“It’s one of the cruelest decisions Valve has ever made”, — LGD Gaming coach criticizes slot distribution for The International 2026

After the publication of the regional slot distribution for The International 2026, the community criticized the allocation of slots between regions, especially the situation surrounding South America.

LGD Gaming coach (formerly Ex-Heroic) Igor Kaffs Furtado commented on Valve’s decision, stating that the region had been placed in an extremely difficult position:

Making us and PlayTime fight to death for a TI slot might be one of the cruelest things I have seen Valve do to this date. Maybe I’m wrong and it’s just emotions, but try to convince me otherwise.

At TI15, only one team from South America will be able to compete, the winner of the regional qualifier.

Alongside LGD Gaming and PlayTime, teams such as Estar Backs, Red Hot Chili Pibble, Amaru Gaming, Hokori, and four squads from the open stage will compete for the region’s only slot. Meanwhile, GamerLegion and three teams from the open qualifiers will participate in the North American qualifier.

At the same time, six European teams and one representative from China received direct invitations.

The situation was also commented on by former PARIVISION coach Filipe Astini Astini, who posted a sarcastic message:

Your argument is not valid Kaffs. Unfortunately I will have to take out the 1 South America slot I was offering. Just give me a time to figure out if I will give one extra one to China or Europe. Your dear, Valve.

Caster Oleksii Bafik Bafodarov also shared his opinion, proposing his own solution to the issue of slot distribution:

North America and South America should be merged again into one region in Dota. That’s your second slot right there. No competition in NA with team forfeiting in qualifiers.

Additional attention was drawn to discussions surrounding the invite system. Team Liquid technical director Ben Noxville Steenhuisen suggested that Valve had determined the invited teams before DreamLeague Season 29 had even concluded.

Later, this information was also confirmed by BetBoom Team CEO Artem Pioneer Savelyev, whose team received a direct invite to the championship.

Recall that PARIVISION and Team Spirit also did not receive direct invitations to the tournament and will have to qualify through the European qualifiers.

At the same time, PARIVISION became the champion of DreamLeague S29 and finished second in EPT points and should have guaranteed the roster a place at the biggest tournament of the year. Spirit, meanwhile, finished third at the championship and placed sixth in the EPT rankings.

The International 2026 will take place from 13.08.2026 to 23.08.2026 in Shanghai, China. The tournament’s starting prize pool is $1,600,000. Nine teams from the regional qualifiers, which will be held from 15.06.2026 to 28.06.2026, will join the seven directly invited teams.

This year, the Eastern and Western European qualifiers have been merged into a single European qualification tournament. The open qualifiers are scheduled for 09.06.2026 — 12.06.2026.

Earlier, Cyberscore reported that Ex-Heroic will compete at BLAST SLAM VII under the tag of a legendary organization.