The International is back — and its group stage is coming back with a twist.

The TI12 group stage will be radically different from past editions of the tournament. 20 participating teams will play each other across four groups, instead of the traditional two. Plus, two separate phases of the group stage caps off with an exciting best-of-three to determine seeding.


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Here’s everything you need to know about the TI12 group stage, including its schedule, results, participating teams, and streams.

What is The International 2023 group stage?

First-ever events that happened during The International 10 (TI10)
Credit: Valve

The International — Dota 2’s premier, season-ending tournament — stages its 12th iteration in Seattle, running from October 12 to 29.

The group stage runs from October 12 to 15, where four teams will be eliminated before even seeing the stage.

What is the legendary Dota 2 TI Aegis?

The Aegis of Champions represents the zenith of a pro player’s career, accompanied by a prize pool worth millions of dollars.


Teams competing in TI12

Elephant Somnus
Credit: Valve

20 teams are competing for glory in Seattle, flying in from all over the world.

12 teams qualified through their exemplary performance during the Dota Pro Circuit, like three-time Major winners Gaimin Gladiators.


TI12 power rankings: The big 3 lead the pack in Seattle

Eight more teams came through the regional qualifiers. South America and Western Europe received two slots instead of one, due to the regions’ strength through this year’s DPC.

TEAMRANKING
Team LiquidDota Pro Circuit #1
Gaimin GladiatorsDota Pro Circuit #2
Tundra EsportsDota Pro Circuit #3
9PandasDota Pro Circuit #4
Evil GeniusesDota Pro Circuit #5
LGD GamingDota Pro Circuit #6
Shopify RebellionDota Pro Circuit #7
Talon EsportsDota Pro Circuit #8
beastcoastDota Pro Circuit #9
Team SpiritDota Pro Circuit #10
TSMDota Pro Circuit #11
BetBoom TeamDota Pro Circuit #12
nounsNorth American Qualifier
Keyd StarsSouth American Qualifier
Thunder AwakenSouth American Qualifier
EntityWestern Europe Qualifier
PSG QuestWestern Europe Qualifier
Virtus ProEastern Europe Qualifier
Azure RayChina Qualifier
Team SMGSoutheast Asia Qualifier

TI12 group stage format

TI12 will follow a similar schedule to its latest iteration in Singapore, with the competition split up between three weekends:

  • Group Stage: October 12-15
  • Playoffs: October 20-22
  • The Finals: October 27-29

A new group stage format will take the place of the usual two big groups. Instead, four groups of five will be played, with the last team eliminated before moving on to head-to-head matches, meaning that every match matters.

TI12 group stage finally revealed: Which one is the ‘group of death’?

There will also no longer be lower-bracket best-of-ones. All 16 teams that enter the playoffs will get at least one best-of-three series to fight for their tournament lives at in Seattle.


TI12 group stage schedule and results

TI12 group stage standings: Phase 1

Group A

STANDINGTEAMGAME RECORDMATCH RECORD (W-D-L)
1stTeam Spirit8 — 04 — 0 — 0
2ndEntity4 — 41 — 2 — 1
3rd9Pandas4 — 41 — 2 — 1
4thEvil Geniuses2 — 60 — 2 — 2
5thTeam SMG2 — 60 — 2 — 2

Group B

STANDINGTEAMGAME RECORDMATCH RECORD (W-D-L)
1stTeam Liquid7 — 13 — 1 — 0
2ndBetBoom Team6 — 23 — 0 — 1
3rdAzure Ray4 — 41 — 2 — 1
4thShopify Rebellion2 — 60 — 2 — 2
5thThunder Awaken1 — 70 — 1 — 3

Group C

STANDINGTEAMGAME RECORDMATCH RECORD (W-D-L)
1stLGD Gaming7 — 13 — 1 — 0
2ndGaimin Gladiators5 — 32 — 1 — 1
3rdnouns3 — 50 — 3 — 1
4thVirtus Pro3 — 50 — 3 — 1
5thbeastcoast2 — 60 — 2 — 2

Group D

STANDINGTEAMGAME RECORDMATCH RECORD (W-D-L)
1stTundra Esports7 — 13 — 1 — 0
2ndTSM4 — 41 — 2 — 1
3rdTalon Esports4 — 42 — 0 — 2
4thKeyd Stars3 — 50 — 3 — 1
5thPSG Quest2 — 60 — 2 — 2

(Group standings will be updated after each round of games)


TI12 group stage schedule and results

October 12 (Day 1)

TIME IN GMT+8TIME IN GMTTIME IN PT
October 13, 1 a.m.5 p.m.10 a.m.

