Dota 2 The International 10 Postponed to 2021

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Valve breaks the silence and it looks like this year has no Ti! (Image Credit: Valve)

If you follow the Dota 2 scene you know something big was missing from this summer season. The International 10 is indefinitely on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic and as of September 4 valve has broken the silence regarding the date of the tournament. Ti 10 will be held in August 2021 if possible.

In a recent post on the Dota 2 blog page, Valve reveals in a rather lengthy post that this year will not have a TI. The post explained in detail that Valve wishes to have at least the players at the same venue for Ti and therefore will move Ti 10 to next summer. They also commented on the overall Dota Pro Circuit (the old Majors system).

"While we had already assumed that having a crowd for the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) events was not in the cards, we wanted to at least have confidence in being able to bring all teams together for cross-region competition. We felt that was a very important component of how we allocate DPC points for The International. We were also unsure of when The International itself would happen, and given the significant lead time needed, the increased spread of the virus made it harder to model out a time frame with confidence. The potential for the DPC season and its narrative feeling too detached from the path towards The International was negative for us."
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(Image Credit: Valve)

The Upcoming Dota 2 Season

Valve has already planned four third party tournaments in the EU/CIS region and three tournaments in China. Other tournaments are still in the planning stage but nothing has been announced. Valve has hinted that the DPC is coming sooner rather than later.

"Our outlook right now is that we are anticipating the start of DPC to be in the first month or two of 2021. Our hope is that by the time the first DPC league concludes, travel limitations will be more predictable and spontaneous restrictions will be less likely, thus allowing for Majors with cross-region competition to happen. We are also operating under the assumption that the most likely outcome is for The International to happen in Stockholm in August 2021."

We are in a pandemic, your actions literally impact the reality of the DPC. If you want more pro Dota 2 practice safe hygiene and keep your germs to yourself. As of now, it seems very unlikely we see any DPC events with a crowd of fans cheering players on. Everything hinges on travel restrictions set by the major global regions of NA, EU and China, and Valve can only follow the lead of these countries' regulations. How high do you think the Battle Pass will get now? We think the future of the Battle Pass in unclear. One must ask if they might cap it or let it keep building?

For More Dota 2 action EarlyGame is the here and ready to go! Check out the Dota 2’s TI10 Breaks Its Old Record for the Biggest Prize Pool in Esports.

Paul Hayes

I did my BA in English Lit. and Language Studies at Western University in Canada and I use to play MTG competitively, but sadly to no success so I write instead! If a game doesn't challenge me, it's not the...