No More Best of 2 at The International

The International 2025 (TI 2025) is the fourteenth annual edition of the most popular Dota 2 tournament and will take place in Barclays Arena, Hamburg, Germany.

Just like in the previous year, TI 2025 will be divided into two main phases: the group stage and the special elimination round, collectively referred to as The Road to The International. The playoffs, on the other hand, are officially branded as The International.

While most of the things stay the same, there is one huge surprise – this year’s edition will be the first time the tournament uses a five-round Swiss bracket, instead of the usual round-robin group.

As per Valve, the decision was made to increase the feeling that “every single match had stakes”.

Over the first three days, sixteen teams will compete in best-of-three matches against others with the same win-loss record (for example, teams at 2–0 will face other 2–0 teams, and 1–3 teams will play other 1–3 teams). A team that earns its fourth win will immediately qualify for the playoffs, while a fourth loss will result in elimination.

At the end of the five Swiss rounds, three teams will have advanced with four wins, and three will be eliminated after four losses. The remaining ten teams will enter a final elimination stage, where the highest-ranked teams face the lowest-ranked. The five winners from that round will secure the last spots at The International, and the five losing teams will be knocked out.

Commentary from the editor (I follow Dota since ZSMJ Medusa - if you know, you know):

I welcome this change, as I won’t have the same, strange gut feeling, after each match that results in a tie (1-1). The b03 will always yield a high stakes game, only one team will be the clear winner, the tension will be high, odds – too. This format is also better for people that like to bet on their favourite teams (Have you tried our Pick’em challenge where you can pick the winners of each dota2 match, daily, without spending any money, but winning skins monthly? What are you waiting for – it’s completely free - HERE!).

The only downside I see is the potential disruptions in the time schedule – b03 mean that the time between matches can vary greatly. Imagine all matches in one day extending to the 3rd game (2-1 or 1-2) and every game to be longer than 50 minutes.

What do you think?

Valve's official information:

"The International starts Thursday, September 11th and runs in the arena for four days, culminating in the Grand Finals on Sunday, September 14th. The eight teams that advanced from The Road to The International will compete for the Aegis in Barclays Arena in front of thousands of fans."

"All eight teams start in the upper bracket of a standard double-elimination bracket, seeded based on Road to the International performance (highest against lowest). All matches are best-of-three except for the Grand Finals, which are best-of-five. All eight teams start in the upper bracket of a standard double-elimination bracket, seeded based on Road to the International performance (highest against lowest). All matches are best-of-three except for the Grand Finals, which are best-of-five."

Tickets:

Single-day and multi-day bundle tickets for The International will go on sale on AXS starting 10am CEST, Tuesday, April 15th. We can't wait to see you there.