Dota 2

The Dota 2 International begins in earnest on Wednesday, when the sixteen best teams in the world go to war in the group stages in the hopes of securing an advantageous start in next week's main event. Before then, however, we have tomorrow's wildcard bracket. Four teams will fight for two remaining spots in the International in a brutal double-elimination format with everything on the line.

I mean everything. The International's massive prize pool in excess of $19.2m and climbing at the time of writing is split between all sixteen finalists. Even the bottom-place finishers will walk away with close to $100,000. Not only are tomorrow's wildcard competitors fighting for the right to join the International proper, then, but for a prize in excess of the total pool of many smaller events.

The stakes are absurdly high. These four teams Escape Gaming, compLexity, Execration and EHOME all placed third in their respective regional qualifiers. This earned them one last shot at a place among the very best in their sport. Tomorrow, we'll learn which teams made the trip to Seattle in vain.

HOW TO WATCH

The games will be placed on US west coast time tomorrow. Valve don't yet list a time on the official schedule, but expect play to start around 10:00 PST (19:00 CEST).

You'll be able to watch the games on Twitch as well as via Valve's on proprietary Dota streaming service, DotaTV. You can also watch in the game client itself, which allows you full choice of commentary team as well as the ability to control the camera yourself if you prefer. For the first time, Valve are also offering VR spectating through the Dota VR Hub.If you miss any games, check out the replay section of the official site.

THE TEAMS

 compLexity Gaming 

compLexity Gaming

Members: Chessie, Limmp, swindlemelonzz, Zfreek, HandskenOrigin: USA and SwedenHeroes to look out for: Dark Seer, Invoker, Enigma

compLexity put themselves on the map in 2015 with a better-than-expected performance at last year's International. Since then they've undergone a roster shift, losing MoonMeander and Fly to OG and bringing in three Swedes: Chessie, Limmp and Handsken. The new coL is a team that has proved itself capable of taking games off the very best, but is yet to place above the mid-table at a top-tier event. The team is also notable for including two sets of brothers in its roster in Chessie/Limmp and swindlemelonzz/Zfreek.

Their track record suggests that they've got a good chance of making it through the wildcard. compLexity are taking the International seriously and have brought in coaches and analysts to help them prepare. This could be the beginning of another underdog run, but they'll need to show something new if they want to escape the mid-table at the most competitive event of the year.

 EHOME

EHOME

Members: iceiceice, old chicken, eLeVeN, laNm, FenrirOrigin: China and SingaporeHeroes to look out for: Lion, Juggernaut, Axe

This isn't necessarily a name you'd expect to see in the wildcard. EHOME is one of the grand old houses of Chinese Dota, placing high at last year's International and performing well right up until the Shanghai Major, where their star fell a little. After a reshuffle, the new EHOME boasts a lot of talent, including longstanding Dota veterans like iceiceice and LanM. These are players more used to getting invited to the International than fighting their way in the long way.

As such, it'll be an upset if they don't qualify for the main event and if they do, they ve probably got the best shot out of any team in the wildcard at causing an upset in the group stages. That s not to say that they re a safe bet, by any means: their recent form has been hit and miss, hence why they re playing in the wildcard at all. But if you re assembling your fantasy draft in time for tomorrow s games, you could do worse than to slot in a couple of EHOME players.

 Escape Gaming

Escape Gaming

Members: Era, qojqva, KheZu, YapzOr, syndereNOrigin: Sweden, Denmark, Jordan, GermanyHeroes to look out for: Faceless Void, Vengeful Spirit, Invoker

Formerly No Diggity, there's a lot of veteran European Dota talent in Escape Gaming including player-turned-caster-turned-player SyndereN, who last attended the International as a player in 2013. He's joined by former Fnatic/NiP carry Era and nomadic midlaner qojqva, returning to pro Dota after a break. That wealth of experience isn't evenly distributed, however: YapzOr and KheZu are both relative newcomers.

