For the third time in the event’s history, The International is coming to Europe in 2024. The location will be Copenhagen’s Royal Arena located in Denmark.
The upcoming September event is one of esports’ biggest competitions. Though challenges arose recently, Valve is returning again for another tournament. This long running gaming showdown attracts many skilled players and viewers a like.
The International returns the Europe
This will mark only the third occasion in the past thirteen years that The International Dota 2 championship will be held in Europe. The city of Copenhagen, Denmark is experiencing a substantial rise in premier esports events throughout 2022, with PGL’s Dota 2 Major tournament and Rocket League Championship Series Major 1 also scheduled to take place.
However, none receive quite as much esteem as The International. Following a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion to last year that saw the ultimate reward pool just narrowly surpass $3 million, Valve will truly need to go above and beyond to make this year remarkable.
Midas Mode a custom game mode first seen in 2017 through Moonduck received a mention in the recent blog post. So it seems reasonable to expect its return later this year, whether integrated directly into Dota or run as an independent tournament. While the specifics remain mysterious, I find it difficult to believe GabeN would toy with our emotions without delivering in the end. Only time will tell how exactly Midas Mode 2 may shape up!
Qualification details revealed
Without the DPC, the path to TI hasn’t been straightforward. While EPT points provide some guidance on team standings, securing an invite was truly unknown. Teams lacked clear direction on qualifying.
The blog article verified that 16 groups will contend this year through open qualifying rounds, regional qualifying rounds and direct invitations. As traditionally, the direct invites will be provided to the teams “dependent on how the teams performed throughout the year“. So it appears each tournament from DreamLeague to ESL One to the new PGL tournaments will be considered.
In-game events
Now that the annual Dota 2 tournament battle pass has concluded, fans have anticipated additional ingame happenings to occur as the year progresses. Previously, the focus was heavily centered around The International each fall. Going forward however, Valve aims for Dota 2 activities to feel less dependent on TI alone. By scheduling more events across various months, the developer hopes to allow the prize pool to expand at a steadier pace rather than skyrocketing in just the weeks prior to the main event. This proposed change would help generate sustained interest until the next yearly championship.
In an earlier February blog post, Valve stated their goal to release a new update called Crownfall as quickly as possible. However, a month has passed without any additional details shared.
Valve has been diligently developing the Dota Labs update. However, players eagerly anticipate the introduction of the new Dota hero, Ringmaster. Excitement is building I wonder what else is in store for the game?
