The International could take place in New Zealand
H1 NEWS took an interview from Valve CEO Gabe Newell. As part of the conversation, he noted that The International could take place in New Zealand.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Gabe Newell has been in New Zealand. He has already received a residence permit in the country, and he plans to obtain citizenship. According to Valve's head, most of its employees should move from Seattle to New Zealand soon.
In 2020, The International 2020, which was supposed to take place in Stockholm, was postponed. At the moment, we don't know where the tournament will take place and in what format it will be. It's only known the approximate date of the event — August 2021. In an interview, Gabe said that every day the likelihood that the tournament will take place in New Zealand is only growing. This decision is based on the country's stability in the face of the pandemic.
Despite the cancellation of last year's TI, Valve has added a compendium to the game client, which helps raise funds for the tournament prize pool. According to its sales results, the nearest TI prize pool should be over $48 million.