| The International 2023 | |
| Game: | Dota 2 |
| Start Date: | October 12 |
| End Date: | October 29, 2023 |
| Administrator: | Valve |
| Host: | United States |
| Participants: | 20 teams |
| Purse: | US$3,380,455 |
| Champion: | Team Spirit |
| Runner-Up1: | Gaimin Gladiators |
| Runner-Up2: | LGD Gaming |
| Previous: | 2022 |
| Next: | 2024 |
The International 2023 (commonly referred to as TI 2023 or TI 12) was the concluding tournament of the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game Dota 2. The International is the concluding international tournament of the Dota Pro Circuit in different regions. The tournament ran from October 12 until the Grand Finals on October 29, 2023.
A total of 20 teams qualified to compete in The International with 12 teams qualifying through the Dota Pro Circuit while 8 teams qualified through the regional qualifiers. These eight teams were subdivided into allotments from different regions with two Western European and South American teams and one team from North America, Eastern Europe, China and Southeast Asia, respectively, qualifying through the regional qualifiers.[1]
TI 10 champions Team Spirit won The International 2023 following their early playoff exit during The International 2022. Team Spirit defeated North America's Gaimin Gladiators in the Finals 3-0.[2] Team Spirit is the second team in TI history to win two-world championship titles to the organization with OG being the first back-to-back world champions in 2018 and 2019.[3]
The International 2023's Group Stage were done through online live broadcasts on several platforms such as YouTube and Facebook with the Playoffs being held at the Seattle Convention Center. Meanwhile, the Grand Finals was done in the Climate Pledge Arena, also in Seattle.
| Seattle, Washington | ||
|---|---|---|
| Playoffs Weekend | Finals Weekend | |
| Seattle Convention Center | Climate Pledge Arena | |
| Capacity: 8,000 | Capacity: 18,300 | |
The International 2023 followed a different approach in the Group Stage and Playoffs of the tournament. The event was split into two phases: The Road to The International and The International.
The Road to The International refers to the Group Stage where all 20 teams are set to be split into four groups to matchup into a single Round-robin tournament with Best-of-two matches. The first phase of The Road to The International was specifically made in order to determine the teams competing in Phase 2.[4]
The Top 2 teams during Phase 1 will be matching up with either the Third or Fourth Seed of a different group in a best-of-three match. Phase 2 was conducted in order to determine the placement per team in the 16-team bracket playoffs.
The International is the main playoff event. The teams that have competed in Phase 2 will be seeded accordingly in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals while the teams who lost in Phase 2 will be seeded accordingly in the Lower Bracket's First Round.
12 of the 20 participating teams qualified through the Dota Pro Circuit, a string of professional tournaments in every region to determine allocated points for teams to qualify to The International. The remaining eight teams qualified through the Regional Qualifiers.
| Dota Pro Circuit | ||
|---|---|---|
| Europe | Team Liquid | |
| Tundra Esports | ||
| Team Spirit | ||
| CIS | BetBoom Team | |
| 9Pandas | ||
| North America | TSM | |
| Shopify Rebellion | ||
| Gaimin Gladiators | ||
| South America | Evil Geniuses | |
| beastcoast | ||
| Southeast Asia | Talon Esports | |
| China | LGD Gaming | |
| Regional Qualifiers | ||
| North America | nouns | |
| South America | Keyd Stars | |
| Thunder Awaken | ||
| Western Europe | Entity | |
| PSG Quest | ||
| Eastern Europe | Virtus.pro | |
| China | Azure Ray | |
| Southeast Asia | Team SMG | |
The Group Stage Draw was released by Valve on 11 October 2023. The draw was not broadcast nor given prior to any eSports pages or enthusiasts. The draw featured four groups with five teams each.[6]
| 9Pandas | Azure Ray | beastcoast | PSG Quest | |
| Entity | BetBoom Team | Gaimin Gladiators | Talon Esports | |
| Evil Geniuses | Shopify Rebellion | LGD Gaming | TSM | |
| Team SMG | Team Liquid | nouns | Tundra Esports | |
| Team Spirit | Thunder Awaken | Virtus.pro | Keyd Stars |
The Group Stage Weekend began on the 12 October 2023 beginning with Phase One. Phase One of the Group Stage Weekend will eliminate one team per group in order to determine the sixteen teams that would qualify in The International playoff bracket itself. Teams eliminated in Phase One would not be contending for the playoffs.[7]
The Group Stage's Top 2 seeds will face the third or fourth seed of certain groups. Phase Two will determine the placement of each team in the playoff bracket stage with the winning team being seeded in the Upper Bracket while the Losing team in the Lower Bracket.[8] All winning teams will be seeded in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals against each other while the losing teams would be seeded in the Lower Bracket's Round 1.
| Team Name | Final Position | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| Team Spirit | Champions | $1,521,362 |
| Gaimin Gladiators | 1st Runner Up | $405,637 |
| LGD Gaming | 2nd Runner Up | $270,499 |
| Azure Ray | 3rd Runner Up | $185,898 |
| Team Liquid | 5th-6th | $109,925 |
| BetBoom Team | ||
| nouns | 7th-8th | $84,489 |
| Virtus.pro | ||
| TSM | ||
| 9Pandas | ||
| Talon Esports | ||
| Entity | ||
| Shopify Rebellion | ||
| Evil Geniuses | ||
| Keyd Stars | ||
| Tundra Esports | ||
| Team SMG | ||
| Thunder Awaken | ||
| beastcoast | ||
| PSG Quest |