Escape have a mixed recent track record and the wildcard is likely to be a real test. But their performance against the top tier isn't what matters, at least in the short term: what matters is how they shape up against the other wildcard teams. In that regard, they have a shot at making the cut most odds favour them over Execration. Much depends on how they match up against compLexity, however, which makes their first game of the event one to watch.

 Execration

Execration

Members: Nando, Abed, RR, Tims, Kim0Origin: PhilippinesHeroes to look out for: Invoker, Slardar, Earth Spirit

This is a team that hasn't competed much, or won, outside of South East Asia. Recent form suggests that they can be competitive with the other top SEA teams, but their performance is very variable. That, coupled with a lack of experience at events of this scale, means that Execration are the underdogs coming into the International wildcard.

That's no reason to count them out, however. Abed is the youngest player in the tournament at 15 and supremely talented the second highest-ranking player in SEA. Execration have the ability to perform at a high level, it's just a matter of whether they can bring that talent to bear when it counts. It's also worth remembering that the wildcard is a dangerous bracket and upsets can and do happen when the stakes are this high. For these teams, it all comes down to a handful of matches. With the right players and the right strategy, Execration certainly have a shot.

We ll be running more guides to the International, its competitors and metagame as the week progresses. You can find it all on PC Gamer Pro.

Dota 2 - Ward


This year at The International Dota 2 Championships in Seattle, we are once again inviting fans to come watch the live action outdoors with other Dota fans on the lawns next to KeyArena. Every day of the Main Event we will have a large LED screen on Fisher Lawn, open and free to any fans who want to be a part of the biggest Dota celebration of the year. On Friday and Saturday we will add another screen on the Fountain Lawn, and we encourage all midweek attendees to stay and enjoy the Grand Finals mere steps from the packed arena.

For fans without tickets who still wish to attend the midweek matches, we will be releasing a limited number of daily tickets to The International on Monday, August 8 – Thursday, August 11 only. Daily tickets will cost $25 each and will be released each morning starting at 7:00 a.m. Monday and 8:00 a.m. Tuesday - Thursday at the KeyArena West Box Office. These tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and are not available Friday and Saturday.

We have partnered with HTC to provide a free VR Experience this year above the Secret Shop. You will be able to sign up for a time slot beginning at noon on Monday, August 3. Come try out the HTC Vive with Dota VR Theater, Hover Junkers, AudioShield, and more!



For those who can't make it down to KeyArena, we've also partnered with Barcraft United to help people connect for Dota-viewing Pubstomp events at local venues around the globe. Visit the Barcraft landing page to find a Pubstomp in your area.

Dota 2 - Ward


This year at The International Dota 2 Championships in Seattle, we are once again inviting fans to come watch the live action outdoors with other Dota fans on the lawns next to KeyArena. Every day of the Main Event we will have a large LED screen on Fisher Lawn, open and free to any fans who want to be a part of the biggest Dota celebration of the year. On Friday and Saturday we will add another screen on the Fountain Lawn, and we encourage all midweek attendees to stay and enjoy the Grand Finals mere steps from the packed arena.

For fans without tickets who still wish to attend the midweek matches, we will be releasing a limited number of daily tickets to The International on Monday, August 8 – Thursday, August 11 only. Daily tickets will cost $25 each and will be released each morning starting at 7:00 a.m. Monday and 8:00 a.m. Tuesday - Thursday at the KeyArena West Box Office. These tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and are not available Friday and Saturday.

We have partnered with HTC to provide a free VR Experience this year above the Secret Shop. You will be able to sign up for a time slot beginning at noon on Monday, August 3. Come try out the HTC Vive with Dota VR Theater, Hover Junkers, AudioShield, and more!



For those who can't make it down to KeyArena, we've also partnered with Barcraft United to help people connect for Dota-viewing Pubstomp events at local venues around the globe. Visit the Barcraft landing page to find a Pubstomp in your area.

