This is your one-stop shop for all things TI8. This overview includes The International 2018 schedule, live stream information, a look at the groups, players, teams and talent.
TI8 live stream
The International 2018 live streams are available on Twitch.
English streams
Feed 1
Russian streams
TI background
The International is the Dota 2 showpiece event of the season. It is the biggest esports event of the year and is the final event of the year in the Dota Pro Circuit. Organised by Valve Corporation, the creators of Dota 2, TI has been staged since 2011.
Related: Redeye's TI8 preview and prediction
The International 2018 schedule
The International 2018 group stage
August 15 to August 18: 18 teams play round robin format in two groups, best-of-two (BO2). Top four teams from each group qualify for upper bracket of main event, bottom team is eliminated, remaining four teams from each group qualify for lower bracket of main event.
Matches are scheduled to start at 5pm BST, 7.30pm, 10pm, 12.30am and 3am.
The International 2018 main event
August 20 to August 25: 16 teams play double-elimination format (teams that lose twice are elimnated). First lower bracket round is BO1, other rounds are B03, before Grand Finals is B05.
Main event messages are due to start at 6pm, 9pm, midnight, 1am, 2am and 3am.
Which teams are at TI8?
The teams lining up for TI8 are:
- PSG.LGD
- Liquid
- Mineski
- Vici Gaming
- Newbee
- Secret
- Virtus Pro
- VGJ Thunder
- OG
- Winstrike
- Evil Geniuses
- OpTic Gaming
- VGJ Storm
- paiN
- Invictus Gaming
- Serenity
- Fnatic
- TnC Predator
TI8 venue
The 2018 International will be held at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada. It will be only the second time the event has been held outside Seattle, US, where it moved after 2011, when it was staged in Cologne.
Rogers Arena hold about 19,000 people and tickets are sold out.
TI8 prizepool
The prizepool at Dota Internationals is the highest in esports, thanks largely to crowdfunding. For every TI since 2013, fans who buy the Compendium contribute to the prizepool. The base prizepool for TI is $1.6m but the total prizepool since 2016 has been more than $20m thanks to contributions from fans.
The prizepool for TI8 is $23,700,000 at the time of writing, with contributions adding to that tally until just before the tournament ends.
The International 2018 talent
Production values at TI are extremely high and some of the finest broadcasters and content creators in esports will be in attendance.
English-language hosts for 2018 are:
- William Cho, AKA Chobra
- Alex Richardson, AKA Machine
- Paul Chaloner, AKA Redeye
- Jorien van der Heijden, AKA Sheever
English-language commentators at TI8:
- Capitalist (Austin Walsh)
- Godz (David Parker)
- GrandGrant (Grant Harris)
- Luminous (David Zhang)
- Lyrical (Gabriel Cruz)
- ODPixel (Owen Davies)
- TobiWan (Toby Dawson)
- TrentPax (Trent MacKenzie)
- AdmiralBulldog (Henrik Ahnberg)
- Blitz (William Lee)
- BSJ (Brian Canavan)
- Fogged (Ioannis Loucas)
- Kyle (Kyle Freedman)
- syndereN (Troels Lyngholt Nielsen)
- WinteR (Chan Litt Binn)
- Nahaz (Alan Bester)
- March (Park Tae-won)
- Purge (Kevin Godec)
Being selected to brodacst at TI is a huge honor for esports broadcasters.
Paul Chaloner said: "It's an incredible honour to be asked to host the richest esports event in the world and after missing out last year and putting in a lot of work on my hosting, my game knowledge and even more preparation throughout the season, it's very gratifying to find that paid off.
"I'm grateful to Valve for giving me the opportunity to host my third TI."
Predict your champions to win Arcana
TI8 Pubstomps
Tickets for TI have long sold out but that doesn't stop you watching the action with fellow Dota 2 fans.
A series of TI8 Pubstomps will be hosted across the globe, from Australia to Vietnam.
Find your nearest one in this Reddit thread dedicated to TI8 Pubstomps.
TI8 Short Film Contest
Every year, in the weeks building up to TI, Valve asks fans to submite a short Dota 2-inspired film, with the chance to be broadcast during TI and win up to $25,000 in prize money.
We've collated the latest entries for the TI8 Short Film Contest here.
What makes TI so special?
Finally, another word from this year's host on why TI is so special.
Redeye said: "It's special for the fans who attend, those who watch it online, the players, the managers, the teams, the production staff and of course the talent and everyone in between all those.
"It's hard to pinpoint exactly why, I think it’s a mixture of things, the size of the event, the fact it’s the end of the Dota season where a year of your life has been spent working hard, praying and hoping you get to go and the ultimate fight for the Aegis.
"The money is great for players, of course, but ask most of them and it’s about the glory, proving you are the best in the world when it most matters and making history."
