The International is well underway, with competition into its dying days. The Lower Bracket Round 1 matches have now concluded and all eyes are on the six remaining teams, who are attempting to survive the double-elimination Playoffs bracket that is still underway.
Already, August 21 has been a busy day at the tournament, as the Lower Bracket Round 1 matches saw both Iron Wing and Team Falcons eliminated, after losing to BoomBoys and Team Liquid respectively. The winners advance and now await opponents from the Upper Bracket Semifinals, which are about to kick off.
As of writing, the first match between Team Spirit and Team Vision is about to get underway, with it then followed by a fixture pitting Team Yandex against Nigma Galaxy. The winners of these two games will advance to the Upper Bracket Final, where the first Grand Final spot will be on the cards, while the losers will drop into the Lower Bracket to be seeded against either BoomBoys or Team Liquid.
In terms of the plan for the remaining games, the Lower Bracket Quarterfinals, Lower Bracket Semifinals, and the Upper Bracket Final will all be played on August 22, with the Lower Bracket Final and the Grand Final to then follow on August 23, where after the latter match has concluded, a victor will be crowned and the steadily increasing $3.235 million prize pool will be dished out.
Who are you expecting to win The International 2026?
