The International 2025 (TI14) Cosplay Contest is now open for registration and there are good reasons why you would want to participate. With a total prize pool of €18,500 and TI14 tickets up for grabs, it’s time for some arts and crafts activity to build your cosplay.
The International 2025 Cosplay Contest (Image credit: Wykrhm Reddy/Vicky Kujikawa)
The gaming peripheral giant, SteelSeries is TI14 Cosplay Contest’s official sponsor. Much like last year’s event, SteelSeries is hosting and providing guidelines on the cosplay contest.
The International 2025 Cosplay Contest at TI14 will be held at the Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany from 11–14 September. Participants must attend the judging event on 11 September to qualify. The contest, featuring a generous €18,500 prize pool, will award 10 winners based on DOTA 2-themed costume craftsmanship and presentation.
Of these, four will be selected as “Skill Winners” and six others as runners-up. The Skills category include:
The best technique award rewards the winner based on the craftsmanship and materials used to build a cosplay that looks realistic to its Dota 2 hero counterpart. The biggest transformation award judges on how creative the contestant design their cosplay on heroes that do not have human anatomy, hence requiring a more lucrative method of building the costume. The Judges’ Choice award, as its name describes, is based on the judges’ evaluation on which cosplay they love best.
Finally, the greatest title of the International 2025 Cosplay Award is the Best in Show award, which is essentially the overall best cosplay winner at TI14. It rewards the highest winnings at €5,000 alongside two TI14 tickets, while the other three awards are worth €2,500 with tickets too. The remaining six runner-up winners take home €1,000 and two tickets per winner. Considering the price of TI14 tickets , this is a good deal for Dota 2 cosplayers.
It goes without saying that cosplayers must feature a Dota 2 character to compete at the International 2025 Cosplay Contest. Hence, they are free to use any Dota 2 intellectual property owned by Valve to create their costume.
Additionally, the costumes must be at least 80% handcrafted and appropriate for all audiences. Organizers reserve the right to adjust contest details and disqualify participants for rule violations or inappropriate behavior. Contestants also consent to the use of their likeness for promotional.
Finally, contestants must be 18+, have a Steam account with completed tax info, and submit a full registration including work-in-progress photos and reference images by 11 August. Be sure to check out all the guidelines over at SteelSeries’ terms and condition page for the International 2025 Cosplay Contest.
The International 2025 Cosplay Contest is a delightful event that features the fanbase’s best cosplay talents. Here are the past International’s cosplay winners of TI 2024:
Best Technique winner – Vengeful Spirit by Vicky_Kujikawa (Image credit: The International 2024)
Biggest Transformation winner of TI13 – Enchantress by peachyxbell (Image credit: The International 2024)
Judge’s Choice winner – Juggernaut by Tanakht (Image credit: The International 2024)
Best in show winner – Invoker by Marzaus (Image credit: The International 2024)
These talented cosplayers might just try the TI 2025 Cosplay Contest again, so be sure to catch them live at TI14.
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