Four days into the main event and The International 2017 – Dota 2 s $24 million world championship – is down to its final five teams. Only Newbee, LGD.Forever Young, Team Liquid, Invictus Gaming and LGD Gaming remain, the other eleven squads to grace the main stage of Seattle s KeyArena having fallen from the lower bracket and out of contention for the trophy. (more…)

Valve last night announced Artifact, a new card game based on Dota 2. I can tell you that Artifact is coming in 2018 and sounds like it broadly simulates a game of Dota, with lanes to push and Dota heroes to command, but Valve haven’t shown anything concrete yet. For a company that often sets trends, this does seem curiously late – the world is hardly short of digital card games these days, and this isn’t even the first card game spun off from a MOBA (Smite Tactics springs to mind, for starters). But hey, I’m always interested in what Valve are up to and Artifact does sound quite different to the usual Magic: The Gathering ’em ups. (more…)

The main event of Dota 2 s premier mega-tournament, The International 2017, kicks off today and the first round of matches has been decided by a group stage full of surprises. Here’s everything you need to know to get you up to speed (or to bluff your way through a conversation with Dota-loving friends!) (more…)

1. The International 2017 – the seventh annual Dota 2 [official site] megatournament has just started and there’s a noteworthy $23.3m prize pool at stake.

2. I forgot to tell you that before it got underway because I was having a capslock conversation with Alice about how DEREK ACORAH AND PAUL DANAN ARE IN THE CELEBRITY BIG BROTHER HOUSE TOGETHER RIGHT NOW.

3. There is a whole amazing guide to all the teams in the running for slices of that prize money pie by our James which will help fairweather fans get a handle on proceedings. (more…)

The International, Dota 2 s biggest competitive event (as well as esports most moneyed), returns to Seattle this week. This is the culmination of Dota s year-long season schedule all of it, all the Majors, third-party tournaments and rosters shuffles, have led to this 18-way showdown where over $23 million is up for grabs. Here’s our James to explain what you’re watching and give you crucial backstory for all of the teams!> (more…)

You know how sometimes you go to the swimming pool and in the grown-up full size bit there are boring lanes and people who tell you off for having fun but in the baby section there are inflatables and everyone is friendly and sometimes there’s a blow-up tropical island with a slide and you wish you could go in that pool instead of the boring adult pool even though there is also a lot of wee in there which you try not to think about?

That is how I feel about the newcomer-friendly changes to Dota 2 [official site]. Valve are making it NICER and more MANAGEABLE. No-one has mentioned a tropical island with a slide, but maybe it’s being kept secret. If it is I will KICK OFF. (more…)

Our James ventured out of unranked solo queue and ended up on a Dota 2 [official site] team captained by a professional player and being streamed to thousands as some of the most famous casters in the scene commentated his efforts. No pressure, then! Here’s a little account of what happened and some advice for if you ever find yourself in this not-at-all-highly-specific situation…>

Last Thursday, Dota 2 production studio and general community hub joinDOTA hosted Beat The Legends, a rather unusual showmatch: while both teams would be led by a bonafide professional player, the remaining eight positions would be filled by members of the Dota-playing public, or at least those who entered and won the random draw. The pros would be Crescendo captain and on-again, off-again analyst Troels “SyndereN” Nielsen, and Henrik “Admiral Bulldog” Ahnberg, champion of The International 2013, former Alliance offlaner and Europe s most popular streamer.

One of the randomers would be, unfortunately for everyone else, me. (more…)

With the biggest event in the competitive Dota 2 [official site] calendar The International 2017 due to take place next month, it might be a little early to start thinking about The International 2018. Unless, that is, you re Valve, who have revealed a massive overhaul to how the entire next professional season will play out.

Here’s an in-depth look at why these changes are so promising for the pro scene. … [visit site to read more]

Remember how Dota 2’s current seasonal Battle Pass/money pit has an under the sea theme? WELL, my Battle Pass is now sufficiently levelled up that I can swap the usual map with its trees and woodland wildlife for an underwater variant called Reef’s Edge! After booting up a game replay I swapped to the free camera mode, ditched the HUD elements that were getting in the way of my watery tourism and went exploring. Seahorses, eels and clams were just some of the things I found! Come see! … [visit site to read more]

Ooooh! The first part of Dota 2 [official site] co-op campaign, Siltbreaker, has arrived! Act 1: The Sands of Fate is the game’s first co-op multiplayer campaign (unless you count crowding round a screen with a friend to take turns playing Warcraft 3 or something). … [visit site to read more]