Group A

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Team Spirit2 – 09Pandas
Evil Geniuses0 – 2Entity

Group B

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Thunder Awaken0 – 2BetBoom Team

Group C

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
LGD Gaming2 – 0Gaimin Gladiators

Group D

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
TSM0 – 2Tundra Esports

TIME IN GMT+8TIME IN GMTTIME IN PT
October 13, 3 a.m.7 p.m.12 p.m.

Group A

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Team Spirit2 – 0Team SMG

Group B

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Team Liquid1 – 1Azure Ray
Thunder Awaken1 – 1Shopify Rebellion

Group C

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
nouns1 – 1beastcoast

Group D

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Tundra Esports2 – 0Talon Esports

TIME IN GMT+8TIME IN GMTTIME IN PT
October 13, 5 a.m.9 p.m.2 p.m.

Group A

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
9Pandas1 – 1Entity

Group B

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Team Liquid2 – 0BetBoom Team

Group C

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
LGD Gaming2 – 0nouns
Virtus Pro0 – 2Gaimin Gladiators

Group D

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Keyd Stars1 – 1PSG Quest

TIME IN GMT+8TIME IN GMTTIME IN PT
October 13, 7 a.m.11 p.m.4 p.m.

Group A

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Team Spirit2 – 0Entity
Evil Geniuses1 – 1Team SMG

Group C

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Virtus Pro1 – 1beastcoast

Group D

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Keyd Stars1 – 1Tundra Esports
TSM2 – 0Talon Esports

TIME IN GMT+8TIME IN GMTTIME IN PT
October 13, 9 a.m.October 13, 1 a.m.6 p.m.

Group A

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
9Pandas2 – 0Team SMG

Group B

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Shopify Rebellion0 – 2Team Liquid
Azure Ray2 – 0Thunder Awaken

Group C

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Gaimin Gladiators1 – 1nouns

Group D

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
TSM1 – 1PSG Quest

October 13 (Day 2)

TIME IN GMT+8TIME IN GMTTIME IN PT
October 14, 1 a.m.5 p.m.10 a.m.

Group A

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Team Spirit2 – 0Evil Geniuses

Group B

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Shopify Rebellion0 – 2BetBoom Team

Group C

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
LGD Gaming2 – 0beastcoast

Group D

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Keyd Stars0 – 2Talon Esports
Tundra Esports1 – 0PSG Quest

TIME IN GMT+8TIME IN GMTTIME IN PT
October 14, 3 a.m.7 p.m.12 p.m.

Group A

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Entity1 – 1Team SMG

Group B

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Team Liquid2 – 0Thunder Awaken
Shopify Rebellion1 – 1Azure Ray

Group C

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
LGD Gaming1 – 1Virtus Pro

Group D

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Keyd Stars1 – 1TSM

TIME IN GMT+8TIME IN GMTTIME IN PT
October 14, 5 a.m.9 p.m.2 p.m.

Group A

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Evil Geniuses1 – 19Pandas

Group B

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
BetBoom Team2 – 0Azure Ray

Group C

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Virtus Pro1 – 1nouns
Gaimin Gladiators2 – 0beastcoast

Group D

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Talon Esports2 – 0PSG Quest

Tiebreakers

Group A: 4th-5th

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Evil Geniuses2 – 0Team SMG

TI12 group stage: Phase 2

October 14

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Team Spirit2 – 0Shopify Rebellion
TEAMRESULTSTEAM
TSM0 – 2Virtus Pro
TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Team Liquid2 – 0Evil Geniuses
TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Gaimin Gladiators1 – 2Talon Esports

October 15

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
LGD Gaming2 – 0Keyd Stars
TEAMRESULTSTEAM
BetBoom Team1 – 29Pandas
TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Tundra Esports0 – 2nouns
TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Entity0 – 2Azure Ray

TI12 prize pool

Team Spirit wins The International 10 (TI10) Valve's Dota 2 world championship
Credit: Valve

TI12’s prize pool is slated to be about US$3 million, at the time of writing.


How the prize pools for Dota 2’s The International became the biggest in esports

Follow this real-time tracker for the latest information on the prize pool.

Where to watch TI12?

You can watch the streams on Dota 2’s official Twitch channels, or YouTube.

Since up to five games might be running concurrently during the group stage, five streams will be available.

READ MORE: The International 2023: TI12 Schedule, results, teams, where to watch