The International 2020 date, location revealed

Fans can start booking their tickets for The International 2020.

Valve has officially announced the dates for the largest Dota 2 event of next year. According to Dota 2 community manager Wykrhm Reddy, the main event will run from August 18 to 23, 2020.

The event is scheduled to take place at the Ericsson Globe arena in Stockholm, Sweden. The International 2020 is the 10th installment of the tournament and marks its return to Europe for the first time since The International 2011.

The International 2020 dates for main event, group stage

While Reddy posted the dates for the main event of The International 2020, the date for the group stage was not revealed. However, all signs point to the event starting on August 13.

The International has used the same 18-team format since The International 2017, with four days of group stages and a six-day main event, with a day off in between. According to the 2019-2020 Dota Pro Circuit rules, the event will once again feature 18 teams. Odds are that the same format will be used for The International 2020.

With the date for the main event revealed and the group stage having a probable landing spot, the only mystery is when the qualifiers will take place. The qualifiers for The International 2019 were played in early July and with the event taking place around the same time next year, expect a similar schedule in 2020.

Which teams will play at The International 2020?

No teams have mathematically guaranteed themselves a spot in The International 2020 as of this writing. The 16 entrants will be determined over the course of the 2019-2020 Dota Pro Circuit Season.

The DPC is a set of five minors and five majors where teams win points towards a direct invitation to The International. The 12 teams with the most points at the end of the season are qualified for the event.

Teams that fall short of the top 12 can earn a spot in The International 2020 through the regional qualifiers. The North America, South America, Europe, southeast Asia, China, and the CIS regions each have one spot up for grabs, which are available to any team.

While teams are not mathematically guaranteed a spot in The International 2020 at this point, odds are that the top performers from the first major of the season will qualify for the event.

The MDL Chengdu Major finished in November with TNC Predator taking first place, Vici Gaming finishing second, and Invictus Gaming coming in third. Those performances put the teams in a very strong position for a spot in The International 2020.