Is your jaw open right now? That's probably thanks to Valve's announcement of The International, the Dota 2 tournament taking place August 17 to August 21 at Gamescom in Germany. This will be the first look that the public gets at Valve's reboot of the classic Warcraft III custom game, and they plan on kicking things off with an esports bang. Sixteen hand-picked teams from around the world will compete in a double-elimination tournament, with the winning team receiving $1 million. One. Million. Dollars. You may now do a Dr. Evil impression if you're so inclined.
Valve's sparing no expensive with this event, broadcasting (we assume this means live-streaming) the tournament in four languages: English, Chinese, German, and Russian. While Valve is supplying the cash prizes, NVidia's in charge of the hardware for the event. From the press release, Gabe Newell states: "The International is the first public Dota 2 event, and will give the tens of millions of gamers playing Dota around the world their first look at the new game. I've had the good fortune to watch the competitors as they prepare for the tournament, and the level of play is extraordinary."
We're stoked that Valve's giving Dota 2 the attention it deserves, and their commitment to this initial presentation must be making other MOBAs more than a little nervous. We wish the best of luck to the teams participating—lord knows the stakes have never been higher. We'll be sure to remind you to tune in come August 17.
