The International 2026 reaches its main event on Thursday, August 20, with eight teams left from the 16 that played the group stage. Team Vision, Team Liquid, Nigma Galaxy, Team Falcons, BoomBoys, Team Spirit, Iron Wing and Team Yandex enter a double-elimination bracket at the SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, culminating in a best-of-five grand final on Sunday, August 23, Valve said in a Steam post.
Schedule
The pre-show begins each day at 9:30am China Standard Time. The opening ceremony starts at 10am on Thursday, with the first series scheduled to follow soon after; on the remaining days matches begin at 10am. Arena doors open at 8am each day, two hours before the first match, and entry is not allowed after 9pm.
At the arena
Fans have the chance to attend meet and greets with teams and talent on the 2F concourse each day of the main event, with participation decided by a random draw of eligible ticket holders who bought tickets before 5pm the day before. Selected fans are notified electronically and on TV displays around the concourse.
Attendees pick up commemorative badges and swag bags when they scan a digital ticket on first entry, and must bind the badge to a Steam account to be eligible for Crimson Witness Treasure drops on the first blood of each game. Entry queues form at the arena's Gate 0 Plaza, with 1F Stands and Suites ticket holders directed to the left-side security checkpoint and 3F Stands to the right. Seats are assigned, and ticket holders may enter and exit up to three times per match day.
The on-site Secret Shop runs from August 20 to 23, opening at 9am and closing after the first break of the last series each day, with purchases available from cashiers or through the Perfect World app for pick-up. The concourse also hosts SecretLab and SteelSeries booths, a display of players' jackets and championship rings from previous years, graffiti walls for fans to sign, cosplayers on Saturday and Sunday and a handmade embroidered Aegis of Champions. This year's cosplay finalists are on display on August 23 before the grand finals.
Watching online
The event is streamed on Twitch, YouTube and Steam in Chinese, English, Russian and Spanish, with the Spanish broadcast also carried on Facebook. Merchandise is available online through Tmall for fans in China and AliExpress for everyone else.
