The International 7

The DOTA 2 community is preparing itself for the shockingly large tournament; TI7. Recently, the direct invites were announced for 6 teams. Namely OG, Virtus.pro, Newbee, Team Liquid, Invictus Gaming and Evil Geniuses. All are respectable choices, with OG recognised as the reigning champions, Virtus.Pro considered second best and every other invite is due to the team having a respectable legacy and record last year.

Apart from the 6 teams luxuriously invited, a dozen more spots await the victors from regional qualifiers.  Groups for the regions have already been filled up. Three placements from China and Southeast Asia, two from NA and Eu and CIS along with South America holding one spot each. After the group of 18 teams is round up, phase 1 will consist of a couple of round robin groups to eliminate the bottom team of each. With a proper number of 16, the main event may take place at KeyArena following a familiar double elimination bracket.

Last year saw Wings Gaming claim first place and a healthy piece of the $20 million dollar prize pool. TI7 raises the stakes further from TI6 by adding a million dollars more into the prize pool. Favourites include most of the invited teams, but can a regional champion seize it all?

Open qualifiers start as soon as June 22 - 25. Regional qualifiers take place a few days later between June 26th and 29th.