The International 2019: Tournament format

The tournament will have a group stage and playoffs.

Valve revealed the format of The International 2019. There are going to be 2 stages — groups and playoffs. Each game day starts at 03:00 CEST.

The participants are divided into two groups of nine teams each. All teams will play with each other in the best of 2 format. Based on the results of these fights, the four best teams of each group will go to the upper bracket, the teams in the last places will leave the championship, and the remaining participants will start the playoffs from the lower bracket. The group stage will take place on August 15-18.

The playoffs will have Double Elimination. The first matches in the lower bracket will be held in the best of 1 format, the grand final - best of 5, and all other matches - best of 3. This stage will last from August 20 to 25.

Recall that The International 2019 will be held on August 15–25 in Shanghai, China. Mercedes-Benz Arena will host 18 teams from all around the world. The prize pool of the tournament at the moment exceeds $ 32,000,000.

The International 2019 format

Group stage (August 15–18):
— two groups of nine teams;
— format - round-robin;
— all matches - best of 2;
— four teams from each group go to the upper bracket, the worst teams leave the tournament, and the rest of the teams go to the lower bracket.

Playoffs (August 20–25):
— the format of the first matches of the lower bracket is best of 1, the grand final is best of 5, all other matches are best of 3.