If you have ever wanted to watch the best Dota 2 teams on the planet fight for the Aegis of Champions in person, this is your year. Valve has confirmed that The International 2026 tickets go on sale on 10 June at 2PM China Standard Time, giving fans a clear date to mark down before Dota 2’s biggest tournament returns to Shanghai this August.

The announcement landed just after Valve revealed the seven directly-invited teams, so the full picture of what TI 2026 looks like is finally coming together. Here is everything you need to know about getting yourself a seat.

What Valve Has Confirmed About TI 2026 Tickets

Tickets cover the TI 2026 main event at the SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, running from 20 to 23 August. That is four days of in-arena Dota, from the opening matches right through to the grand finals.

There are two ways to buy in. You can grab single-day tickets for any individual day, or go for a two-day bundle. The bundles are split into a Thursday and Friday pairing for 20 to 21 August, and a Saturday and Sunday pairing for 22 to 23 August, which conveniently puts the grand finals in the second bundle.

One thing to note before you start planning your trip: every seat this year is assigned. There are no General Admission tickets, so whatever you buy comes with a specific reserved seat in the section you choose.

The International 2026 Ticket Prices

Pricing depends on which day you attend and which seating tier you pick, with four tiers available ranging from Tier A at the premium end to Tier D as the most affordable. Valve has released a full seating chart, but the confirmed figures give a solid sense of what you will be paying.

Single-day tickets start at US$60 for Tier D on the 20 to 21 August days and climb to US$105 for a Tier D seat on grand finals day. Tier A single-day tickets sit higher, running from US$165 up to US$265 for the finals.

If you want the absolute cheapest way in, a Tier D two-day bundle for the opening days lands at US$110. At the other end, a Tier A bundle covering the back half of the event, finals included, will set you back US$460. Tier B and Tier C pricing falls between these brackets, so check the official seating chart for the exact figure on the seat you want.

How To Buy Tickets Depending On Where You Live

There are two completely separate purchase paths this year, and which one you use comes down to whether you are buying from inside China or anywhere else.

China Domestic Sales

Fans buying within China can purchase through Damai or the Perfect World app, and a Chinese ID is required to complete any sale. Sales open at 2PM China Standard Time on 10 June, and the first twenty minutes are reserved as a priority purchase window.

That priority window is restricted to active Dota players in China who have logged at least ten games in the past six months. If you want to qualify, Valve says you need to verify your account status in advance, with eligibility checks closing at the end of Wednesday 3 June. From 2:30PM onward, domestic tickets open up to all Chinese customers.

International Sales

Everyone buying from outside China goes through Trip.com instead. International sales begin slightly later, at 2:30PM China Standard Time on 10 June. You will need a Trip.com account and a valid passport to complete a purchase, and you can set up your account and submit attendee documentation before sales open so you are not scrambling on the day.

Read More: TI 2026 Direct Invites – Falcons, Xtreme Gaming, Liquid Lead Shanghai Field

Ticket Rules And Group Buying Limits

Before you sort out tickets for your mates, there are a few rules worth knowing. Tickets cannot be transferred, gifted, or resold, and they can only be used by the person whose name they were purchased under. That name-matching carries through to the event itself, where entry requires a valid photo ID that matches the name on the ticket.

You can buy for a group, but each individual account is capped at two tickets per day. If you are organising a larger crew or want to cover multiple days, expect to make several separate transactions. Every attendee also needs their own valid identification to get through checkout, so collect everyone’s documents early.

On refunds, the policy depends on where you bought. China domestic purchases fall under the Damai refund policy, while international buyers are covered by Trip.com’s refund terms.

What TI 2026 Looks Like This Year

The ticket news rounds out a TI 2026 picture that has shifted noticeably from previous years. Valve handed out only seven direct invites this time: defending champions Team Falcons, Team Liquid and Tundra Esports from Western Europe, Aurora Gaming, Team Yandex and BetBoom Team from Eastern Europe, and Xtreme Gaming representing China.

