Following the success of the recently concluded Manila Major tournament, Valve is preparing for the biggest Esports event of the year, the annual DOTA 2 The International tournament. As part of the preparation, Valve has announced that six teams will receive direct invites to join this year's tournament.

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Valve's direct invites created a buzz in the DOTA community following the announcement. Surprisingly, only two winners of the previous competition made the list. Natus Vincere, popularly known as Na'vi who won the tournament in 2011 and Newbee winner of the 2014 tournament were invited.

Due to recent roster changes previous The International winners like Evil Geniuses and Team Secret did not receive the coveted invites. This means that the two teams will have to work their way up from the bottom in order be qualified for this year's tournament which will take place in August.

Joining Na'vi and Newbee in the invited teams list are Team Liquid, MVP Phoenix, LGD Gaming, and OG, the winner of the last two Majors tournament.

Following the OG's success at Frankfurt and Manila, the team is currently considered as the best with the strongest claim to the Aegis of the Immortal trophy. With two Major victories under the team's belt, OG will be aiming for the biggest prize in DOTA 2.

Team Liquid is also a crowd favorite following its consistent performance in recent tournaments. Team Liquid placed second at the Manila Major, ESL One Manila, and Shanghai Major. As with all teams in the tournament, Team Liquid is aiming for the top prize and eventually break free from playing second fiddle.

 LGD Gaming from China is also a force to be reckoned with in DOTA 2. Being a consistent winner in the Asian DOTA 2 scene, LGD Gaming's most successful run at The International was when it placed third in 2015 and 2012.

Newbee, also from China, features a new lineup, most of which are dominant players in the Chinese DOTA 2 scene. The team enjoyed an early undefeated run at the Manila Major, only to be eliminated to the lower bracket by OG. Newbee placed third at the tournament after losing to Team Liquid.

MVP Phoenix from Korea received a rather questionable inclusion. However, the speculation was later dismissed citing Valve's decision to pick top performing teams with consistent records on LAN tournaments.

Na'Vi is one of the oldest teams in DOTA 2 history. The team's main claim to fame was their victory in 2011 The International, which was captured on Valve's Free To Play documentary. Only two of the original 2011 crew remain today, Dendi and Artstyle.

TagsDOTA, DOTA 2, Valve, The International, The International direct invite, 2016 The International