Valve has a new proposed date, location for The International 10

The International 10 has been left in limbo for a long while, but Valve has a rough idea of when the event might actually happen.

As part of a larger update regarding the future of the Dota 2 pro scene and the return of the Dota Pro Circuit, Valve gave an estimate regarding when and where The International 10 might take place.

Valve estimates TI10 will happen in August 2021 in Stockholm, Sweden.

The news of TI10 still taking place in Stockholm is welcome for European Dota 2 fans. Starting with The International 2019, Valve has been looking to turn the event into a traveling show. This involves taking bids to host the event from cities around the globe, something that started with the event moving from North America to Shanghai, China in 2019.

“Our outlook right now is that we are anticipating the start of DPC to be in the first month or two of 2021…We are also operating under the assumption that the most likely outcome is for The International to happen in Stockholm in August 2021,” Valve said in the post.

2020 was supposed to see The International take place in Stockholm at the Ericsson Globe Arena, news that was revealed during the TI9 broadcast with a message from the mayor of the city. This was meant to be the return of The International to Europe for the first time since TI1, which was held in Germany. 

The event was indefinitely postponed earlier this year, and it seemed possible that The International might never actually take place in Sweden. This wasn’t helped by a previous call for pitches from cities and countries for the opportunity to host The International 2021.

But Valve plans to make good on the previous arrangements with Stockholm by having the event take place there. It is unclear which venue will host it, but specifics likely won’t come until much closer to the event.

Mystery still swirls around TI10 qualification, prize pool

Even with this, there are still a great many questions about The International 10. The date and location could still change depending on how things develop in the coming months. 

Alongside those long-term questions are short-term ones about how teams can work towards qualifying. Alongside the information about the new date for The International 10 was a rough plan to create a “regional major” qualification system similar to the one currently being used in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. 

There was also no discussion over what might happen regarding the prize pool. The current TI10 Battle Pass has already garnered over $35 million from fans and another battle pass would likely launch in the months between now and The International 10. Whether Valve plans to redistribute the $35 million across other Dota 2 events held between now and then, or the plan is to host one gargantuan event with two battle passes’ worth of prize pool, is unknown.

Exact details won’t likely come until 2021.