Dota 2 The International Championships relocate to Romania this October

Valve has announced that this year’s The International 10 – DOTA 2 Championships will now take place this October in Bucharest, Romania.

The popular MOBA’s biggest annual e-sports event usually takes place in Sweden, but was called off entirely in 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Valve had hoped that it would be able to hold the event this year in its usual home, but informed fans back in June that the Swedish Sports Federation voted not to accept e-sports into the sports federation. This meant that the event would not be eligible for exemptions that other sporting events are afforded as it relates to large public gatherings amidst the country’s recovery from the pandemic.

In the new announcement last night, Valve revealed that it will now hold the Championships in Bucharest, Romania at the country’s largest stadium, the Arena Nationala this October. The group stages will take place from October 7 to October 10 followed by Main Stage play on October 12. That’ll whittle down the teams to the final two, who’ll play in the final on October 17  for a cool prize money pool of $40,018,195.

Valve said in the announcement “We are grateful for the partnership we have formed with Romania and the city of Bucharest, and very much look forward to gathering with the global DOTA 2 community, both in-person and virtually, to celebrate the elite players and amazing fandom at The International. Prepare yourselves. At long last, the battle begins.”

Back in April, Valve marked the news that the anime based on the game entitled DOTA: Dragon’s Blood will be getting a second season on Netflix by making its documentary about the first DOTA 2 The International event Free to Play available on the streaming service.

We are thrilled to announce The International 10 – Dota 2 Championships will be held this October in Bucharest, Romania — https://t.co/SiavI2o1Al pic.twitter.com/dzaQgyejdZ

— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) July 7, 2021