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People "talk s**t" to Gabe Newell when he plays Dota 2, but he's okay with it

I consider myself pretty good at MOBAs. While my primary choice will always be League of Legends, I've played (and lost) a few Dota 2 games in my time, piloting heroes like Queen of Pain, Muerta, and Crystal Maiden to somewhat mixed success. Despite the fact that most people believe that Valve has left the once-iconic multiplayer heavyweight to rot, when The International rolls around I can't help but get excited. What I didn't expect, however, was a message from company president Gabe Newell saying that people still "talk shit" to him when he plays, and in some ways, it's made me feel better about feeding my lane.


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The finals of The International 2025, the annual Dota 2 world championship tournament, are now underway, and to get things started on the right foot Valve boss Gabe Newell shared a special message with fans: After all these years he still loves the game, even though a lot of you are pretty mean to him online...
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The International 2025 Arrives


For four straight days, sixteen teams battled their way through an intense Road to the International: Playoffs. Now, Xtreme Gaming, BB Team, Team Tidebound, Heroic, Pvision, Nigma Galaxy, Tundra Esports, and Team Falcons will vie for the Aegis in a double elimination bracket at The International 2025 in Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany, starting on September 11. Congratulations to everyone still in the running — we can't wait to see even more great Dota.

[h2]Attending The International[/h2]
For those of you descending into Hamburg to cheer on your favorite Dota teams and players inside Barclays Arena in person, we've got some important information to share.

[h5]Schedule[/h5]
The International Pre-show starts at 9:30 AM CEST, with the Opening Ceremony getting underway at 10 AM CEST and the first matchup slated to start shortly after. Click here for the full schedule of play.

[h5]Meet the Teams[/h5]
We will be holding meet and greets with teams and talent at the arena. More information on times and locations will be provided onsite.

[h5]Crimson Witness and Badge Binding[/h5]
Commemorative pins and badges will be available daily for pick-up on the South side of Barclays Arena outside Main Entrances E1 and E2. Once you have them in your hands, make sure to bind your daily badge to your Steam account to ensure you're eligible for Crimson Witness Treasure drops on the First Blood of each game at The International. Each badge binding is valid for a single day.

[h5]Venue Details[/h5]
To help keep things running smoothly, here's a rundown of all the venue details you should know:
  • What time do doors open? Arena doors open every day at 8 AM CEST, two hours before the first match.

  • How do I pick up my tickets? Tickets will be available in your AXS account as well as a PDF via email. Make sure to save your ticket to your phone's wallet ahead of the event for smoother entry.

  • What happens if there is an issue with my mobile ticket? Please reach out to AXS support regarding all ticket-related inquiries. There will be a Will Call office to assist you on-site at the event as well.

  • Can I sit anywhere or will there be preassigned seats? All tickets are General Admission. This means ticket holders can sit in almost any available seat except for reserved sections (i.e. for press or pro players).

  • Is re-entry permitted? Yes. On your way out you must scan your ticket when you are exiting the building, otherwise re-entry will not be permitted.

  • What is allowed inside Barclays Arena? Arena policies can be found here. Please note bags cannot be larger than an A4 size.

[h5]Secret Shop at Barclays Arena[/h5]
Don't forget to hit up the Secret Shop inside the arena for this year's full event collection, including a TI 2025 exclusive not found online or at any other shop. The Secret Shop is open only to event attendees. Inventory is limited and available while supplies last.

[h5]Mouz Side Shop[/h5]
For fans arriving early or already in Hamburg, a Secret Side Shop will be open to the public at MOUZ Esports HQ (Glockengießerwall 1, 20095 Hamburg) starting September 9 and running through September 12. No event ticket is required to shop in person, and this shop will carry exclusive merch only available at this location.

[h2]Watching The International Online[/h2]
If you're one of the millions of Dota fans around the globe tuning into The International online, we've got a handy list of options below. From Twitch to YouTube to Steam, The International will be streamed on multiple platforms in multiple languages.
If you're just joining us now and want to see what you've missed, you can catch up on Road to The International: Playoffs matches here!

[h2]The Secret Shop Online[/h2][p]The Secret Shop once again has two separate storefronts this year, depending on what part of the globe you're in. We Are Nations offers both US deliveries and international deliveries, and Perfect World offers domestic China deliveries and international deliveries. Each store offers different items, so make sure to check out both.[/p]

[h2]The Voice of The International Chat Wheel[/h2][p]You don't need to be in Hamburg to feel like you're a part of The International. For the duration of the event, everyone has four all-new seasonal chat wheel voice lines to bring the gravitas of The International into every match you play. Remember, with great gravitas comes great responsibility. We trust you'll choose your moments well.
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[h2]Fantasy & Predictions[/h2][p]Lastly, we'd like to congratulate everyone who correctly predicted the placement of all sixteen teams at the Road to the International. All zero of you. That's right, despite millions upon millions of predictions, exactly no-one got this right. (0.02% of you got at least ten right, so if that's you, it's time to be proud.) To everyone whose fantasy and Road to The International predictions didn't pan out, now's your chance to get your predictions for the main event locked. World-class Dota at the best esports event of the year resumes on Thursday. We'll see you there.[/p]

The International: Streams, Secret Shop, and More

[p]Right now, millions of Dota players are already studiously constructing new Fantasy rosters, loyally repping favorite talent and player bundles, and endlessly serenading enemies and allies with the freshest of voice lines. If you're not one of them, there's no better time than now to dig in. Because as you read this, final preparations are well underway in Hamburg, Germany — and The International 2025 is almost here.

[/p][h3]The Road to The International[/h3][p]The Road to The International: Playoffs kick off with sixteen teams vying for the Aegis of Champions, but only eight will survive the first trials on the path to victory.

The action starts with a five-round Swiss bracket: Over the first three days, sixteen teams will play best-of-three matches against other teams with the same overall series record. A fourth series win will earn a team an automatic berth at The International; a fourth loss will result in elimination.

After five rounds of Swiss, three teams will have secured spots in The International and three teams will have been eliminated. The ten remaining teams will face off in a special elimination round, with the five winners advancing to The International and the five losers failing to join them.

This first part of the tournament runs from Thursday, September 4th through Sunday, September 7th, and every series on Sunday carries the threat of elimination.

[/p][h3]The International[/h3][p]The International itself begins Thursday, September 11th in Barclays Arena, running across four days and culminating with the Grand Finals on Sunday, September 14th.

Tickets for Saturday and Sunday are sold out, but you can still snag spots for the first two days over on AXS. Thursday offers the chance to catch the live component of the Opening Ceremony, along with a ton of top-tier Dota. As an added bonus, all eight teams who reach The International will have at least one signing session at the arena on Thursday or Friday. Stop by for a little face time with your favorite squads.

We'll be back to provide more details about on-site events, badges, Crimson Witness drops and more as we move closer to the show.

[/p][h3]Tournament Streams[/h3][p]If you read all the above, you're well aware there's an immense amount of Dota in store. In fact, it's physically improbable to catch every single game live. That said, we know some of you are going to try it, so here are all the links you need to know for your valiant attempts:
[/p][p]
We've also handed out a dozen broadcast licenses to help you connect with your local community and watch together online.

[/p][h3]The Secret Shops[/h3][p]As some of you may have noticed, WeAreNations already have a ton of new swag available online.

They have two handy links, depending on where you are:
NA Store: https://na.dota2secretshop.com/ International Store: https://int.dota2secretshop.com/

Our friends over at Perfect World are also offering a new collection for this year:
For fans in China: https://wmsjdj.world.tmall.com/ International Store: https://pwrdesports.aliexpress.com/store/1103775565

Finally, for those of you with an eye for flashy furniture, our longstanding partner Secretlab will once again be supporting all stages of this year's tournament with both chairs and desks custom built for The International 2025. Players will navigate their TI journeys ensconced in full Secretlab setups, featuring the TITAN Evo chair and MAGNUS Pro Sit-to-Stand Desk.

[/p][h3]Short Film Contest[/h3][p]The Dota auteurs turned out and now it's time for us to tune in and select our finalists. We've narrowed the submissions down to get the reel rolling, but we're calling on fans everywhere to help us vote for the rest. The nominees will be available to vote on in the client until Tuesday, September 2. The top ten entries selected by the community will be shown during The International, where we'll also announce the overall winners.

As mentioned, we'll be back with more badge, treasure, and other event info next week for those heading to the venue to join the fun. For now, we'll leave everyone with a set of TI wallpapers to help freshen up the themes on your flat-screens as we head towards the big show.

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Dota 2 Update - 8/28/2025

[p]We have added a Team Supporter's Club bundle for Yakutou Brothers, available for purchase now. As a reminder, 50% of all sales of Team, Talent, and Community bundles go to the contributor and 30% go to the prize pool of The International. [/p][p][/p][p]Additionally, over the last few days we have fixed the following issues:[/p]
  • [p]Fixed buying Team Bundles without being able to participate in Fantasy & Predictions not granting the user sticker capsules[/p]
  • [p]Fixed a couple spots in both Roshan pits where heroes could hide without being seen by others in the pit[/p]
  • [p]Fixed client not showing correct armor reduction amount when reflecting Nasal Goo from a Bristleback with the Snot Rocket facet[/p]
  • [p]Fixed Gyrocopter's Sidegunner attacks being blocked by an allied Mars' Arena of Blood[/p]
  • [p]Fixed Invoker's Ice Floe not slowing enemies if they had previously been affected by Invoker's Ghost Walk with the shard upgrade[/p]