The International 2025 direct invites have been revealed

Valve has revealed all eight Dota 2 teams which have received direct invites to The International 2025 in September.

The largest Dota 2 tournament in the game’s esports calendar will see some of its previous champions, Team Liquid, Team Spirit and Tundra Esports, fight for the Aegis of Champions again.

The International 2025 will see 16 top-tier international teams compete in Hamburg, Germany, from September 4th-14th. The final three Playoffs days will be held at the city’s Barclays Arena. For the tournament’s 14th edition, Valve introduced a new format which includes a five-round Swiss stage and only eight teams in the Playoffs.

According to Valve’s press release yesterday, this year’s direct invites are made out of rosters that have ‘risen above the rest’ during the 2025 Dota 2 season so far. In addition to the former Aegis of Champions winners, the invites also feature underdogs who have been featured at major tournaments this year.

Serbian team PARIVISION secured the ESL One Raleigh trophy in April, while BetBoom Team won FISSURE Universe: Episode 4 one month prior. Moreover, the invited roster of Chinese organisation Team Tidebound was acquired by All Gamers Global on the same day as the direct invites were announced.

Here is the full list of invited teams:

The remaining eight slots at The International 2025 will be assigned based on Open Regional Qualifier results. Unless directly invited, teams must first earn a spot in one of the Regional Qualifiers through the international Open Qualifiers. These will run from May 31st until June 3rd (June 2nd-5th for China).

Afterwards, the Regional Qualifiers will offer slots for The International as follows: