The International 2026 Survival Guide; Teams, format, schedule, prize pool

The road to the Aegis starts tomorrow.

After months of qualifiers, roster shuffles, patches, tournament runs and the usual chaos that comes with a Dota 2 season, The International 2026 is finally here. The best teams in the world are gathering for the biggest event on the calendar, with one goal left: survive long enough to be the last team standing and lift the Aegis of Champions.

But TI is also a marathon for those of us watching. Multiple series, overlapping matches, different time zones, and enough Dota to make even the most dedicated fan briefly forget what day it is. Whether you’ve followed every tournament this season or you’re dropping back into the scene for its biggest event, there’s a lot to keep track of.

We’ve put together everything you need to survive TI: who’s playing, how the tournament works, when the matches begin, and all the important details you’ll need to follow the action from day one through to the Aegis.

The action kicks off on Thursday, August 13th, at 04:00 CET with eight teams battling it out in Round 1:

• Falcons vs LGD Gaming
• BoomBoys vs OG
• Iron Wing vs Nigma Galaxy
• Team Vision vs Team Resilience

Followed by the remaining eight teams going head-to-head:

• Team Spirit vs Xtreme Gaming
• Team Liquid vs ViCi Gaming
• Team Yandex vs HULIGANI
• Aurora Gaming vs GamerLegion

The International 2026 Teams

• Aurora Gaming (Invited)
• BoomBoys (Invited)
• Iron Wing (Invited)
• Team Falcons(Invited)
• Team Liquid (Invited)
• Team Yandex (Invited)
• Xtreme Gaming (Invited)
• Team Spirit (Qualified)
• TEAM VISION (Qualified)
• Nigma Galaxy (Qualified)
• HULIGANI (Qualified)
• Team Resilience (Qualified)
• ViCi Gaming (Qualified)
• OG (Qualified)
• GamerLegion (Qualified)
• LGD Gaming (Qualified)

The International 2026 Format

Group Stage

• August 13-16
• Swiss-system of sixteen teams
• All matches are Bo3
• Top three teams advance to playoffs
• 4th to 13th place teams proceed to an elimination round
• Remaining teams are eliminated

Elimination Round

• Five teams advance to playoffs
• Remaining teams are eliminated

Main Event

• August 20-23
• Double-elimination bracket
• All matches are Bo3
• Grand Final is Bo5

The International Prize Pool

The base prize pool of the tournament is $1,600,000. There is no Battle Pass or Compendium this year, however, an additional 30% from all supporter bundle sales are added to the prize pool for the tournament.

Currently the prize pool sits at: $2,871,232

• 1st place $1,220,244/42.5%
• 2nd place $373,303/13%
• 3rd place $258,369/9%
• 4th place $172,285/6%
• 5-6th place $143,551/5%
• 7-8th place $114,818/4%
• 9-13th place $51,627/1.8%
• 14-15th place $28,734/1%
• 16th place $14,367/.5%

The International Broadcasts

The International 2026 will be broadcast over multiple channels, with the chance of overlapping series. You can find your favourite way to watch on any of the platforms listed below: