Jul 27, 2016

Dota 2: The International s $18.5m Prize Pool Breaks Own Previous Record, Is STILL Growing

Dota 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Philippa Warr)

The klaxon which has been going off since I got up this morning tells me that the Dota 2 [official site] prize pool for The International 2016 has now surpassed its own previous world record for an esports tournament prize pool and is now sitting at over $18.5 million.

$18.5 million. To be shared amongst people who are very very good at digital wizard sports.

… [visit site to read more]

Jul 27, 2016

Dota 2 International 2016 breaks own prize pool record, now biggest in esports history

Dota 2

There s still over two weeks to go until Dota 2 s flagship tournament The International 2016, but its prize pot has now surpassed last year s record-breaking total a whopping $18,580,479, at the time of writing making it the most lucrative esports competition in history.

Since the tournament s inception in 2011, Valve has provided $1.6 million of its own cash to the prize fund, however recent years have seen this augmented by a range of crowdfunded proceeds. A quarter of Battle Pass sales (passes that grant owners access to an exclusive haul of features and rewards throughout the Dota summer season) go into the pot, for example, while previous years saw the same share being shaved from sales of the ever-popular Dota 2 Electronic Annual The Compendium.

As a reward for beating last year s $18,429,613 record, Battle Pass owners will receive three treasure chests which include a range of in-game items.

According to dota2.prizetrac.kr, funding ran for 101 days in 2015. With just 70 days of Battle Pass sales gone this year, expect the grand total to rise further still. Here s a graph that compares the last few tournaments:

The International 2016 kicks off on August 13 in Seattle s Key Arena.

Jul 26, 2016

Immortal Treasure III

Dota 2 - Ward

Immortal Treasure III is now ready to unbox, and includes items for Slark, Earth Spirit, Bane, Ogre Magi, Razor, Medusa, and Lina—as well as a rare chance to receive 50 bonus Battle Levels. All Battle Pass owners can find their unlocked treasure ready to open in the Armory.

As with treasures I & II, Immortal Treasure III features escalating odds, and each one opened increases your chances to receive the bonus rare Battle Points, very rare golden version of the Slark item, or ultra rare Lina item. Each available rare has its own independent escalating odds chance.

Check out the Battle Pass website for a preview of the items and custom spell effects contained in this new Immortal Treasure, or jump into your Armory to reveal your reward.

Those players who reach Battle Level 167 and beyond will also find additional Immortal Treasure III's waiting to help celebrate their Battle Pass accomplishments, so level up your Battle Pass before the conclusion of The International 2016 Grand Finals to increase your haul. 25% of all level sales will go directly to the tournament prize pool, which will soon surpass last year's record high of $18,429,613 to become the largest tournament payout in esports history.

To commemorate this new high-water mark, every Battle Pass owner will receive three Trust of the Benefactor treasure rewards in their Armory at the conclusion of The International Battle Pass season.

For a complete list of today's patch notes, please click here.

Jul 26, 2016

Immortal Treasure III

Dota 2 - Ward

Jul 26, 2016

Dota 2 Update - July 26th, 2016

Dota 2 - Daniel Jennings

Immortal Treasure III is here: http://blog.dota2.com/2016/07/immortal-treasure-iii/

* Fixed Omnislash jumping to Elder Titan's Spirit
* Fixed Guardian Greaves not regenerating heroes who are hidden (i.e. disruption)
* Fixed Bloodstone Suicide not working during Ball Lightning
* Fixed spell effects not working properly when first appearing while cast in fog of war
* The Dota 2 window now flashes when you enter the hero picking phase
* Added a new option to bring Dota 2 to the foreground when the hero picking phase begins
* Fixed various recent bugs with cosmetic items
* Fixed Announcer not working during Hero Selection

* Reworked Pudge and Lina's Russian voices
* Rerecorded several lines for Russian voices: Shadow Fiend, Legion Commander, Default Announcer
* Added several Russian language voices: Alchemist, Anti-Mage, Bloodseeker, Bristleback & Bristleback Announcer, Crystal Maiden Announcer, Doom, Earth Spirit, Earthshaker, Ember Spirit, Keeper of the Light, Meepo, Nyx Assassin, Omniknight, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Slardar, Templar Assassin, Ursa, Witch Doctor

Jul 26, 2016

Dota 2 Update - July 26th, 2016

Dota 2 - Daniel Jennings

Jul 26, 2016

Dota 2 Update - July 26th 2016

Dota 2 - Valve

* Fixed Omnislash jumping to Elder Titan's Spirit
* Fixed Guardian Greaves not regenerating heroes who are hidden (i.e. disruption)
* Fixed Bloodstone Suicide not working during Ball Lightning
* Fixed spell effects not working properly when first appearing while cast in fog of war
* The Dota 2 window now flashes when you enter the hero picking phase
* Added a new option to bring Dota 2 to the foreground when the hero picking phase begins
* Fixed various recent bugs with cosmetic items
* Fixed Announcer not working during Hero Selection

* Reworked Pudge and Lina's Russian voices
* Rerecorded several lines for Russian voices: Shadow Fiend, Legion Commander, Default Announcer
* Added several Russian language voices: Alchemist, Anti-Mage, Bloodseeker, Bristleback & Bristleback Announcer, Crystal Maiden Announcer, Doom, Earth Spirit, Earthshaker, Ember Spirit, Keeper of the Light, Meepo, Nyx Assassin, Omniknight, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Slardar, Templar Assassin, Ursa, Witch Doctor

Jul 22, 2016

The best pro gaming to watch this weekend

Dota 2

Photo credit: TaKeTV Media.

This might not be the busiest weekend in the esports calendar, but there's still enough to keep you occupied until Monday rolls around including CS:GO finals in China, the ongoing spectacle of the North American League of Legends scene, and StarLadder's Dota debut in Los Angeles. If you're into Hearthstone or enjoyed the HomeStory StarCraft series, you'll definitely want to be tuning in to SeatStory Cup V.

League of Legends: NA Championship Series

LoL's regular season play steps it up to cover for what is otherwise a quiet weekend. You can catch top-tier play in North America starting at 21:00 CEST/12:00 PDT on both Saturday and Sunday, with four best-of-threes being played on each day. You can find more information on the matchups, schedule and livestream on lolesports.com.

Dota 2: StarLadder i-League StarSeries

The first StarSeries LAN in the USA takes place in Los Angeles this weekend with $300,000 on the line. This is a good chance to see a slate of top Dota 2 teams play ahead of the International in a couple of weeks. Play is ongoing today, and continues on Saturday starting at 09:30 PDT/18:30 CEST. The action starts on Sunday at 14:00 PDT/23:00 CEST with the grand final beginning at 17:00 PDT (or 02:00 CEST the following day in Europe). Find the livestream here.

Hearthstone: SeatStory Cup V

There are a number of top players taking part in SeatStory Cup V this weekend. It's the Hearthstone version of the legendary HomeStory series: a serious competition in relaxed surroundings, giving you a chance to see pro players in a different light. Play begins every day at 14:00 CEST/05:00PDT and you can find the livestream here.

CSGO: Pro Gamer League 2016 Summer

This weekend is a little short on CS:GO, but you can still catch the finals of PGL 2016 in Wuhan on Sunday. The roster is primarily composed of Chinese teams with a handful of almost-top-tier western squads. The finals begin at 05:20 CEST on Sunday, which is 20:20 on Saturday night in the USA. Sadly there's no English stream for this event, but you can find the Chinese one on each match's HLTV.org page. Here's the final.