Seattle, USA Confirmed as City to Host The International 12 in October
| Tags: Dota 2
| Author The Old One
The next edition of Dota 2’s flagship event, The International 12, will be moving back to its longtime home city and take place at the Climate Pledge Arena
Valve have just dropped a short, 51-second teaser video to effectively announce that The International 12 will be held in the west-coast American city of Seattle in October.
Unlike in the past, the venue of this iteration of the contest will be held at the Climate Pledge Arena. The Group Stage will begin on October 14, and the final phase of the tournament will take place between October 27-29, possibly after a short break as happened in the last tournament.
In the goosebumps-inducing video, a shadowy, suit-clad figure is seen making their way into a high-security vault containing the Aegis of Champions — the legendary trophy of The International tournaments — while whistling Dota 2’s epic theme. After entering, the person proceeds to put on gloves before lifting and placing the trophy in a wooden box for transport. A sticker saying “Priority Package Ship to Seattle Oct 2023” is then attached to it as the original orchestral rendition of the game’s theme starts playing as the screen fades out.
As has become usual for the game, Indian Dota 2 journalist Wykrhm Reddy was the first to break the news.
The Road To The International kicks off on October 14, 2023 with the Group Stage followed by the Playoffs.
The International will take place between October 27-29, 2023.
The grand stage returns to the Climate Pledge Arena. https://t.co/tAVJJBFuTt #TI12 pic.twitter.com/zVi0I2yIks
— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) May 7, 2023
The International Venues Over the Years
The tournament will be going back to what was its home city between 2012 and 2017, during which it was held at two different venues on an annual basis. Benaroya Hall saw TI2 and TI3, while the now-legendary KeyArena played host to TIs 4-7. All of these tournaments saw sold-out crowds and many moments that became immortalized in the extensive lore of the game’s esport scene.
Before Seattle, the first ever TI was held at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. Following the 6-year American dominance as the venue, the event went to the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, the Arena Națională in Bucharest, Romania, and finally Suntec Singapore and Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
Considering the backlash Valve received over the production of the last two iterations of the tournament — the first of which lacked crowds due to Covid-19 and the second had everyone complaining about the lack of production value — many in the community are hoping that along with the release of the new 7.33 Patch, this move will act as a bump to what has been a waning Dota 2 pro scene.