Noxville questioned the fairness of the seeding for The International 2026 playoffs
Team Liquid’s Technical Director Ben “Noxville” Stenheisen questioned the accuracy of the team seeding for The International 2026 playoffs on his personal X page.
I still don’t understand how the bracket was calculated. Either the rules are slightly incorrect, or they’re being interpreted in a strange way, or—more likely—I’m still making a mistake in how I’m calculating it. Does anyone have any ideas?
The rules for The International 2026 describe the order for calculating the playoff seeding as follows:
- 1 — Number of matches won;
- 2 — Number of matches lost;
- 3 — Number of matches opponents won in the group stage;
- 4 — Win percentage;
- 5 — Opponents’ average win percentage in the group stage;
- 6 — Average game duration (the shorter, the better);
- 7 — Coin toss.
The schedule for the opening ceremony of The International 2026 was previously announced. The main tournament of the year will take place in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, from August 13 to 23. As of now, the total prize pool stands at $3,175,182.
Photo: Ben “Noxville” Stenheisen.
