The 10th Dota 2 The International gets underway on October 7 in Bucharest and PSG:LGD are the dominant favorites ahead of the start of the event.
The biggest tournament of the year take place with the Aegis of Champions on the line at $40 million The International 2021.
PSG:LGD dominate the pre-tournament betting market with bet365 NJ making them the +150 favourites to win the $18.2 million first prize.
Team Secret and Evil Guiniuses are both +600 chances to walk away with the title when the world's finest Dota teams collide.
Elephant, Virtus Pro and reigning champions OG, who won in 2019, are the other three teams at single figure odds with all three priced at +800.
Vici Gaming (+1200) and Invictus Gaming (+1600) are next in the betting with the remaining 10 teams at +2500 or bigger.
Dota 2 The International Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| PSG:LGD | +150 |
| Team Secret | +600 |
| Evil Geniuses | +600 |
| Elephant | +800 |
| Virtus Pro | +800 |
| OG | +800 |
| Vici Gaming | +1200 |
| Invictus Gaming | +1600 |
| Team Aster | +2500 |
| T1 | +2800 |
| Quincy Crew | +2800 |
| Alliance | +2800 |
| Team Spirit | +2800 |
| Fnatic | +5000 |
| beastcoast | +6600 |
| Undying | +10000 |
| Thunder Predator | +25000 |
| SG e-sports | +25000 |
Odds from Bet365 on October 5th.
Dota 2 The International Qualification
The International was first held in 2011 and brought the world's best Dota teams together under one roof to clash for the title.
Now in the 10th year, qualification has taken place throughout the year to determine the 16 teams contesting The International.
A single competitive season of the Dota Pro Circuit takes place over a calendar year with three tours in each season.
DPC points are earned during each tour, which consists of one Regional League tournament and one Major tournament, with the standings determining qualification for The International.
Each Regional League is staged as a round-robin tournament, offering winning teams a path to competing in the Major.
The Majors are elimination-style tournaments with the leading teams earning cash prizes and vital DPC points.
The top 12 teams in the DPC Points list are guaranteed a spot in The International with the final six spots being decided during regional qualifiers.
Dota 2 The International Format
The International sees the 18 teams split into two groups of nine. The teams meet twice each in the group stages with the bottom team in each group eliminated.
The top four teams in each group qualify for the upper bracket of the knockout draw, and the teams finishing in 5th to 8th spot move into the lower bracket.
It is knockout Dota 2 action from there with teams beaten in the upper bracket dropping into the lower bracket and receiving a second chance. Teams losing in the lower bracket are eliminated.
The final two teams standing clash to be crowned Aegis of Champions.