Valve Will No Longer Work on The International
According to Austin "Cap" Walsh, Valve will no longer be involved in the International. Instead, PGL will handle the project completely in the future. Cap shared this information during a recent Twitch stream.
Valve was the organiser for the first five Internationals. Since the sixth iteration, PGL has been involved and will be the only organization handling Dota 2's biggest event moving forward.
Cap: "I don't know if TI will maintain that same kind of status for the years to come"
Who could have seen this news coming? (Credit: BeyondTheSummit).Austin shared this information during a break while casting Elite League season 2. The tournament doesn't have an official English broadcast so multiple community figures have taken it upon themselves to cast for Dota 2 fans.
Cap advised fans that they should attend The International now, as the quality of the tournament could decline in the future.
"If you ever have a chance of going to TI, I highly recommend it right now. I imagine this next TI will be good, PGL is fully taking the rein this next TI, so I imagine they will do a very good job with it. Because it is the first time that the product is entirely in their control. I don't know if TI will maintain that same kind of status for the years to come, with it not being a Valve product. But, just naturally I would imagine TI becoming less of a thing."
While quality is subjective, one thing that has changed in recent years is the price of attending the tournament. The first five Internationals cost USD $100 for all three days of the playoffs. Since The International Six, prices have steadily increased, up to USD $700 at TI12.
It'll be interesting to see how things develop in the coming years. PGL has run some splendid events in the past, so this is hardly bad news. At the same time, it's unfortunate to see Valve take a step back from their flagship MOBA.
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