The International 2026 schedule, field and prize money, mapped for PH fans
Dota 2's fifteenth world championship lands in Shanghai from 13 to 23 August 2026, and the timezone could hardly suit Manila better. This hub keeps the whole picture in one place: the two-weekend calendar, the confirmed money, the qualifier routes and the names already through.
Think of this page as the front desk. Everything a follower in the Philippines needs to track the Shanghai run threads out from here, and each deeper section carries the detail. Because the broadcast falls in a friendly afternoon-to-evening slot for local viewers, there is real reason to plan your week around it rather than catch fragments after the fact. Our The International 2026 schedule page breaks the eleven days into their group and playoff blocks.
The International 2026 schedule: how the two Shanghai weekends split
The format keeps the action front-loaded and then sharpens it. A Swiss group stage opens proceedings from 13 to 16 August, with every meeting played as a best-of-three so that early variance is smoothed out before the cuts bite. A quiet window follows from the 17th to the 19th, which gives teams room to scout and gives viewers a breather. The single-elimination playoff then runs from 20 to 23 August, when one bad series ends a campaign and the Aegis is decided.
Valve has not yet published the daily start times, so treat the hour-by-hour grid as pending rather than fixed. What is locked is the shape of the calendar. The International 2026 schedule runs four days of Swiss play, a short pause, then four days of bracket. If you only have room in your week for one stretch, the closing weekend is where titles are won, though the Swiss rounds often produce the sharpest upsets of the whole event.
Where the TI 2026 prize pool stands today
The headline figure is a confirmed base of 1.6 million US dollars, and that number alone shapes how the tournament feels. There is no announced crowdfunded top-up at the time of writing, so we are deliberately not quoting a larger pot or guessing at placement payouts. The detailed TI 2026 prize pool breakdown explains how this base sits against the towering crowdfunded editions of years past.
For Philippine readers the more interesting story is context rather than the raw total. The base is real money on the line from the first Swiss series, and it rewards consistency across a long format rather than a single hot night. As Valve confirms any additional funding, that section is where the revised figure will land, with the same refusal to invent numbers that are not yet official.
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See the SpinBetter offer18+ only. Bet responsibly.Reading the TI qualifiers 2026 from a Manila armchair
Sixteen sides reach Shanghai: seven by direct invitation and nine through five regional routes. Europe carries four of those slots, China two, and Southeast Asia, North America and South America one apiece. For local fans the SEA route is the obvious hook, and the live state of the TI qualifiers 2026 is exactly what our qualifier tracker follows region by region.
Some routes have already closed. South America is done, with LGD Gaming claiming the lone slot, and China has filled its pair, Vici Gaming confirmed first. The Southeast Asian bracket is still being contested as we write, so no SEA name is settled yet, and Europe and North America are likewise unresolved. Treat any "complete field" list you see elsewhere with caution; the sixteen is not closed until those brackets finish.
Who is already through: the TI 2026 teams picture
The seven invited squads were named in late May, and they give the bracket its early spine. The roster of TI 2026 teams currently mixes those locks with the qualified sides from the regions that have wrapped, and the teams page keeps the running list honest about what is confirmed versus reported. We would rather show you an incomplete field labelled clearly than a tidy sixteen built on guesswork.
- Direct invites: Aurora Gaming, BoomBoys, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, Tundra Esports, Xtreme Gaming and Team Yandex.
- Through the qualifiers so far: LGD Gaming from South America and Vici Gaming from China.
- Still pending: the Southeast Asian, North American and European slots, plus China's second seat.
It is a strong top end already, with several former champions and deep-running sides among the invites. But the field has genuine gaps, and the qualifier survivors have a habit of arriving in form and ruining seedings. That is part of why we resist naming a favourite this far out, and why the standings tracker will matter so much once the Swiss rounds begin.
Standings, viewing and supporter bundles in brief
Once Shanghai is live, the TI 2026 standings turn from preview into scoreboard, and that is where this hub earns its keep. The Swiss table decides who advances and who exits, and the bracket that follows is unforgiving. Our results tracker records each round as it lands and explains how the seeding carries into the playoff.
The broadcast itself is free. Valve streams the whole event on its own official Dota 2 channels, with an English feed, regional alternatives and the in-client viewer, and our watch and tickets guide covers both the streams and the arena seats that went on sale in June. Around the event, The International 2026 supporter bundles are the usual in-client way to engage with cosmetics and progression, and we flag the official store as the only place to buy them rather than any third-party reseller.
A measured word on The International 2026 predictions
Plenty of readers want a tip, and the honest answer right now is that the field is too open for one. With qualifying unfinished, our take on The International 2026 predictions is a guide to reading odds rather than a list of locks, and the predictions page walks through how betting markets move and how to stay in control. We name SpinBetter there as our partner sportsbook, framed for adults who treat a wager as entertainment.
If you take one thing from this overview, let it be the calendar. Block out 13 to 16 August for the Swiss rounds and 20 to 23 August for the playoff, keep an eye on the qualifier brackets that are still running, and come back as the seeding firms up. Everything else on this site fills in around that frame.
Quick answers before Shanghai
When does the tournament actually start?
Play opens with the Swiss stage on 13 August 2026 and the grand final closes the event on 23 August. The middle of the run, 17 to 19 August, is a scheduled break with no listed matches. Daily start times are still to be announced by Valve.
How many teams reach the Shanghai finals?
Sixteen in total: seven direct invites and nine from the five regional qualifiers. The slot split is four for Europe, two for China and one each for Southeast Asia, North America and South America. Several of those slots were still being decided at the time of writing.
Is there a bigger prize pool coming?
Only the 1.6 million dollar base is confirmed. No crowdfunded addition has been announced, so we are not quoting a larger figure or any placement breakdown. If Valve adds funding, the prize pool page will carry the updated number.