Dota 2’s The International will take place in Southeast Asia for the first time

Dota 2’s annual tournament, The International, will take place in Singapore this October. While Valve has held The International in the US, Canada, China, Germany, and Romania in the past, this is the first time the global esports competition is heading to a country in Southeast Asia.

Valve teased the upcoming event in a tweet but didn’t offer any additional details besides a location and date. The tournament is known for its very generous rewards, with last’s years winning team getting a piece of the $40 million prize pool. That large sum is crowdfunded by in-game purchases made by the Dota 2 community and has only continued to increase over the years. We don’t know how much is up for grabs at this year’s competition, but we likely won’t have to wait much longer to find out.

After postponing the 2020 event in Stockholm, Sweden due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The International was set to finally make its Swedish debut last year. However, issues with Swedish authorities caused plans to fall through, and Valve had to move the event to Bucharest, Romania. Things didn’t go as planned in Bucharest either, as Valve ended up holding the competition without a live audience due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases. It’s not clear if Valve will be taking any COVID-19 precautions at this year’s competition, and Valve didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.