Image Credit: Valve

That leaves nine of the sixteen spots open through regional qualifiers. Valve has also merged the Western Europe and Eastern Europe qualifiers into a single combined qualifier with four advancement slots, a structural change from the separate regional events of past years.

The tournament itself splits into two phases. The Road to The International runs as a Swiss-style group stage from 13 to 16 August, trimming the sixteen teams down to a final eight. Those eight then advance to the main event at the Oriental Sports Center from 20 to 23 August, which is exactly the stretch your tickets cover.

This is the second time Shanghai has hosted The International, after TI 2019, where OG became the first-ever two-time champions. Valve has not yet detailed the TI 2026 prize pool, though it is expected to follow last year’s format with a US$1.6 million base pool that grows through Compendium sales. With the venue locked, the teams taking shape, and tickets about to drop, the only thing left is deciding which day you want to be in the building.

The post The International 2026 Tickets Go On Sale 10 June – Prices, Dates and How to Buy appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Valve have confirmed the seven direct invitations to The International 2026 in Shanghai, with defending champions Team Falcons headlining a list that also brings in Aurora Gaming, BoomBoys, Team Liquid, Tundra Esports, Xtreme Gaming and Team Yandex. The announcement from the Dota 2 team locks in nearly half of the 16-team field for the event, which runs from 13 to 23 August 2026 at the Oriental Sports Centre. The remaining nine slots will be settled through regional qualifiers across June, with Europe receiving four spots and the host region of China taking two.

As of 26 May 2026, the seven invitees are confirmed and the qualifier brackets are roughly three weeks out, with China and South America opening the regional cycle on 15 June. The base prize pool starts at $1.6 million USD and grows through in-game supporter bundle sales, with 30 per cent of bundle revenue added to the total over the course of the campaign.

The Seven Direct-Invited Teams

Valve’s invitation list draws from the top performers of the 2025 to 2026 Dota Pro Circuit and the squads that posted consistent results across the international tournament calendar. Team Falcons enter as defending TI 2025 champions, joined by a mix of repeat invitees and one notable newcomer in Team Yandex.

BoomBoys appear on the list under their new banner after dropping the BetBoom Team name ahead of the 2026 calendar. The roster underneath the rebrand stays largely intact from the squad that earned the invite through its 2025 Pro Circuit results, with the organisation moving away from the betting-operator naming that defined its previous identity.

Team Yandex’s invitation is the most notable addition to the top tier. The organisation breaks into a direct-invite slot for the first time, joining the Eastern European contingent alongside Aurora Gaming and BoomBoys. The depth of three Eastern European sides among the invited seven reflects the region’s competitive surge across the back half of the 2025 to 2026 season.

Nine Spots Remain Through Regional Qualifiers

The qualifier path opens on 15 June 2026 and runs through 28 June, with nine slots split across the five competitive regions. Europe receives the largest allocation with four spots, reflecting the depth of the region’s professional scene. China takes two slots as the host region, while Southeast Asia, North America and South America each contest a single seat.

Regional Qualifier Allocation And Dates

Europe’s four-slot allocation continues the pattern Valve has set since restructuring the qualifier system, with the region’s depth of professional teams justifying the largest share. The two Chinese slots ensure the host nation carries a strong domestic contingent at the Oriental Sports Centre, while the single slots for Southeast Asia, North America and South America reflect the slimmer top tier in those regions through the 2025 to 2026 season.

The qualifier windows overlap rather than running in sequence, with the Chinese and South American brackets opening first and the European bracket finishing last. Teams falling out of one region cannot attempt another, with the regional gating set by organisation registration.

Prize Pool Structure And Supporter Bundles

The base prize pool opens at $1.6 million USD, the figure Valve has used as the starting point since restructuring the event in 2023. The pool grows through in-game supporter bundle sales, with 30 per cent of bundle revenue feeding the total. The supporter bundle model replaced the older Battle Pass system after the publisher moved away from the crowdfunded prize pools that had previously pushed TI totals into eight figures.

Bundle sales typically lift the final pool beyond the starting figure, though the totals over the past three editions have settled into a more modest range than the peak of $40 million reached at TI 2021. The final figure will be confirmed closer to the start of the Group Stage in August, with bundle revenue feeding the pool through the back half of the year.

