Dota 2‘s esports calendar is vast and all-encompassing, but by far the highlight of the year is The International, the largest celebration of the game we all know and love in the form of a huge tournament seeing squads from across the globe battle to destroy the other’s ancient.

Esports fans from other titles always swing by a Dota 2 stream or two during TI, with the event historically one of the largest in terms of prize pool. However, things changed in 2023 after a landmark decision from Valve to cut back on crowdfunding the event via the battle pass.