Dota 2: The International 2026 Compendium is free — Fantasy League overhauled and predictions due before August 13

The International 2026 kicks off on August 13 at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, with 16 teams and Team Falcons as defending champions. Valve released the Compendium on July 31, 2026, and it needs to be said upfront because it's the biggest news of all: it's entirely free.

Gone is the Battle Pass you buy and level up. The TI 2026 Compendium runs on performance: what you get depends on your final ranking in the Fantasy League and in predictions, not on how much you spent. And the Fantasy League has been completely overhauled.

This guide explains the new system, the tier-by-tier rewards, and above all what you need to do before August 13 — because once that date passes, some of the content is locked for good.

The Fantasy League, 2026 edition: you no longer draft players, you draft pairs

This is the year's structural change. The old Fantasy League had you line up five players by role. The new format requires a different lineup:

• two duos
• two supports
• two cores
• one mid

The duo concept is the real novelty: you no longer draft isolated individuals but pairs of players. This completely changes the selection logic. A brilliant support on a team that loses early scores less than a cohesive duo that makes it through the Swiss stage.

The coach role and modifiers

Second addition: you take on a coach role and assign custom modifiers to your team. This is what turns the Fantasy League from a prediction exercise into a genuine team-building exercise: two players can draft the exact same lineup and end up with very different scores depending on the modifiers applied.

How to approach your draft

A few principles that remain valid regardless of the format:

• Prioritize run depth over raw talent. The TI format rewards longevity: a decent player who plays twenty matches beats an outstanding player eliminated in the Swiss stage.
• For duos, look for lane synergy rather than the sum of two prestigious names. That's literally what the mechanic rewards.
• Watch out for the patch. TI is played on 7.41e, released on July 30, 2026, which reworked 56 heroes. Players whose pool relies on nerfed heroes will mechanically underperform. A fantasy draft based on June stats is an outdated draft.

Predictions: the part you need to wrap up before August 13

Predictions are back, and they cover two blocks:

• the Swiss stage;
• the main bracket.

The critical point: the lock happens before the tournament kicks off, on August 13. Once the window closes, your predictions are locked in — no catch-up is possible, unlike in some past editions.

Check the exact lock time directly in the Dota 2 client. This is a tournament played in China, the time zones reported differ from one source to another, and the in-game countdown is the only reference that won't lead you astray. Don't leave this step for the evening of August 12.

Rewards: two distinct categories

Participation rewards (automatic)

These simply drop by engaging with the Compendium, with no performance requirement:

• chat wheels;
• wallpapers.

It's modest, but it's free and requires nothing more than a submitted draft.

Performance rewards

This is where the real stakes lie. The scale depends on your final ranking:

Top 1,500:

• 6 months of Dota Plus
• one Terrain Token
• the full discount on the physical Aegis
• two Tyrian Regalia

Top 100:

• 12 months of Dota Plus
• one Terrain Token
• a discount on the Aegis
• five Tyrian Regalia

A year of Dota Plus for a top 100 finish, six months for a top 1,500 finish: given that the Compendium costs nothing, this is noticeably more generous than previous years' Battle Passes for a player who seriously invests in Fantasy.

The Terrain Token replaces the Arcana Token

This is a change in nature, not just in name. Where the Arcana Token let you choose an arcana, the Terrain Token lets you select one of six returning custom terrains, released between 2015 and 2020 for past TI editions.

For newer players, this is rare access to terrain cosmetics that have long been unavailable. For veterans, it's a chance to grab the one they passed on before. Either way, take the time to look at them in-game before redeeming your token: it's a one-time choice.

The Tyrian Regalia

The Tyrian Regalia treasure offers five color variants of Immortal items in a deep purple hue, across five heroes:

• Disruptor
• Nyx Assassin
• Drow Ranger
• Storm Spirit
• Timbersaw

These aren't brand-new sets but recolors of existing Immortals. If you regularly play one of these five heroes, top 1,500 suddenly becomes a lot more motivating.

The physical Aegis

Valve is putting a physical Aegis replica back on sale, available after the event for $150. Discounts are tied to your performance: the full discount is secured at top 1,500, which likely makes it the most concretely worthwhile reward on the scale for anyone already considering the purchase.

Supporter bundles: where your money goes

Supporter bundles cover all 16 teams, in three tiers — Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The breakdown announced by Valve is worth knowing:

• 50% of sales go directly to the team or talent involved;
• an additional 30% feeds the tournament prize pool.

This is the only paid item in the Compendium, and it's strictly optional: no reward on the performance scale depends on it. If you want to support a team, this is the most direct channel — 80% of your purchase goes back into the competitive ecosystem.

Patch 7.41e and the Summer Scrub 2026

The tournament will be played on 7.41e, which arrived on July 30, 2026 alongside the Summer Scrub 2026. Here's what to remember:

• 56 heroes reworked — popular heroes were largely nerfed, neglected heroes slightly buffed;
• more than 200 fixes;
• customizable hotkeys for controlled units — a real quality-of-life improvement for players of summon-based heroes;
• a rebalancing of Immortal MMR below 9,500.

For your fantasy draft, this is the factor to account for first. June and July tournament statistics were calculated on 7.41d.

What to do this week, in order

1. Open the Compendium in the client. It's free, and participation rewards are immediate.
2. Submit your Swiss stage and main bracket predictions, and check the in-game lock countdown. It's the hardest deadline of the week.
3. Build your fantasy team: two duos, two supports, two cores, one mid — prioritizing run depth over prestigious names.
4. Apply your coach modifiers. This is what will set your score apart from players who drafted the same lineup.
5. Recalibrate for 7.41e, not for June stats.
6. Supporter bundles, only if you want to support a team. They have no bearing on your rewards.

The tournament runs from August 13 to 23, 2026. The Compendium costs nothing, Fantasy seriously rewards good drafts, and the prediction window closes in a week. There's objectively no reason to miss out.