Originally, the huge Dota 2 tournament “The International” was supposed to take place in Sweden this year. However, carrying it out in the current situation seems impossible – because the classification as “sport” is missing.
What was the actual plan? “The International 10” (TI10) was originally supposed to take place in 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. In May 2021, the announcement came: the huge event was supposed to happen in August 2021 – in Stockholm (via Dota 2).
“The International” is known as one of the largest e-sports tournaments ever, regularly breaking records in terms of prize money. For instance, 33,330,068 dollars were raised for the 2019 edition – a record at that time. For TI10, according to Valve, there is even a total prize pool of 40,018,195 dollars at stake.
But when and where this will happen is still uncertain. As Valve has now announced, Sweden will probably not be the venue for TI10.
“Our application was immediately rejected”
This is the problem: In a statement, the team behind Dota 2 explained that they have been cooperating with the official authorities in Sweden since 2019 and had done everything to set up a safer and successful event, especially after the postponement. According to Valve, they were assured that the same regulations would apply as for other sports events.
However, the Swedish Sports Federation decided not to include e-sports in the sports federation.
Consequently, the team was to contact Sweden’s Minister of the Interior to have TI10 recognized as an elite sports event. This was the last remaining option – but it was not successful: “Our application was immediately rejected,” Valve stated.
Without this recognition, players, talents, and staff would not be able to travel for TI10. They simply would not receive a visa to participate in the tournament.
“We reached out to the Swedish government directly on June 9, but they could not assist us. On June 14, we requested the Swedish government for a re-examination, but they have not been able to offer a solution so far.”
via Dota 2
Due to this situation, they have now decided to look for alternatives in Europe where TI10 could take place if carrying it out in Sweden is currently not possible. Where TI10 ultimately ends up is likely to remain uncertain for now.
In Dota 2, some of the largest organizations in e-sports can be found. You can find out which they are here: The 10 largest e-sports teams in the Western world.
