The International is headed back to Seattle, at least according to multiple sources that have been digging around the location details since TI11 ended on Oct. 30.
Valve hasn’t shared confirmation of this move back to the U.S. yet, but information about the 2022-2023 Dota Pro Circuit’s schedule has been leaking out for several weeks now.
Earlier this week, locations for all three of the upcoming season’s Major tournaments were shared from various sources, seemingly confirming that South America is getting its first Major. In addition to that, hints about a potential return to Seattle have been dropped since the end of TI11.
If this does end up happening, it would be the first TI held in North America since 2018 and the first in the U.S. since 2017.
TI was originally held at Gamescom 2011 as a way to showcase Dota 2 to the world at one of gaming’s biggest industry events. Then, from TI2 to TI7, it was held in Seattle before going back to the global stage for TI8 in Vancouver.
After making the trip to Shanghai for TI9, a last-minute swap to Bucharest for TI10, and landing in Singapore for TI11, it appears Valve is ready to bring Dota 2’s biggest event back into its own backyard. Whether that be because the company wants to infuse some energy into a dwindling region for Dota or the proximity potentially allowing it to do more with the event itself is still unclear.
Related: The International 2022 prize pool didn’t even hit $19 million, snaps historical 10-year streak
Should the event move back to Seattle, the recently renovated Climate Pledge Arena, formerly KeyArena, will likely welcome TI back into its doors after hosting TI4 through TI7.
Valve doesn’t really have a set timeline for officially announcing details. Sometimes the company likes to share them right after TI ends or the details could be held until closer to the end of the next DPC season. Either way, the chances are pretty high for a return to Seattle and more information should be coming in the future.
