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Valve recently released a "Request for Proposal" document seeking broadcast production offers for The International 12 in Russian, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish. This document, which includes technical requirements and conditions, also provides the full stage schedule of the event. The dates listed in the document are slightly different from the ones previously announced, which may hint at an earlier start date for the tournament.
Stage Schedule Dates
According to the document, The International 12 will kick off with the group stage, starting on 12th October, and shall run until 15th October. Interestingly, the initial announcement indicated 14th October as the starting date for the entire event. While Valve has not officially addressed this change, it suggests a possible decision to commence the tournament slightly earlier.
Following the group stage, there will be a four-day break, with the playoffs commencing on 20th October. The playoff stage will span three days and conclude on 22nd October. The final part of the event, as previously announced, will take place from 27th to 29th October.
In an earlier blog post, Valve did hint that only the last three days of the event would be considered "The International," with the preceding days being a crucial part of the journey. It remains to be seen if this shift in nomenclature will bring about further changes to the structure of these stages.
Additionally, Valve previously announced the qualifier dates for The International 2023. The qualifiers are scheduled to take place from 17th to 31st August and will feature teams from six regions vying for the eight coveted slots at the event. Notably, there have been changes in the slot distribution compared to the previous year, with Western Europe and South America each receiving two slots, while the remaining regions will compete for one slot each.
