The International is back in action, DPC or no.
TI is back, and The International 2024 will break new ground as it heads to Denmark. Valve has pulled back the curtain on the event much earlier than expected, giving up the location of the tournament along with discussing the qualification process for Dota 2's most prestigious tournament. Many details such as the exact date are still under wraps. However, the post assuages fans' fears that The International would disappear along with the Dota Pro Circuit.
All of this information is from an official blog post from Valve on the Dota 2 blog. Simply titled "The International 2024," Dota 2's developer confirmed that TI 2024 will return to Europe for the first time since The International 2021. 16 teams will fight for 13th Aegis on the tournament's home continent. That's four fewer teams compared to last year's iteration in Seattle, which will likely mean fewer invites than the previous 12 direct DPC qualifiers.
Valve also discussed the qualification process for the tournament in a post-DPC world. Dota 2's developer will revert to the original invite process for the majority of teams, which, based on unconfirmed rumors, could be taken directly from the Dota 2 ESL Pro Tour rankings. The rest will be a mix of regional and open qualifiers, which could mean the return of the on-site last-chance qualifier. Each of the six major regions should get at least one qualifier representative. Based on the recent success of Falcons, Middle East-North Africa may even get a seventh qualifier.
TI 2024 to take place in Copenhagen, mirroring CS2 Major
TI 2024 will take place at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark. Valve has not revealed an exact date, but has confirmed that it will start sometime in September of this year.
Notably, Copenhagen will also host the very first Major for Counter-Strike 2, which starts on March 17. The playoffs for that event will even take place in the exact same venue of the Royal Arena. Valve may have struck some kind of two-for-one deal with the venue hosts.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest updates on all things Dota 2.