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The Dota 2 International pulls in 2 million concurrent views
The Dota 2 world tournament, The International, drew a digital crowd of more than 20 million people, Valve has revealed. Of the 20 million, 2 million watched The International 2014 at the same time, meaning the peak number of concurrent users was more than triple the population of the city where the tournament was held, Seattle. While impressive, the true numbers for viewership is actually higher, as the 20 million and 2 million figures do not include views from MTG Europe, CCTV China TV or ESPN, the latter of which hosted Dota 2 events on both ESPN2 and ESPN3. So, a record-shattering prize pool, a broadcast partnership with ESPN and now more than 2 million concurrent viewers out of 20 million total. Not too shabby, Valve. Not too shabby. [Image: Valve]
Newbee wins first place, $5 million in Dota 2 International
Newbee takes home more than $5 million in prize money after defeating ViCi Gaming in The International Dota 2 Grand Finals today. This is part of the largest payout ever in an eSports competition, with a final pool of $10.9 million. Even second place isn't too shabby: ViCi Gaming takes home $1.5 million. Newbee entered the finals with a 7-8 record, compared with ViCi's 12-3 record. Newbee lost the first of five matches in the Grand Finals, but rallied and won the following three in a row. Both teams hail from China. Third place, Evil Geniuses, wins $1 million, and fourth place, DK, gets $819,000. See the complete breakdown of winners on the Dota 2 website. [Image: Valve]
Watch the Dota 2 International Grand Finals right now
The Dota 2 International Grand Finals are live right now, with Newbee versus ViCi Gaming in a best-of-five matchup. The teams are competing for their piece of the almost-$11 million prize pool. Here's how you can watch (yes, right now): ESPN3: Watch online if you have one of the supported cable subscriptions, or watch via the ESPN apps on consoles. Twitch: The official Dota 2 International channel, complete with all the chat commentary you never knew you wanted. Dota 2: Watch the stream directly on the Dota 2 website. Game client: Load up Dota 2 and enjoy the stream from there. "At the end of Phase 2 (group stage) there could not have been two teams further apart," the Dota team says. "VG had dominated the entire set of round robin matches ending on top of the standings with a 12-3 record. Newbee on the other hand, squeaked in with a 7-8 record that forced them into a three way TieBreaker."
Dota 2 plus ESPN2 equals televised 2014 International
Valve has announced that streaming service ESPN3 will broadcast the Dota 2 International 2014 this weekend, adding yet another route through which fans and newcomers alike can catch up on the tournament. Valve also announced that ESPN2 will host an exclusive preview of the tournament's final match at 8:30 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, featuring previous game highlights and interviews with players and Gabe Newell. An ESPN broadcast is just the most recent accomplishment for the championship series, which kicked off yesterday and runs through Monday; thanks to crowdfunding, The International 2014 now holds the record for largest eSports prize pool, with more than $10 million to split between the winners. The line between eSports and traditional sports is becoming blurry, indeed. Welp, you know what this means: everyone, head to your favorite sports bar and request they turn on ESPN2 on Sunday night. This weekend, Valve is giving us an excuse to go out and still get our video game fix. [Image: Valve]
Dota 2 International playoffs are live today
The International Dota 2 championship kicks off today with phase one of the playoffs – matches are best of three, with the losing team eliminated. The International finals kick off in full July 18 - 21 at the Seattle Key Arena, but matches are also streamed online. This year's International has a prize pool of more than $10 million, with $4.8 million reserved for the winning team. Twitch has all of the live streams, or you can watch via the Dota 2 website. For uninitiated Dota 2 fans, there's a Newcomer's Broadcast that provides commentary aimed at helping new players and viewers understand what's going on. [Image: Valve]
Dota 2 embraces newcomers with International broadcast
Dota 2's world championship tournament, AKA: The International, will feature a "Newcomer's Broadcast" this year to help those unfamiliar with the game's extensive jargon acronyms keep up with the action. "New to Dota? Or maybe you play Dota but have never gotten interested in the professional side of the game," an overview page for The International reads. "Welcome to the Newcomer's Broadcast, an English stream happening alongside the main stream, featuring commentary aimed at easing people into understanding the exciting world of BKBs, tri-lanes, and counter-picks." In other words, if you just scratched your head at those last three concepts, the Newcomer Broadcast sounds like the place to be. For those who couldn't snatch tickets in time to attend The International 2014 in-person at the Seattle Key Arena on July 18 - 21 but don't need the difference between "bot" and "BoT" explained, Valve is also introducing DVR broadcasts and a multicast feature that recaps the tournament's highlights this year. [Image: Valve]
Dota 2 makes waves with $10 million International prize pool
Thanks to Valve's crowdfunding initiatives, the Dota 2 world championship, otherwise known as The International, now has a prize pool totaling more than $10 million. Which is like ... *counts out fingers* ... a lot. It's enough to eclipse last year's $2.9 million prize pool several times over, and the numbers are still climbing. Here's how it works: Valve forwards $2.50 to the prize pool for every $10 Compendium purchased, as well as 25 percent of money spent on Compendium points. So what's a Compendium? Think of it like an interactive Dota 2 almanac, where owners can earn rewards by predicting winners, completing in-game quests, and so on. Compendium owners also gain access to exclusive rewards such as special chat emoticons or free unlocks of alternate character voices as the crowdfunding campaign reaches new milestones. It took just shy of a day for Compendium sales to beat the previous prize pool. Due to its obscene amounts of cash, The International 2014 will be the record-holder for largest prize pool in eSports history when it commences on July 18 at the Key Arena in Seattle. [Image: Valve/Joystiq]
Dota 2 International prize pool exceeds last year's $2.8 million
Proving that crowdfunding isn't just for the little guys, Valve has gathered enough money from fans to eclipse the 2013 prize pool for their world championship Dota 2 tournament, The International. To rake in such a large amount of dough(-ta 2), Valve is selling the Compendium, which allows owners to earn rewards by tuning in for matches, making winner predictions and joining a fantasy league, among other activities. Each Compendium costs $9.99, and each Compendium purchased adds $2.50 to The International 2014's prize pool for the competing teams while simultaneously contributing to various stretch goals for the game. Having reached the $2.9 million goal, Dota 2 will receive an All Random Deathmatch mode available to all players. At $5 million the game will receive a 1v1, mid-lane-only matchmaking option, also available to all players. There are plenty others as well, and the highest stretch goal, $6 million, will allow Compendium owners to customize a building in their team's base. Valve's 2013 prize pool totaled $2,874,381 - this year, it took the community less than a day to surpass that number. You may also recall that it took less than an hour for tickets to sell out. The game is kind of popular. [Image: Valve]
Dota 2 International 2014 tickets sold out in less than an hour
Tickets for Valve's Dota 2 International 2014 Championship have sold out. Quickly. The event's roughly 10,000 tickets sold within an hour, according to what Valve's Doug Lombardi told Rod "Slasher" Breslau. Is it safe to say this game might be just a little popular? Those hoping to make a trip to Seattle for the competition aren't totally out of luck; general admission tickets can be found on eBay for as low as $200, though that's still twice as much as their initial, non-secondhand $99 price tag. Those looking for some price comparisons should know that floor seating tickets were originally sold for $199, while VIP tickets were priced at $499. The Dota 2 International 2014 will take place at the Key Arena in Seattle from July 18 to July 21. This is the International's fourth year in existence, with last year's International boasting a prize pool of more than $2.8 million, the largest in eSports history. The prize pool for this year's championship has not been finalized. [Image: Valve]