The 30 per cent share is the same split Valve introduced when the bundle model was first rolled out, with the remaining 70 per cent retained by the publisher. The structure trades the headline-grabbing crowdfunded totals of the Battle Pass era for a more sustainable prize pool that does not fluctuate as sharply between years.

Shanghai Venue And Tournament Format

The International 2026 returns to Shanghai for the second consecutive year, with all stages staged at the Oriental Sports Centre. The Group Stage runs 13 to 16 August and feeds into the elimination rounds and arena finale, which take place across 20 to 23 August inside the centre’s main arena.

Sixteen teams contest the event, the format Valve has held to since the 2023 restructure. The Group Stage seeds teams into the double-elimination playoff bracket, with upper-bracket sides holding a one-loss buffer through the arena weekend. The structure favours teams that come out of the Group Stage cleanly, with the upper-bracket path the only route that allows a single-series defeat without elimination.

The Oriental Sports Centre hosted the elimination rounds for TI 2025 and drew strong attendance through the finals weekend. The TI 2025 grand final drew 1.78 million peak viewers, the highest figure for a Dota 2 grand final since 2022 and an indicator that the competitive audience has stabilised after the dips that followed the move away from the original Battle Pass model.

What Comes Next For The Invited Seven

The invited seven now have just under three months to settle roster moves and preparation schedules ahead of the Group Stage opener on 13 August. Bootcamps in Europe are the standard lead-in for the Western European sides, while Xtreme Gaming and the Chinese qualifier representatives will compete on home ground across the full duration of the event.

Roster lock for the event traditionally falls in the window between the close of qualifiers and the start of the Group Stage, with substitutions and stand-ins permitted only under the conditions Valve has set in previous editions. The invited seven sit clear of the qualifier crunch and can use the full June window for scrimmages and patch-adjustment work, while the nine qualifier survivors will roll into Shanghai with their preparation compressed into the six-week gap between the end of the regional brackets and the opening of the Group Stage.

The next confirmed checkpoint on the calendar arrives on 15 June, when the Chinese and South American qualifiers begin and the field for Shanghai starts taking its final shape.

The post TI 2026 Direct Invites – Falcons, Xtreme Gaming, Liquid Lead Shanghai Field appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Perfect World Esports Sets the Stage for CAC 2027

Perfect World Esports has officially announced the return of the Counter-Strike Asia Championships, confirming that the next edition of the premier event will take place from August 17 to August 29, 2027. The news arrives not long after the electrifying CS Asia Championships 2025, where Brazilian side Legacy Esports made history by capturing their first international LAN trophy in a nail-biting five-map final against France’s 3DMAX.

What We Know So Far

According to the announcement from Perfect World Esports on X (formerly Twitter), the 2027 event will continue the tradition of being one of Asia’s most prestigious Counter-Strike tournaments.

We are excited to announce that Perfect World Esports will hold the next iteration in the premier Counter-Strike event series in 2027, the Counter-Strike Asia Championships, from August 17 to August 29, 2027! The countdown begins now for CAC 2027.

Stay tuned here for more… pic.twitter.com/O6prrm3kuB

— Perfect World Esports (@PWRDEsports) October 16, 2025

While the exact location for the 2027 edition has yet to be revealed, Shanghai, China, remains the most likely host city given that previous tournaments, including the upcoming CAC 2026, set for May 18–24, are also scheduled to be held there.

A Growing Tournament Legacy

The Counter-Strike Asia Championships (CAC) have grown rapidly since their inception, evolving from an eight-team event into a 16-team international competition featuring top-tier organisations from across the globe. The 2025 edition marked a turning point for the series, featuring intense matches and surprise upsets that helped solidify CAC’s reputation as one of the must-watch events on the CS2 calendar.

For context, Team Liquid fell to 3DMAX in the semifinals of the 2025 tournament, while Legacy Esports delivered a stunning comeback in the grand final to claim their first major trophy, cementing their place among the world’s elite.

