The closed qualifiers for the 2026 Dota 2 TI15 regional tournaments have begun.

The closed qualifiers for The International 2026 (TI15) officially kicked off on June 15th. Top teams from around the world will fiercely compete for a limited number of tickets across five Blunt regions.

Europe, being the most watched region, saw Valve merge the Western and Eastern European qualifiers this year, with 16 teams competing for 4 spots. Team VISION (PARIVISION) and Team Spirit, two top teams, surprisingly failed to receive direct invites, making them strong favorites to qualify.

The remaining two spots are expected to be contested between MOUZ, NAVI, Nigma Galaxy, and Virtus.pro. Additionally, Team Bald Reborn, formed by renowned streamer Gorgc, while advancing to the main event, is more of an entertainment-oriented team.

The main event of this year's TI will be held in Shanghai. Since Xtreme Gaming has already received a direct invite, only 8 teams from the Chinese region will be competing for 2 slots.

Vici Gaming, boasting star players like XinQ, Bach, and y`, is the top favorite to qualify. The other spot will be contested between Team Refuser, Yakutou Brothers, and Team Resilience.

The Southeast Asian region has only one slot. REKONIX and OG are the mainstays of this region, while the newly formed GLYPH team also has the potential to cause an upset.

The South American region also only has one spot. LGD Gaming and PlayTime, teams that have repeatedly reached the playoffs of top-tier tournaments, will face the brutal single-elimination format. Team Nemesis is also worth watching.

Only four teams are participating in the North American region. Since most of their opponents are unsponsored, temporary teams, GamerLegion, the only established team in the region, is expected to easily secure the sole qualifying spot.

Image source: Internet