There is a lot happening in the world of elite Dota 2. That scenario is completely expected, though, since the whole esports community is counting down the days to the biggest tournament of the industry, The International, which has skipped a year due to Covid.

It’s impossible to search for anything Dota these days, without news being related to The International. Other than qualifying tournaments of all sorts (direct or indirect), there is also the burning question of TI’s location, since the Swedish government decided not to accept esports into the sports federation. Aside from that, Sweden’s Minister of the Interior refused to classify TI as an elite sporting event, and both of those decisions consequently meant different visa and entry procedures for participants aka the possibility of not being able to enter the country. Valve was (obviously) triggered.

Is The International 2021 Even Going To Happen?

Although there have been multiple attempts to try and get the officials to recognize the event, it all came to nothing. It has finally been announced yesterday that TI10 is definitely not going to be held in Stockholm. Since this situation wasn’t expected, and we are only a month and a half away from this mammoth event, it is highly possible that the dates (August  5^th to 15^th) will also have to be changed, while Valve are working on finding the appropriate venue for The International.

Jonathan Loda Berg, the Alliance CEO and one of the people behind trying to make TI10 happen in Stockholm said for Swedish Expressen: “I was so angry, sad and disappointed, it was quite a lot of emotions. I do not understand it on so many levels. TI is the world’s largest esports event with the world’s largest prize pool. Other countries beg and ask to be the host, but Sweden says no. It is so terribly strange to me, it is like a knife in the back”.

The On-court Drama

While that drama continues, on-court drama is already here or in our near future. Out of the 18 open spots for TI10, there are only six more left open, and those are going to be filled through regional qualifiers. There is one more available spot left for each region, and some of them are happening as we speak: CIS and South America qualifiers are happening June 23^rd to 26^th, North America and South Asia June 30^th to July 3^rd and China and Europe through July 7^th to 10^th.

The first 12 teams were decided through DPC points, and all of them were known after the recently held AniMajor. Those teams are: Evil Geniuses, PSG.LGD, Virtus.pro, Quincy Crew, Invictus Gaming, T1, Vici Gaming, Team Secret, Team Aster, Alliance, beastcoast and Thunder Predator. Counting in the winners of regional qualifiers, this means China will have five teams at this years’ The International, North America, South America and Europe will have three each, while CIS and South Asia both get two.

Pick Your Favorites

As far as the regional qualifiers go, it will be more dramatic within Europe, China and South Asia, as those regions have the most rosters in the top 20 (and a lot of them outside with realistic chances, example:  OG, Infamous or Elephant). That, of course, doesn’t mean there are no chances for surprises in other regions as well, but we will definitely find out soon.

Do you dare to predict The International 2021 winners? We aren’t there yet, but it’s just a matter of time (and regional qualifiers passing), so be sure to watch this space. In the meantime, don’t forget to jump over to our Pick 6 and play for free.