Valve announces third DOTA 2: The International
Invictus Gaming return as champions.
Valve has announced the third DOTA 2: The International championships.
The event runs for five days starting 7th August at the Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle.
The first team invited to The International are Chinese collective Invictus Gaming, who return as champions of last year's event. 12 more teams will be announced over the coming days.
The winners of the East and West qualifiers will each receive an invite, making for a total of 15 teams. A Wild Card event, to be held just before The International begins, will determine the final spot in a match between the runner-ups of each qualifier.
The West Qualifier will be hosted by GDStudio from 13th to 19th May. The East Qualifier will be hosted by BeyondTheSummit from 20th to 26th May. As you'd expect, all matches will be available for free through DotaTV.
Valve will make more information available soon to those who wish to turn up in person. There's more on the official website.
Invictus Gaming scored a whopping $1 million for winning The International last year. Natus Vincere ($250,000) finished second, with LGD Gaming ($150,000) third.