Gadgetory

the World Cup may have just ended but there's another huge tournament happening right now that you should be watching it doesn't have end zones or a home plate or even LeBron James but it does have mythical ancients powerful wizards fearsome warriors a dude riding a bat and this guy right now 16 teams are competing to take home millions of dollars in an event that could be watched by millions of people it's called the International and it looks like the future of sports this is the fourth year of the International and annual dota 2 tournament and it's by far the biggest year yet it's hosted by valve the company best known as the creator of the half-life series this year valve enlisted dota 2 huge fan base to sweeten the pot for competitors and they came through in a huge way valve seated the tournament with a 1.6 million dollar prize but players pitched in more than eight million dollars to bring the total purse to over 10 million dollars that makes it not only the largest eSport tournament in history but also bigger than some traditional sports tournaments these players are the best of the best in dota 2 but that doesn't mean they're paid like LeBron there's no salary and losing can literally mean missing out on your lunch this year's winning team will take home nearly 5 million dollars if you're new to dota 2 there's a lot to learn so much in fact that listening to the tournament's broadcasts can be completely overwhelming for newcomers you're going to hear a lot about laning creeps bkb's rat dota and dozens of other jargony terms it's complicated but really there are just a few basics you need to know before watching you could compare dota 2 do a lot of games and that's both good and bad it's part chess part capture-the-flag part Magic the Gathering and part monty python and the holy grail dota is short for Defense of the Ancients and that's actually the game in a nutshell two five-man teams that on a big square gladiatorial arena with a single objective siege the other teams base and destroy their ancient before they destroy yours of course it's not as simple as hitting a baseball out of the park each ancient is protected by a series of defensive towers that must be toppled punctually these defenses have four layers and they're spread out in three lanes which are just pathways from one team's base to the other there's one that goes straight down the middle of the map diagonally and two that wrap around each edge unlike pro sports dota 2 is incredibly easy to watch you don't need television or a special cable package you just need an internet connection and this year valve has made it even easier for newcomers with the beginners broadcast that breaks down the game for newbies even valve spectacular documentary on the game free-to-play is free to watch online but this year for the first time major networks are also getting in on the action the stream will be available to watch on ESPN 3 the main event starts today and runs through Monday July 21st each team will compete on a stage at the Key Arena in front of cheering fans you're likely to see Furious Kombat emotional comebacks surprising twists and at the end one team taking home almost 5 million dollars and a giant shield trophy called the aegis of Champions if you're thinking that kind of dough is tempting you too can someday become a champion dota 2 is completely free to download and play and it's available for Mac or PC