In the early hours of September 15 Beijing Time, the 14th DOTA 2 International (TI 2025) concluded at the Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany, with Team Falcons claiming the TI title. The Chinese team Xtreme Gaming finished as runners-up, re-establishing themselves among the world’s top teams.
There’s even better news for Chinese players: ahead of the Grand Finals, Valve announced that The International 2026 will be held in Shanghai, China—marking the first time Shanghai has hosted The International since 2019. Next August, the world’s top DOTA 2 teams will gather in Shanghai to compete.
As a flagship event in the global esports scene, The International (TI) has successfully hosted 14 editions since its inception in 2011, with its competitive caliber, production quality, and global influence continuing to grow.The TI series is not only regarded by players and professionals worldwide as one of the pinnacles of esports, but it has also set a record for the largest total prize pool—$40.01 million—a record that remains unbroken by any single esports tournament to this day, highlighting TI’s immense commercial potential and vibrant ecosystem.
“CNDOTA Best DOTA”—as this slogan, deeply ingrained in the player community, suggests, DOTA 2 has developed over more than a decade in China, cultivating a robust user base and a distinctive competitive culture. DOTA 2 tournaments are characterized by their high tactical complexity and entertainment value. Thanks to its massive player base and thriving ecosystem, the tournament scene has continued to evolve, directly driving comprehensive improvements in various aspects of the local esports industry, including event operations, live streaming technology, and commercial partnerships.
Over the past few years, Chinese teams have been going through a slump, but both the teams and the players have refused to give up. The domestic gaming community has remained steadfast in its support, and at the industry level, Perfect World—the Chinese operator of DOTA 2—along with numerous clubs, streaming platforms, and sponsors across the industry chain, have continued to work hard throughout this difficult period.
Since introducing DOTA 2 to China, Perfect World has made long-term investments in building the competitive ecosystem. The company has not only helped organize top-tier international tournaments such as The International 9 (TI9), but has also continued to develop various city-level and college tournaments, as well as events like the Perfect World Festival and Perfect World Carnival. These efforts aim to foster a more robust and healthy DOTA 2 competitive and community ecosystem, supporting the game’s healthy development across multiple dimensions, including the tournament system, commercialization initiatives, technical standards, and talent development.
In the Dota 2 finals at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, the Chinese national team successfully claimed the gold medal, a victory that greatly inspired the community. This year, Chinese teams returned to the world’s elite level at The International; although they did not win the championship, the event remains deeply memorable and profoundly significant to Chinese players.
For China’s esports industry, what matters more than winning championships is the comprehensive ecosystem and capacity for continuous innovation that have been built up over the years. The frequent hosting of major international esports tournaments is a natural outcome of the industry’s long-term accumulation of strength.
According to the *Report on China’s Esports Industry for January–June 2025*, the Chinese esports industry generated revenue of 12.761 billion yuan in the first half of the year, representing a year-over-year increase of 6.10%, with a user base of nearly 493 million.China’s esports industry is showing growth trends in market revenue, new product launches, and the expansion of tournaments overseas. It has formed a relatively complete industrial chain encompassing products, tournaments, live-streaming platforms, clubs, and cross-industry collaboration, and is steadily moving toward standardization, mainstream acceptance, and internationalization.
Shanghai has once again secured the right to host The International 2026, marking the second time the city has successfully brought the event to Shanghai following Perfect World’s support for TI9 in 2019. Shanghai is now the only city outside of Seattle to have hosted The International multiple times.Shanghai has hosted numerous high-level international DOTA 2 tournaments. In addition to hosting TI9 in 2019, which sparked a nationwide esports viewing craze, the city has also hosted the 2015 Asian Invitational, the 2016 Shanghai Major, the 2017 Asian Invitational, the 2017 Perfect Masters, the 2018 Asian Invitational, and the 2019 DOTA 2 Super Championship.
As the “Capital of Esports” that has captured the attention of esports enthusiasts worldwide, Shanghai continues to lead China’s esports industry to new heights through its deep-rooted esports culture, well-developed industrial chain, and open, innovative policy environment.Shanghai also serves as a benchmark for policy leadership and industrial innovation. Driven by forward-looking policies such as the “50 Measures for Cultural and Creative Industries” and the “20 Measures for Esports,” the Shanghai municipal government is actively building an esports industry ecosystem, providing robust support across multiple dimensions, including venue facilities, event hosting, and corporate assistance.
As the exclusive agent and operator of DOTA 2 in China, Perfect World announced on September 15 that it will fully mobilize its top-tier resources, building on the success of TI9, and collaborate with government agencies, Valve, industry partners, and the broader gaming community to begin preparations for TI2026, with the aim of delivering an even higher-quality and more influential esports event for players worldwide.
As esports gains increasing recognition across society, Chinese esports titles—led by DOTA 2—are poised to further unlock their potential. By leveraging top-tier tournaments such as The International (TI) to continuously build globally influential esports brands, we will carry forward the competitive spirit of Chinese DOTA and continue to showcase the strength and confidence of Chinese esports on the international stage.
原创文章，作者：茶馆小二，禁止转载：https://youxichaguan.com/en/archives/194561