Dota 2 - Ward


Today we're launching The International website, where you can find info about the tournament format, how to watch the matches, and the rosters of teams attending the event. You can also find links to our social media feeds and this year's Secret Shop. Once the games begin, continue to check in for live matches, replays, and tournament schedule and bracket updates.
Dota 2 - Ward


Today we're launching The International website, where you can find info about the tournament format, how to watch the matches, and the rosters of teams attending the event. You can also find links to our social media feeds and this year's Secret Shop. Once the games begin, continue to check in for live matches, replays, and tournament schedule and bracket updates.
Dota 2 - Valve
Dota VR Hub: Improved visual quality of hero loadout scene.
Dota VR Hub: Show Twitch chat in the VR Theater when watching a stream.
Dota VR Hub: Indicate which stream is being watched in the lobby browser.
Dota 2 - Valve
Fixed Lone Druid's Bear not tracking Black King Bar usage correctly.
Fixed a bug with Arc Warden's Tempest Double not duplicated consumable items correctly in some cases.
Dota VR Hub: Hero Showcase now allows you to change your equipped items.
Dota VR Hub: Hero Showcase now allows you to preview items available on the store.
Dota VR Hub: Allow viewing of Twitch streams in the VR Theater.
Dota VR Hub: Fixed positional audio when spectating inside the map.
Dota VR Hub: Player avatars inside the map will no longer show up on the VR Theater screen.
Dota VR Hub: Fixed player avatars sometimes being too big in the VR Theater room.
Dota VR Hub: Fixed tower healthbars showing up after a tower has been destroyed.
Dota VR Hub: Added control hints to the grip buttons.
Dota VR Hub: Improved bindings for Oculus Touch users.
Dota VR Hub: Improved visual quality of main menu scene.
Dota 2 - Ward


The 2016 Collector's Aegis of Champions registration site is now open.

All Battle Pass owners who reach Battle Level 1000 are invited to receive The International 2016 Collector's Aegis, an exclusive 1/5th-scale, bronze-plated alloy replica of the famed champion's prize.

To claim your Collector's Aegis, please visit the registration site to provide your shipping and contact information. You will need to use your Steam account credentials and have a Battle Level of 1000 in order to access the site.

Your Collector's Aegis can only be delivered to the address you provide during registration. If you need to change your shipping information after successful registration, please contact Catalyst Customer Support at: aegissupport@catalystteam.com

Deliveries will be spread across two waves of shipments—the first will ship in September, with the second to follow in October. Please note that all communication regarding your shipment will be sent to the email address you provide during registration, and failure to provide accurate shipping or contact information may cause fulfillment issues for your Collector's Aegis.

Registration is required to receive your Aegis, so make sure to sign up before the conclusion of The International 2016 Grand Finals to claim this lasting symbol of the legendary support you have extended in helping make this the premiere tournament in all of esports.
Dota 2 - Ward


The 2016 Collector's Aegis of Champions registration site is now open.

All Battle Pass owners who reach Battle Level 1000 are invited to receive The International 2016 Collector's Aegis, an exclusive 1/5th-scale, bronze-plated alloy replica of the famed champion's prize.

To claim your Collector's Aegis, please visit the registration site to provide your shipping and contact information. You will need to use your Steam account credentials and have a Battle Level of 1000 in order to access the site.

Your Collector's Aegis can only be delivered to the address you provide during registration. If you need to change your shipping information after successful registration, please contact Catalyst Customer Support at: aegissupport@catalystteam.com

Deliveries will be spread across two waves of shipments—the first will ship in September, with the second to follow in October. Please note that all communication regarding your shipment will be sent to the email address you provide during registration, and failure to provide accurate shipping or contact information may cause fulfillment issues for your Collector's Aegis.

Registration is required to receive your Aegis, so make sure to sign up before the conclusion of The International 2016 Grand Finals to claim this lasting symbol of the legendary support you have extended in helping make this the premiere tournament in all of esports.
Dota 2 - Valve
- Fixed a bug preventing skyboxes from appearing in the Dota VR Hub.
- Fixed a crash when entering certain unicode strings in chat.

Player Cards
- Which player card is silver/gold is now randomized in the card list.
- You no longer have to confirm when dusting a duplicate common in the pack open dialog.
- In the card selection popup, it's now sorted by team then player name.
- The team selection dropdown in the card selection popup is now sorted by team name.
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