Fans have been rabid for the return of The International with The International 10 slated for August. Unfortunately fans will have to wait a little longer for the massive DOTA 2 event - as it's just been delayed.
The International 10 Delayed
Valve has decided to change the venue for the International 10. Originally planned to take place in the Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.
The organizers officially announced that the tournament has been moved to the Stadium Nationala in Bucharest Romania. With this change, the tournament has been delayed again.
New Start Date, New Venue
The International 10 will take place in Romania’s largest stadium Arena Nationala.
The Group Stage will run from October 7 to 10. The competition continues with the Main Stage that kicks off on October 12. The Grand Final will take place on October 17
Valve will confirm if the tournament will have a live audience. The forum has a capacity for 55,000 spectators.
The longest DOTA International
While teams were playing in the first season of DPC (DOTA Pro Circuit), Valve announced in May of last year that the tournament expected to be held in August 2020 was postponed without further notice about a new date due to COVID-19.
Almost a year after, we received the good news that the International 10 was back on track keeping the same Venue in Stockholm, Sweden. However, the qualifiers restarted and it will be the results of DPC season 2 that will give the first 12 invitations to the finals.
With everything going well, in June 2021 Valve announced that the government of Sweden has denied considering e-sports as part of the sports federation. A situation that started a series of unsuccessful negotiations, leading to this new delay.
TI10 was denied as an Elite Sport Event
One of the biggest challenges that organizers have to face every TI is the expedition of migratory paperwork. To the point that some players have missed the competition due to the fact, they do not get a Visa on time to access the territory where the tournament is taking place.
The Swedish Esports Federation (SESF), did not consider e-sports as a sport. That brings even bigger problems in getting visas not only for fans but even for some of the most important players, considering that most countries still keep strict restrictions for the pandemic.
The organizers took the case to the Ministry of Interior in the nordic country. But they were rejected again.