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This year's International will be the first occasion where the main event is played out on two different venues: the Playoffs at <\/span>SunTec Singapore<\/a> followed by the Finals at <\/span>Singapore Indoor Stadium<\/a>.<\/span><\/p> <\/p> The Last Chance Qualifiers kick off this Saturday, 8th October in Singapore, 10am SGT\u2026.which is 2am GMT and 4am CEST. If that is a little early for you, the good news is that the games run throughout the day so you will definitely get some Dota 2 action at some point. Honestly, I\u2019ll probably still be up gaming.<\/span><\/p> <\/p> The last chance qualifier features the second and third place teams from the six regional qualifiers that were held between August and September. These 12 teams were divided into two groups of six, followed by a playoffs format, two top teams will qualify to play at TI11. The LCQ will be a LAN event, which is nice for the teams as the winners will transition into the main event much easier. The International Main Event kicks of on 15th October.<\/span><\/p> <\/p> Here is a breakdown of the 2 groups and teams competing this weekend:<\/span><\/p> <\/p> GROUP A:<\/span><\/strong> <\/span>Team Secret (Western Europe), Vici Gaming (China), Polaris Esports (Southeast Asia), Natus Vincere (Eastern Europe), Nouns (North America), Tempest (South America)<\/span><\/p> <\/p> GROUP B:<\/span><\/strong> Team Liquid (Western Europe), Xtreme Gaming (China), T1 (Southeast Asia, Virtus Pro (Eastern Europe), Wildcard Gaming (North America), Infamous (South America)<\/span><\/p> <\/p> The format is nothing new, the classic Round Robin setup in the group stage and elimination best of three (Bo3) for the playoffs. Here a breakdown of the format:<\/span><\/p> <\/p> Group stage (8th - 9th Oct)<\/strong><\/p> Single round robin group stage<\/p><\/li> Two groups of six teams each<\/p><\/li> All series are Bo2<\/p><\/li> The top four teams move to the upper bracket of the playoffs<\/p><\/li> The bottom four teams move to the lower bracket of the playoffs<\/p><\/li><\/ul> <\/p> Playoffs format (10th - 12th Oct)<\/strong><\/p> Double elimination playoffs bracket<\/p><\/li> All series are Bo3<\/p><\/li> The winner of the upper bracket and the lower bracket qualify for TI11<\/p><\/li><\/ul> <\/p> It is going to be an interesting qualifier, teams like Secret and Liquid have become International staples so it would be odd not seeing them play at the main event. In saying that, it is always fun to watch new Dota 2 teams play at the biggest e-sporting event of the year. New strats, different heroes and all out war\u2026.that is what we want to see!<\/p> <\/p> At the time of writing this, the prize pool stands at $13 million, a far cry from the $40 million from TI10. There is still time but judging by the apparent disappointment with this years Battlepass, I don\u2019t think it will hit those numbers.<\/p> <\/p> Last year we saw Team Spirit claim the Aegis of Champions, who do you think will take it this year?<\/p> <\/p> Game on friends,<\/p> GGWP<\/p> <\/p> <\/p>