The International 2025 Direct Invitations Revealed

Valve has revealed the eight Dota 2 teams that have received direct invitations to The International 2025. The biggest Dota 2 tournament on the esports calendar will see some of its previous champions, Team Liquid, Team Spirit and Tundra Esports, battle for the Aegis of Champions once again.

The International 2025 will pit 16 top international teams in Hamburg, Germany, from September 4-14. The final three rounds of the playoffs will be held at the city’s Barclays Arena. For the 14th edition of the tournament, Valve has introduced a new format that includes a five-round Swiss phase and only eight teams in the playoffs.

This year’s direct invites are made up of rosters that have “stood out above the rest” during the 2025 Dota 2 season so far. In addition to former Aegis of Champions winners, the invitations also include modest teams that have participated in major tournaments this year.

Serbian team PARIVISION took the ESL One Raleigh trophy in April, while BetBoom Team won FISSURE Universe: Episode 4 a month earlier. In addition, the guest list of Chinese organization Team Tidebound was acquired by All Gamers Global on the same day the direct invitations were announced.

Here is the full list of invited teams:

• Team Liquid
• PARIVISION
• BetBoom Team
• All Gamers Global (formerly Team Tidebound)
• Gladiators of Gaimin
• Team Spirit
• Team Falcons
• Tundra Esports

Road to TI includes regional qualifiers

The remaining eight spots for The International 2025 will be allocated based on the results of the open regional qualifiers. Unless invited directly, teams must first earn a spot in one of the regional qualifiers. These will be held from May 31 to June 3 (June 2 to 5 for China).

After that, the regional qualifiers will offer the following places for the international phase:

• Eastern Europe (1 place): 4-8 June
• South America (1 seat): June 4-6
• China (1 seat): June 9-12
• North America (1 seat): June 9-12
• Western Europe (2 places): June 13-17
• Southeast Asia (2 seats): 13-17 June