Cover-Credits:
Seattle, USA, will be the location of the 12th edition of the largest Dota 2 tournament in the world - The International (TI). Valve, in an announcement during the ESL One Berlin Major 2023, revealed that TI12 will be held in October 2023 at the Climate Pledge Arena “welcoming the largest audience in the event's history.” The Main Event will take place from 27th to 29th Oct 2023, while the group stage and playoffs will be bundled under one title, The Road to the International, this time. The last time Valve held TI in Seattle was back in 2017 when Team Liquid defeated Newbee to become the grand champions.
Valve to host TI12 in Seattle, USA
This is a significant announcement for Dota 2 fans in the Americas, as it marks the first time that the tournament will be held in Seattle after a gap of six years.
According to a blog post on Valve's website, the group stage of TI12 will begin on 14th Oct, followed by the playoffs. These two events will be part of The Road to the International, which Valve will reveal more about in the coming weeks.
The TI12 itself will last three days, beginning on 27th Oct and ending on 29th Oct, when the greatest Dota 2 team in the world will be determined.
Climate Pledge Arena is the same venue as KeyArena, where previous TIs have been held in Seattle. The KeyArena name was retained until 2018 when the center was closed for renovations and reopened as the Climate Pledge Arena in 2021. As per the Seattle Kraken, the Climate Pledge Arena is the first zero-carbon arena in the world.
With a seating capacity of around 18,000, the arena can accommodate a large crowd.
So far, only Team Liquid has been confirmed to compete at TI12, and the other teams that will confirm a slot at the tournament will be selected gradually as the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2023 progresses.
There will most likely be no last chance qualifier this year, as it was a one-time event hosted by Valve last year to combat the chronic travel concerns posed by the pandemic that had prevented many teams from participating in DPC events.
At the last TI in Singapore in 2022, Tundra Esports had a dominant run and defeated Team Secret 3-0 in the grand final to claim the championship title and the greatest portion of the $18,930,775 USD prize money.
