asia Qualifier
Wildcard – North America Qualifier
HEROIC – South America Qualifier
Yakutou Brothers - replacement

Gaimin Gladiators were originally among the direct invites to TI 2025, but had to withdraw just two weeks before the tournament due to internal conflict between the organisation and its roster. Yakutou Brothers, aka Yakult Brothers, were picked as the replacement team as the second-placed team from the Chinese regional qualifier. While Valve did not directly state the reasons why Yakutou Brothers were picked,

The International (TI) 2025 prize pool

Since 2013, the prize pool for TI has featured a base prize pool of US$1.6 million provided by Dota 2 developer Valve that is then supplemented by crowdfunding from the game's community through TI Compendiums and Battle Passes. In 2023, Valve made the decision to no longer tie the release of Battle Passes to TI, with TI 2024 receiving additional funding through the TI 2024 Compendium.

This year's world championship tournament will still have the base prize pool of US$1.6 million and will be further supplemented by sales from the TI 2025 Supporter's Bundles. First introduced in 2021 for the now-defunct Dota Pro Circuit, Supporter Bundles allows fans of certain teams, players, or talent to showcase their support through bundles of cosmetic items. Each Supporter Bundle contains content created by the team or talent it features, including loading screens, stickers, and voice lines, among others.

TI 2025's Supporter Bundles will notably provide the biggest amount of direct support to Dota 2's esports scene from the fans themselves, as 50% of every sale will go directly to the team or talent. In addition, 30% of each Supporter Bundle sale will be added to TI 2025's base prize pool of US$1.6 million, up from the 25% contribution from all previous editions of the tournament since 2013.

The International (TI) 2025: Where to watch

TI 2025 will be broadcasted live in English on the official Dota 2 TI Twitch and YouTube channels. There will also be dedicated broadcasts in other languages, including Russian, Chinese, and Spanish. Secondary and tertiary channels will also be active during the Group Stage in order to accommodate the high number of matches being played at a time.