The International 2018 is coming soon with the Group Stage happening from August 16th to August 19th, 2018 (+8 GMT). As the Group Stage takes place, we would like to update those who might have missed out on the 18 teams that will be competing. Once the Group Stage is completed, a total of 16 qualified teams from the Group Stage will compete in the Main Event on August 21st to August 26th, 2018 (+8 GMT) at the Rogers Arena, Vancouver.

Invited Teams – 8 teams

Qualified Teams – 10 teams

Group Stage Schedule

All 18 teams will have to battle it out in a BO2 before proceeding to the Main Event. To catch the games, you can either tune in to Beyond The Summit or Dota2ti on Twitch or YouTube channel for the live stream. Below are the schedules:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

As of now, the prize pool for TI8 is sitting at $24,259,310 (14/8/18) – slightly lesser compared to last year’s at $24,787,916 for TI7 (that’s over MYR 98 million!). Considering that there’s still some time before TI8 ends, the prize pool could increase and surpass last year’s TI7’s prize pool where it would break its own record of the highest prize pool in Dota 2 history. Currently, the prize pool for the winners are as follows:

DID YOU KNOW?

Asus ROG Strix Hero II Edition is a powerful machine that’s catered for MOBA games, just like Dota 2! The gaming laptop features 144Hz super-narrow-bezel display equipped with 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8570H and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060. It also comes with 8 GB DDR4, 256GB SSD and a 1TB SATA HDD.

As it is specifically built for MOBA gaming, the QWER keys are highlighted with transparent key caps as they are the 4 hotkeys used in MOBA games. And of course for style, it wouldn’t be complete without the configurable RGB lightings of the keyboard and the ROG logo on the front panel with Asus Aura settings.

Gaming Performance

We tested DOTA 2 on the ROG Strix Hero II and it ran smoothly under the highest graphics option – getting a steady FPS of around 60 FPS. Also, Strix Hero II‘s side-firing speakers are clear and loud, which makes you immerse in the gaming world even more.

For more info on the Asus ROG Strix Hero II Edition, you can check out our review here!

Currently, Asus ROG is also hosting a contest on their official Facebook page where contestants will get the chance to win an ROG Care Pack which includes an RM50 Steam Wallet, ROG Travel Pillow and an ROG Wristband!

All you have to do is post your answer on the contest post, tag a friend, hashtag #HEROII
#KnowsNoBounds and share the post! Do it now as the contest is on-going now from 13th to 19th August!

If you’d like to find out more about other Asus ROG gaming laptops, you can check it out here and make your purchases too!