What to watch this week; Dota 2 The International 2023 Playoffs Edition

What should you be watching in the Dota 2 scene this week? Well, The International 2023 of course. 

This week The International 2023 heads now to a four-day break and will resume on Saturday, October 20 with the the first three upper bracket quarterfinal series. The first round of upper bracket matches and the first two rounds in the lower bracket will be played in front of a live audience at the Seattle Convention Center’s Summit.

Of course, we'd suggest watching all of the games. It IS The International after all. 

And there has already been a few upsets. 

After they completely dominated the entire competitive year, Gaimin Gladiators were sent to the lower bracket at TI12 by Talon Esports, the sole SEA survivor in the group stage.

• Read more: Talon Esports banish Gaimin Gladiators to the lower bracket at TI12

However, an even bigger upset was noun’s clean sweep over the defending champions, Tundra Esports.

• Read more: nouns stun Tundra Esports to secure an upper bracket spot at TI12

But if you have to choose, then might we suggest the following?

Team SpiritvsVirtus.pro October 20 19:00 CEST 

• an all-out CIS brawl is expected

Team LiquidvsTalon Esports October 20 22:00 CEST

• Can Talon pull off another surprise upset?

nounsvsAzure Ray October 21 04:00 CEST

• Was nouns triumph over Tundra a fluke?

Evil GeniusesvsGaimin Gladiators October 21 22:00 CEST

• Will this be the end of the tournament favorites?

Tundra EsportsvsEntity October 22 22:00 CEST

• Is the defending TI champions run over already?

• Read TI12 playoffs bracket set

The International 2023 Main Event format

Main Event - October 20 - October 22 (Playoffs Weekend) & October 27 - October 29 (Finals Weekend), 2023

• Sixteen teams play in a double-elimination bracket
  • Eight teams begin in the Upper Bracket, and eight in the Lower Bracket
• Grand Final is Bo5, all other series are Bo3

The International 2023 Broadcasts

The event will be officially streamed in five different languages - English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese. In addition, there will be other streams with various languages available for fans across the globe. 

English:

Twitch:  Main Channel |  Stream #2 |  Stream #3 |  Stream #4 |  Stream #5

Russian:

Twitch:  Main Channel |  Stream #2 |  Stream #3 |  Stream #4 |  Stream #5

Chinese:

Twitch:  Main Channel |  Stream #2 |  Stream #3 |  Stream #4 | Stream #5

Spanish Streams:

Twitch:  Main Channel |  Stream #2 |  Stream #3 |  Stream #4 | Stream #5

Portuguese Streams:

Twitch:  Main Channel |  Stream #2 |  Stream #3 |  Stream #4 | Stream #5

The International 2023

The International returns to the US after four editions held around the world. TI7 was the last edition hosted by the Key Arena in Seattle, where Team Liquid lifted the Aegis of Champions. From there on, each year TI went to different parts of the globe. Key Arena, which now is Climate Pledge arena from Seattle will be the home for The International 2023.

• Read more: The International is returning to Seattle

The top eight teams will play at the Climate Pledge Arena, for a shot at the most wanted Dota 2 trophy, the Aegis of Champions.