TI10 May Not Take Place in Sweden, Valve Searches For Alternate Venues in Europe
The biggest Dota 2 event of the year, The International 10 (TI10) may not happen in Sweden after all. After TI10’s indefinite postponement in 2020 due to the pandemic and its lockdowns, Valve, in May 2021 announced that The International would be held in August 2021, hosted in Stockholm, Sweden, and released the dates for the tournament’s group stages and main events. Directly invited teams have already been confirmed after the conclusion of the 2021 DPC season and the regional qualifiers for TI10 are set to start in the last week of June 2021. Valve released an update on 22 June 2021 regarding TI10 and Sweden, and it’s definitely not good news as we might see TI10 get postponed once more.
Valve releases an update on The International (TI10) and Sweden
In its official statement, Valve says despite previous assurances and continuous communication with Stockholm Live (the operator of Avicii Arena) and Visit Stockholm (the marketing organization for Stockholm), the Swedish Sports Federation had voted not to accept esports into its federation.
Following these failed meetings Valve had to communicate with the Swedish Minister of Interior to reclassify The International as an elite sporting event. Unfortunately, the Minister of the Interior also failed to recognize The International - Dota 2 Championships as an elite sporting event.
As a result, anyone attempting to procure a visa for travel into Sweden for TI10 (including players, talent, and staff) would be denied.
Valve stated that the Swedish government has failed to provide a resolution following its direct appeal on 9 June, and its subsequent appeal on 14 June. Because of this, an alternative venue in Europe is being considered.
Valve
The company also confirmed that it remained confident of hosting The International 10 in Europe this year, to properly celebrate the players and fans of Dota 2.
“We feel confident that in either instance we will have a solution that allows us to hold TI10 in Europe this year, and that we will be able to announce an updated plan in the very near future. We remain committed to hosting The International this year in a way that is both safe for all involved, and properly celebrates the players and fans of Dota 2.”Valve
Despite the delays, The TI10 regional qualifiers remain unaffected by this announcement and will commence as scheduled on 23 June 2021. Valve has also announced the release of the Summer Event “Nemestice” which will go live later this week.
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