The International 2019 was the ninth iteration of Dota 2’s flagship annual championship. Hosted by Valve Corporation, it took place at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, being the first to be celebrated in Asia. The tournament began on 3 July 2019 with the Open Qualifiers and closed on 25 August 2019 with the Grand Finals, where OG successfully defended their title by defeating 2017 champions Team Liquid Team Liquid 3-1, becoming the first team to win two championships.
With a prize pool of over US$34.3 million, The International 2019 is the largest tournament to ever take place in eSports, breaking the record briefly held by the Fortnite World Cup 2019, which awarded $30 million.