The International 2026: format, schedule, results, and tournament bracket

The organizers of The International 2026 have released the schedule for the first round of the group stage. The tournament will kick off with the matches Team Falcons vs. LGD Gaming, Iron Wing vs. Nigma Galaxy, BoomBoys vs. OG, and Team Vision vs. Team Resilience, all of which will take place simultaneously. The second set of matches will feature Team Spirit vs. Xtreme Gaming, Team Liquid vs. Vici Gaming, Aurora Gaming vs. GamerLegion, and Team Yandex vs. Huligani.

Game Day 1 — Schedule (13.08.2026):

• 02:00 Team Falcons — LGD Gaming
• 02:00 Iron Wing — Nigma Galaxy
• 02:00 BoomBoys — OG
• 02:00 Team Vision — Team Resilience
• 05:00 Team Spirit — Xtreme Gaming
• 05:00 Team Liquid — Vici Gaming
• 05:00 Aurora Gaming — GamerLegion
• 05:00 Team Yandex — Huligani

Tournament Format:

The International 2026 (also known as TI2026 or TI15) is the fifteenth annual tournament in The International series, which will be held in Shanghai, China, for the first time in seven years. Sixteen teams will compete in the championship. The initial prize pool is $1,600,000, which is supplemented by 30% of sales from support bundles for Talent, Teams, and Players.

As in the previous year, The International 2026 is divided into two separate phases: the first phase — the group stage and a special elimination round, collectively known as “The Road to The International” — will take place from August 13 to 16. The second phase — The International playoffs — will take place from August 20 to 23 at the Oriental Sports Center.

As with The International 2025, TI15 will use a Swiss system divided into two groups instead of a round-robin format. Based on the results of the group stage, the top team with a 4-0 record and the two teams with a 4-1 record will advance directly to the playoffs. Teams with a 3-2 record will face off against teams with a 2-3 record in elimination matches — the winners of these matches will also advance to the next stage.

Of the 16 teams, only 8 will make it to the playoffs. In the main stage, all teams will start in the upper bracket quarterfinals. All matches in the tournament will be played in a Bo3 format, with the exception of the Bo5 Grand Final.

Latest news on The International 2026:

• Valve unveiled the tournament format and rules
• Noxville ran a million tournament simulations and identified the statistical favorites
• Analysts have named the top contenders for the title
• Results of the closed qualifiers in Europe
• Results of the closed qualifiers in China, Southeast Asia, and the Americas
• Compendium for The International 2026
• Xiao8 will attend TI15 as a caster in the Chinese broadcast booth
• TaiLung received a lifetime ban for “322” before the start of the tournament
• Topson will replace TaiLung on the LGD Gaming roster