The Dota 2 International 2018 (TI) has ended after another year of setting a new record for its prize pool and highs for viewership. For the Dota 2 community, its most sacred event will now focus on a new challenge with a move to Shanghai, one that has the potential to push both Dota 2 and esports as a whole to new heights.

With an established Chinese fanbase, China’s booming esports market, and spectacular Chinese teams that have proven track records, bringing Dota 2’s International to Shanghai is an obvious boost for the game as a whole.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The excitement has been the most robust from fans that are seeing Dota 2’s biggest event come to their home country.[/perfectpullquote]

Dota 2 developer Valve used the final day of TI to announce that The International 2019 will be held in Shanghai, China at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. The announcement was met with thunderous applause and cheering, but the excitement has been the most robust from fans that are seeing Dota 2’s biggest event come to their home country. To make things more exciting, this will be the first time The International will be taking place outside of North America since the first TI at Gamescom in 2011 and the first time The International will be held in an Asian nation.

Dota 2 fans will be familiar with the Mercedes-Benz Arena as the stage of the infamous 2016 Shanghai Major, which was plagued by problems both technical and personnel. Since that time, the reputation of Dota events in China has been improving with the country even hosting the Supermajor, the final Dota Pro Circuit event before The International 2018. Dota 2 had five events in China for this year’s circuit, showing a commitment to working with tournament organizers in the country despite the difficulties of the past.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Dota 2 has become one of the esports of choice in China.[/perfectpullquote]

This commitment to China is a qualified choice, as Dota 2 has become one of the esports of choice for the country. Chinese players make up the biggest portion of active professional players, and the Chinese teams in Dota 2 are some of the most successful across all of esports. According to Esports Earnings, Chinese players have earned more than $50 million in prize money from Dota 2 tournaments. Three of the eight TI-winning teams are from China, with at least one team from the region in seven of the eight grand finals for the event. This year, 6 of the 18 teams at TI were Chinese, with four of those teams earning enough points on the Dota Pro Circuit to gain direct invites to the International.

Every year, Chinese Dota 2 fans make the effort to travel to The International in large numbers each year to support their teams, as evidenced by the regular supporters for Chinese teams at the event. The Chinese fans have shown their enthusiasm for Dota, and Valve will now be taking the opportunity to give them a one-of-a-kind spectacle.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Valve will now be taking the opportunity to give them a one-of-a-kind spectacle[/perfectpullquote]

For Valve, the timing is perfect. The country has shown recently that it is open for business for developers, tournament organizers, and brands that are key partners in esports. The aforementioned Dota 2 tournaments and Riot Games’ League of Legends World Championship are only some of the events that have played out in China. Intel Extreme Masters held its first Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament in China this year and Blizzard’s Overwatch League is expanding to have its second team in the country. NVIDIA GeForce, a key partner for the International, has made plans to set up boot camps in Shanghai, making the hardware manufacturer one of the bigger brands in esports to create training facilities for esports players.

Because of this boom, many Chinese cities are competing against each other to attract esports to their cities and Shanghai’s government has made it their mission to become the “esports capital” of the world. Shanghai is attempting to achieve that goal through bringing more international tournaments to the city—and TI is about as international as they come. Shanghai’s stated goal and Dota 2’s popularity in China works to the benefit of both Valve and the city of Shanghai, all the while bringing Chinese esports fans tremendous value.