Ahead of the event, Valve has revealed the opening set of fixtures for The International 2025, Dota 2’s season-ending esports event.
Defending champions Team Liquid will begin its campaign against BOOM Esports, which secured a place at the tournament through the Southeast Asian regional qualifiers.
Elsewhere, Esports World Cup winners and two-time The International winners Team Spirit begin the competition with a match against Wildcard, which recently scored a third-place finish at European Pro League Season 28.
Having made a last-minute roster change three days before the Group Stage begins, Tundra Esports aims to build on its third-place finish from last year with victory over Yakutou Brothers. The Chinese side joined the team list following the withdrawal of Gaimin Gladiators in late August.
2011 champions NAVI is aiming for another playoff appearance as it takes on Team Tidebound in its opening match. Team Tidebound is one of three Chinese teams competing at this year’s event, and heads into it with momentum following victory at Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi.
After missing out on victory in front of a hometown crowd at the Esports World Cup, Team Falcons faces off against Team Nemesis, a team that won two of the three regional qualifiers for Southeast Asia.
The International 2025 Format Explained
The International 2025 is split into the Group Stage and the Playofffs, with the Group Stage of the tournament beginning on September 4th.
All 16 teams will compete in a Swiss system, with their win-to-loss record determining the opponents in the next round. The top three teams from the Group Stage advance to the Playoffs, while those that finish from fourth to 13th will compete in the elimination round.
The elimination round will determine five of the eight teams that will qualify for the Playoffs, which will use a double-elimination bracket to determine the eventual champion.
