The direct invites for The International 2026 have been announced

The direct invites for The International 2026 have been announced, with seven teams locked in for this years’ iteration.

The International is the biggest event on the Dota 2 calendar, and for 2026, we are heading back to Shanghai, China. Alongside this, the event also returns to its August timing, which means that for a few weeks we have been eagerly awaiting news of the direct invites, regional qualifiers, and ticket sales. Now, Valve has dropped all this information at once.

While TI 2025 saw eight teams getting directly invited into the prestigious event, TI 2026, will only have seven teams confirmed, while the remainder will need to progress through regional qualifiers.

Read more: Waiting season is here: Looking back at 15 years of TI invites

Seven teams invited to The International 2026

The International 2026, the 15th anniversary of the biggest Dota 2 tournament each year, will see seven teams automatically qualify to the event via a direct invite. Oddly, this number is one down from last year, and one more than TI13 in 2024. Unfortunately, as usual, Valve gave no clarification on how or why these were their choices. And, of course, there is already an uproar as to why certain teams were left out.

The seven teams confirmed for TI15 are:

• Aurora Gaming
• BoomBoys (BetBoom Team)
• Team Falcons
• Team Liquid
• Tundra Esports
• Xtreme Gaming
• Team Yandex

There are some very big teams missing on this list, namely PARIVISION (TEAM VISION) and Team Spirit, who have both had immense seasons. However, these two teams, plus many more, have been pushed to the regional qualifiers.

With the direct invites now out of the way, the excitement for TI15 begins to mount. As teams now prepare for their qualifiers, and fans make plans to get their tickets in hand, the countdown begins. Less than three months remain, and we still wait patiently to find out if we will get a Battle Pass this time around. With that said, the road to The International 2026 begins now.