Amid the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Romania, Valve has decided to refund all tickets of The International 2021 (TI10). There won’t be in-person attendance for the tournament.
The International is DOTA 2’s most prestigious event and this year, it was supposed to be played at the Arena Nationala in Bucharest, Romania in front of a live audience. But now, the entire event will be held online. The dates remain the same, i.e, October 7 – October 17.
“We have been carefully evaluating the continued rise of Covid rates in Romania, as well as the resulting introduction of new local restrictions in Bucharest. To ensure the safety of all players, talent, and production staff participating in the event, we have decided to refund all ticket sales for The International 2021,” Valve said in their statement.
To ensure the safety of all players, talent, and production staff participating in the event, we have decided to refund all ticket sales for the live audience at The International 2021 — https://t.co/JOZQzxZ8Sf pic.twitter.com/77xnfvC5kv
— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) October 3, 2021
They added saying “We wanted nothing more than to welcome fans live to the event, but we can no longer do so in a way that allows us to prioritize the health and well-being of both audience members and participants. Those who purchased tickets will be issued a full refund automatically.”
DOTA 2 The International 2021 schedule
Group Stage matches will be played from October 7 – October 10 with the main event kicking off on October 12. From there, two teams will qualify for the Grand Finals that are scheduled to be played on October 17.
TI10 features a massive prize pool of $40,018,195. This amount was generated through a battle pass that came out last year.