Looking Ahead to 2027

With CAC 2026 already confirmed for Shanghai and CAC 2027 following closely behind, Perfect World’s long-term commitment to the Counter-Strike scene is clear. Fans can expect more details on the venue, participating teams, and format as the event approaches.

Whether 2027 will bring another breakout story like Legacy’s rise remains to be seen, but one thing’s certain, the Counter-Strike Asia Championships are here to stay and will continue shaping the future of competitive CS2 in the region.

The post Perfect World Confirms Counter-Strike Asia Championships 2027 Dates appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

FUT Esports pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the CS Asia Championships 2025 so far, toppling FaZe Clan 13–11 on Mirage in a tight best-of-one opener. The Turkish-backed European squad showed grit and firepower, handing FaZe a wake-up call just days after their top-four finish at ESL Pro League.

FUT shock FaZe with an upset win on Mirage 🔥 pic.twitter.com/l3vr2uDjHz

— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) October 14, 2025

A Shocking Start in Shanghai

FaZe came into Shanghai riding high from their strong ESL Pro League run, where Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken made a successful return to the roster. But just two days after wrapping up their European campaign, the team looked fatigued in their CAC debut.

FUT Esports took full advantage, battling through a scrappy game where both sides struggled to convert on their T sides. Despite only managing three attacking rounds in the first half, FUT’s defence proved rock solid, led by standout performances from Nikita “cmtry” Samolotov, Džiugas “dziugss” Steponavičius, and newcomer Laurențiu “lauNX” Țârlea, each racking up close to 100 ADR.

jcobbb Returns, But FUT Hold Strong

FaZe’s roster shuffle also came into play. Jakub “jcobbb” Pietruszewski was back in the lineup after sitting out the ESL Pro League due to roster restrictions, with veteran Håvard “rain” Nygaard stepping aside for this event. The change disrupted some of FaZe’s rhythm, though jcobbb still put in a decent showing with 17 kills.

On the other side, FUT’s Dmytro “dem0n” Myroshnychenko stole the spotlight, dropping 21 kills and posting a 1.57 rating in the win. His clutch holds and consistency gave FUT the edge they needed to close out the game 13–11.

Community Reactions: “We Beat FaZe!”

FUT fans erupted online following the win, flooding X (formerly Twitter) with celebratory posts. The team’s official account simply repeated the chant heard across timelines:

“WE BEAT FAZE WE BEAT FAZE WE BEAT FAZE!”

WE BEAT FAZE WE BEAT FAZE WE BEAT FAZE WE BEAT FAZE WE BEAT FAZE WE BEAT FAZE WE BEAT FAZE WE BEAT FAZE WE BEAT FAZE WE BEAT FAZE WE BEAT FAZE pic.twitter.com/tQm1GEQs9X

— FUT Esports (@FUTesportsgg) October 14, 2025

Turkish esports fans joined in with memes and chants under the #FUTWIN hashtag, while TRCS Esports and several players from the region shared their pride in the underdog victory. One fan even joked, “FAZE KİM MEYVESUYU MARKASİ Mİ?”, roughly meaning, “Who are FaZe, a juice brand?”

Meanwhile, the HLTV forums lit up with debate. Some fans excused FaZe’s loss due to travel fatigue and limited prep time, while others questioned the team’s direction under long-time IGL Finn “karrigan” Andersen. Critics pointed to the team’s recurring early-stage stumbles, with one fan writing, “When have FaZe ever been good in group stages?”

What’s Next for FaZe and FUT

For FUT Esports, this win marks a statement moment, proof that their rebuilt lineup can challenge tier-one opposition on LAN. It’s a massive morale boost as they continue through the CS Asia Championships group stage.

FaZe, on the other hand, will look to bounce back quickly. With fatigue, travel, and lineup swaps all in the mix, they’ll need to regroup fast to stay in contention in Shanghai.

Whether this loss is just a blip or a warning sign remains to be seen, but one thing’s clear, FUT have officially arrived on the global Counter-Strike stage.

The post FUT Esports Stun FaZe in CS Asia Championships Opener appeared first on Shane the Gamer.