Dota 2’s biggest event of the year is underway. The International 2026 – the 15th edition of the tournament – is running in Shanghai from August 13-23, with 16 of the world’s best teams fighting for the Aegis of Champions and a prize pool north of $2.9 million.
Here’s the format, who’s playing, and where to watch every match.
TI 2026 – key dates
- Group Stage: August 13-16
- Main Event (Playoffs): August 20-23
- Venue: Oriental Sports Center, Shanghai
Format
All 16 teams play a Swiss-system group stage, with every match a best-of-three. The top 3 teams advance straight to the Main Event. Teams finishing 4th through 13th move into an Elimination Round to fight for the remaining playoff spots, while the bottom 3 are knocked out entirely.
The Main Event is a double-elimination bracket for the final eight teams, played August 20-23 at the Oriental Sports Center.
Who’s playing
Seven teams received direct invites based on their 2025-26 season results: Team Falcons (the defending champions), Team Liquid, Iron Wing (formerly Tundra Esports), Aurora, Team Yandex, BoomBoys (formerly BetBoom Team), and Xtreme Gaming.
The other nine fought through regional qualifiers to get here: OG, GamerLegion, LGD Gaming, Team Resilience, Vici Gaming, Team Spirit, TEAM VISION (formerly PARIVISION), Nigma Galaxy, and HULIGANI.
Storylines to watch
Team Falcons arrive as defending champions after a five-game grand final win over Xtreme Gaming in Hamburg last year, and they’re the team everyone else is chasing.
Through the first three rounds of the group stage, only two teams remain unbeaten: TEAM VISION and Team Spirit, both sitting at 3-0 – and as of this writing, they’re playing each other live in Round 4 to decide who stays perfect.
OG, the only two-time TI champion in the tournament’s history, have had a rough start and will need a big finish to avoid an early exit.
Where to watch
Every match is streamed officially on Twitch and YouTube, with additional coverage on DouYu, Huya, and Bilibili for viewers in China.
Want live scores, standings, and match links as the group stage plays out? Head to our Dota 2 live scores hub or the TI 2026 event page, where every match gets its own page with live stats and streaming links the moment it’s scheduled.
What’s next
Once the group stage wraps on August 16, the field narrows to eight for the Main Event bracket starting August 20. We’ll have a full playoff preview once the bracket is set – check back here and on frag.se/dota2 for updates.
TI isn’t the only major tournament running right now – CS2 is live at the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris at the same time, so there’s no shortage of high-stakes esports to follow this week.