The International is easiest to follow when its calendar, tournament stages and individual games are kept separate. This guide uses the completed 2026 edition as a dated reference and explains how to build a record that remains useful after the final. It does not announce a later edition or provide a live scores feed.
Start with the edition and the organiser
Valve’s 2026 announcement placed the Swiss-style group stage in Shanghai on 13–16 August, with eight places at the main event. The invitations and qualifiers notice dated the arena competition to 20–23 August. Those dates belong to 2026. A search result using the familiar tournament name can lead to a different year, so check the year in the announcement before copying a fixture or planning a viewing session. Keep an edition identifier in every saved record. An event title without its year is an incomplete description, even when the teams and game are recognisable.
A dated calendar you can interpret
| Component | Verified reference | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage | 13–16 August 2026 | Archive this separately from arena matches |
| Main event | 20–23 August 2026 | Do not treat the intervening dates as scheduled match days |
| Main-event field | Eight remaining teams | A stage count, not a count of all qualifying entrants |
The table gives event windows, not every start time. It does not imply that a particular team played on each date. For a game-level archive, locate the organiser’s individual match record and retain its displayed time zone. For a future edition, begin a new table rather than overwriting the old year: a reused venue, graphic or tournament label is not evidence that the same dates or structure apply. A dated window is useful precisely because it states its limits.
Understand what advances and what finishes
A game result and a series result answer different questions. In a multi-game series, one game winner may still lose the series; advancement belongs to the completed series and stage rules. Give each series its own identifier, then attach the games in order. Keep the stage name beside the score so that a group-stage meeting is not confused with an arena rematch. Use the published bracket for the next opponent rather than inferring one from social posts. If an organiser changes a result or reschedules a match, preserve the earlier entry with a correction note instead of quietly deleting the discrepancy. This makes later comparisons auditable.
Find the relevant broadcast and replay
Valve’s main-event coverage notice identifies official viewing through Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Enter through the edition’s announcement and select the language or stream relevant to the match. A parallel stream can be legitimate without carrying the match you want. A replay title may reveal a winner, while a highlights video can omit entire games; label each saved link as a full replay, highlights package or live event page. Record the game number and series context with a replay timestamp. That simple distinction prevents an attractive clip from being mistaken for evidence of a complete match.
Work through a clean archival example
Suppose a fictional series, Team A against Team B, ends 2–1. Store one series row with the final score and three game rows carrying their own winners. The winning team’s series win rate for that one-series sample is 100%, while its game win rate is two divided by three, about 66.7%. These are original arithmetic examples, not actual TI results. They demonstrate why the denominator matters. Do not compare a game rate from a group stage with a series rate from a knockout bracket. Keep roster, game version and opponent context alongside any later statistical comparison, and describe a short sample as a short sample.
Checklist before publishing or sharing
- Open the official page for the correct year and save the source URL, check date and stage name alongside the result. A screenshot should support the record rather than replace its source.
- Check whether the result describes a game, series or tournament position. Record a forfeit or administrative decision explicitly instead of creating unplayed game scores.
- Use the official broadcast directory for the edition and the correct language. Recheck the title, teams and game number before assigning a replay to a series.
- For an unresolved discrepancy, mark the entry as pending and explain what is missing. Do not turn the absence of an update into a confirmed result.
Frequently asked questions
Is the August schedule a future announcement?
No. It is a historical reference for the 2026 edition, checked on 23 October 2026. A later International requires its own Valve announcement; this guide does not infer its dates.
Can I use a highlights video as a complete match record?
Use it to locate a moment, then verify the full game and series through official records. Highlights are edited selections and can omit context, pauses and games.
Why separate game and series win rates?
They use different counting units. A 2–1 series creates one winning series but only two winning games out of three. Label the denominator so readers can reproduce the calculation.
Sources and verification
- The International 2026 announcement — Valve — 2026-10-23
- The International 2026 invitations and qualifiers — Valve — 2026-10-23
- The International Main Event — Valve — 2026-10-23