Valve has revealed the list of teams that received direct invitations to The International 2026. This year, only seven teams were invited directly instead of the usual eight. The company also shared details and dates for the regional qualifiers.
Direct invites to TI 2026
The following teams received direct invitations to the tournament:
- Aurora Gaming
- BoomBoys
- Team Falcons
- Team Liquid
- Tundra Esports
- Xtreme Gaming
- Team Yandex
The remaining nine slots will be decided through regional qualifiers.
The biggest change this season is the merger of Eastern and Western Europe into a single European qualifier, where four qualification spots for the championship will be up for grabs.
Regional qualifier schedule
- China: June 15–18 (2 slots)
- South America: June 15–19 (1 slot)
- Southeast Asia: June 19–23 (1 slot)
- Europe: June 21–28 (4 slots)
- North America: June 24–26 (1 slot)
The group stage of The International 2026 will take place from August 13 to 16 using a Swiss-system format. The playoff stage is scheduled for August 20–23.
The eight best teams in the world will compete at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai.
As a reminder, analyst KrizzeN recently announced that he is extending his contract with FURIA.