The last time this esports event was held in Seattle was 2017.

Valve is bringing The International home for 2023. This weekend, the studio revealed that for the first time since 2017 the massive Dota 2 world championship will be held in Seattle, Washington. It will kick off in late October and take place in the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

Further details were not yet revealed by Valve but they did say that the number of tickets that will be available will be much higher than in previous events. The selected arena has a capacity of upwards of 18,000 seats. Pricing and timing on when the tickets will start to be sold were not yet shared by Valve.

The group stages will begin on Saturday, October 14. The playoffs will take place immediately afterward. As is tradition, this whole thing will be called The Road to the International. The proper International will then begin on Friday, October 27 and end Sunday, October 29.

Expect the prize pool for The International 2023 to be bolstered by the community in the months leading up to the main event. While The International 2022 pulled in a mere $18.9 million (USD), the 2021 event broke all sorts of records by offering over $40 million for the total prize pool. It will be interesting to see if The International 2023 continues the downward trend started in 2022 or if it's able to bounce back.