Dota 2 TI 14: Key Details
The Dota 2 International 2025 will be the 14th edition of the competition. Eight teams joined the party with direct invites, and eight more entered the fray via regional qualifiers. We’ll talk about our 2025 TI Dota 2 favorites soon, but first, let’s find out the key dates and venue details.
| ℹ️ Tournament: |
Dota 2, The International 2025 (TI 14) |
| 🧾 Format: |
S-tier LAN tournament with 16 teams and a few stages |
| 🎮 Venue: |
Barclays Arena, Hamburg, Germany |
| 🗓️ Dates: |
Thursday, September 4 to Sunday, September 14, 2025 |
Understanding the International 2025
The Dota 2 International 2025 is a $2.3 million tournament that will crown the new best of the best in world Dota 2 at the 16,000-capacity Barclays Arena in Hamburg. Valve announced a $1.6 million base prize for the tournament in May. More than $700k has been added to the prize pool since then from bundle sales.
Sixteen teams will compete in the TI14 main stage, and eight of them walked in without having to play any qualifiers. These teams will dominate our 2025 Dota 2 The International tips discussion since they are the most consistent sides in the game over the past year.
The remaining eight have to earn their places through qualifiers. Natus Vincere and Nigma Galaxy represent the Western Europe region. Southeast Asia also has two representatives: Team Nemesis and BOOM Esports. Other regions have one team each. They are: Aurora Gaming (Eastern Europe), Xtreme Gaming (China), Wildcard (North America), and HEROIC (South America).
As for the format, The International 2025 will hold a Swiss-system group stage named ‘The Road to the International’. The teams will play best-of-three matches, and the top three will directly qualify for the next stage of the tournament, while the bottom three pack their bags. For teams finishing 4-13, however, there is a lifeline.
A special elimination round gives teams between the direct qualification and drop zone a second chance to qualify for the playoffs. Five more teams will join the first three to complete the playoff field.
The playoffs are called ‘The International’. These matches will be held in double-elimination brackets. The grand final will be decided in a best-of-five.
