Valve has revealed details about the secret shop and the rules for The International 2026 community cast
Valve published a post on the Dota 2 blog, sharing information about the sale of The International 2026 merchandise and detailing the community cast rules for this year’s tournament.
The quote is reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
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Tournament Broadcasts
There’s nothing better than watching the best Dota players battle it out live. Although life and its accompanying biological needs may make it difficult to watch every single match live, we’ve listed links below to help you in this noble endeavor.
Chinese: Twitch — Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Stream D; Steam — All streams; YouTube — All streams.
English: Twitch — Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Stream D; Steam — all streams; YouTube — all streams.
Russian: Twitch — Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Stream D; Steam — all streams; YouTube — all streams.
Spanish: Twitch — Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Stream D; Steam — All streams; YouTube — All streams; <...>
Dota 2 Heroes in Shanghai
From August 13 to 18, several Dota heroes (along with the giant Aegis of Champions, making its grand debut) will visit Shanghai’s iconic landmarks. In addition, registration booths are open in several shopping districts, where fans will receive souvenirs.
Check out the list of locations below or use the handy map on Perfect World’s Shanghai tour website.
Where to Find the Heroes?
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Wujiaochang Shopping District:
- Central Square — Aegis of Champions;
- Bailian ZX Shopping Center — Queen of Pain, Axe, and Pudge;
- Wanda Plaza Shopping Center — Juggernaut.
- Super Brand Mall (August 12–18) — Windranger.
- Shanghai EXPO Cultural Park (August 13–18) — Mars and Shadow Fiend.
- Taikoo Li Qiantan Shopping Center (August 18–24) — Aegis of Champions, Drow Ranger, Crystal Maiden, and Juggernaut.
- Standard registration locations: 96 Plaza, New Bund 31, Shanghai No. 1 Department Store, and Expo Place.
Hidden Shops
If you’d like to check out this year’s themed merchandise, our partner stores are now accepting orders from both China and abroad.
- For fans in China: https://wmsjdj.tmall.com/
- For fans in other countries: https://pwrdesports.aliexpress.com/
Also, from August 20 to 23, a pop-up shop will be open at the SPD Bank “Vostok” Sports Center every day from 9:00 a.m. until the first break between games in the last match of the day. Visitors can make a purchase on-site or place an order for pickup via the Perfect World app.
Community Streams
Dota’s strength has always lain in its vibrant, passionate community, as exemplified by the attendees of The International and the many millions of viewers online—both those watching the streams and those hosting them.
Speaking of which: as always, we welcome community streams. You’ll find details in the FAQ, but in short, you can comment on TI however you and your viewers like—the main thing is that your stream consists primarily of the DotaTV feed and your own content, rather than someone else’s stream (including ours).
In conclusion
As you can see, there’s already a lot planned for The International, but that’s far from everything. We’ll soon share more about on-site events, badges, visitor treasure chests, and more. Until then—don’t forget to make your predictions, and we’ll see you at the start of the group stage!
The International 2026 will take place in Shanghai from August 13 to 23, and the prize pool has now exceeded $2.8 million—this year, it’s being funded by sales of support packs for participating teams and the broadcast studio staff.
Photo: Valve.
