The International is the biggest events on the Dota 2 calendar, with it also the no.1 events to bet on in esports. The International betting is done all over the world, although Dota 2 is particularly popular in Asia, with the top player ranks dominated by China and Korea.
The best The International betting sites will largely be determined by your location. Our guide to The International betting includes details like how to bet, the top Dota 2 bookies, The International odds and of-course the latest news and tips that will enhance your betting.
Dota 2 The International betting and odds 2023
Odds for the Dota 2 The International will be available closer to the start of the event.
Dota 2 The International 2023 teams
Teams will be announced before the start of The International.
Why The International is a huge betting event
The International is the biggest annual esports tournament in the world and one every fan of professional video gaming should watch. It showcases the best Dota 2 talent on the world-stage every year in August and is famous for having the largest prize pool for a single esports tournament around the globe – breaking its own record for the last three years.
The 2023 tournament is the 12th edition of The International, organized entirely by Dota 2’s creators, Valve. This year’s event is the richest yet, with the prize pool expected to top $30 million, and we can’t wait to see how the competition adapts to the higher stakes. Here’s what we know of this year’s plans.
Where to bet on Dota 2 The International
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Betting markets on The International are currently not open. With the event held in October each year, there’s still plenty of professional Dota 2 tournaments, part of the Dota Pro Circuit, which you can bet on all year-round at the many highly-reviewed sites listed in the table above, geo-targeted to only display the best options for customers from your country.
An introduction to The International
The International acts as the definitive championship tournament for the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), an eight-month season of Dota 2 competitions held around the world. Each DPC event awards Qualifying Points, used to determine which teams get direct invites to The International, held every August.
For Dota 2 esports players who play year-round, The International remains the best possible shot at top bragging rights and a million-dollar payout (and more) every single year. Valve has implemented some big changes for 2023, making the whole qualification process smoother, more transparent and more rewarding to the teams that perform well throughout the season.
The International 2023 qualification structure
Professional Dota 2 teams around the world must participate in Valve Majors and Minors, officially sponsored tournaments run by third-party organizers like Electronic Sports League, to earn an invitation to The International.
These events make up the eight-month long Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) and offer massive prize pools and titles of their own, but the main reason to participate is to collect DPC ranking points. Awarded to teams based on their performances in Minor and Major tournaments, these points ultimately determine who takes part at The International. The more points you earn, the better your chances of making the cut.
As suggested by their tier, Minor tournaments grant less DPC points while Majors grant 30 times as many. A total of 500 points can be won in a Minor, whereas 15,000 are awarded to the winners of a Major.
The 2018-19 Dota Pro Circuit removed the Qualifying Points (QP), which were awarded to individual players. The new system associates the qualifying points with teams instead of players, thus giving the teams more flexibility with roster changes throughout the season.
An additional change to the 2018-19 DPC season saw only five Minors and Majors, held in pairs, with qualifiers of each held in exclusively scheduled windows. There were no direct invites to Minors nor Majors. The winners of a Minor did, however, earn themselves a spot in the Major that happened shortly afterwards.
For The International 2019, Valve also decided to send out direct invites to the 12 top-ranking teams on the Dota Pro Circuit. In previous years, only the top eight teams were guaranteed a place in the tournament.
That change also forced some changes to the qualification routes. A total of six single-elimination qualifying playoffs brackets were held in September 2022, with winners of the regions of China, CIS, North America, Europe, South America and Southeast Asia earning invites to the main event.
The International 2023 match structure
Twelve teams will qualify through the Dota Pro Circuit, with eight more teams qualifying through the regional qualifiers. One team from each of the North America, Eastern Europe, China and Southeast Asia will qualify, while two teams from each of the Western Europe and South America will book their place in the season finale.
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Group Stage – Phase One
- Four groups of five teams each
- Single round-robin
- All series are best-of-two
- Top two teams in each group will get matched with opponents from either the third or fourth place teams in the opposite group for phase two
- The bottom team in each group is eliminated
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Group Stage – Phase Two
- Remaining 16 teams play eight best-of-three head-to-head matches to determine main event bracket placement
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Main Event
- 16 teams play in a double-elimination bracket
- Eight teams begin in the upper-bracket and eight teams in the lower bracket
- Grand final is best-of-five, but all other series are best-of-three
Dota 2 The International prize money
The prize pool for The International is ever-growing thanks to Valve’s immense contribution and investment.
Given they are one of the wealthiest gaming companies in the world supporting esports, it makes sense Valve want to see their most successful property continue to lead the way in the booming pro gaming circuit.
In the last few years, Valve has crowdfunded the prize-pool by selling a digital compendium, the ‘Battle Pass’, to hardcore fans, with 25% of all revenue generated from sales put directly into the tournament’s prize-pool.
The prize pool distribution for the 2023 Dota 2 The International will be distributed as the table shows below.
| Place | $USD | Percentage Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $1,365,391 | 45% |
| 2nd | $364,051 | 12% |
| 3rd | $242,767 | 8% |
| 4th | $166,840 | 5.5% | 5th-6th | $98,656 | 3.25% | 7th-8th | $78,827 | 2.5% | 9th-12th | $60,642 | 2% | 13th-16th | $45,557 | 1.5% | 17th-20th | $30,371 | 1% |
Dota 2 The International past-winners
The International 2023 will mark the 12th edition of the event, which has seen 10 different esports organizations hoist the Aegis of Champions.
Past winners of the Dota 2 The International:
| Year | Team | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natus Vincere | EHOME |
| 2012 | Invictus Gaming | Natus Vincere |
| 2013 | Aliiance | Natus Vincere |
| 2014 | Newbee | Vici Gaming |
| 2015 | Evil Geniuses | CDEC Gaming |
| 2016 | Wings Gaming | Digital Chaos |
| 2017 | Team Liquid | Newbee |
| 2018 | OG | PSG.LGD |
| 2019 | OG | Team Liquid |
| 2020 | Event was not held | |
| 2021 | Team Spirit | PSG.LGD |
| 2022 | Tundra Esports | Team Secret |
| 2023 | Team Spirit | Gaimin Gladiators |
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