Valve releases The International 2014 details

Let’s hope Valve doesn’t celebrate April Fool’s. At least not when it’s about the biggest annual Dota 2 tournament.

That’s right. A recent announcement on the official Dota 2 blog has released several details regarding this year’s International and confirmed rumors that have been floating around.

The International 2014 will be taking place from July 18 to 21 at the Key Arena at Seattle Center. There will be a total of sixteen teams in the tournament, with eleven receiving direct invites. Four of these direct invites will be given to the winners of four regional qualifiers. The runner-ups for each qualifier will also fly to Seattle where they will compete to see who takes the final slot.

There are presently no details about which team will be getting an invite, but it’s safe to say that it won’t be long before the first announcement is made. Two teams that will definitely be getting a direct invite are last year’s champions, The Alliance, and the ‘Roshan of The International’, Natus Vincere. As for China, Team DK, Vici Gaming, and Invictus Gaming are also shoo-ins for a direct invite. SEA doesn’t look as colorful as China or Europe, but Team Titan, Mineski, and Scythe look capable of representing the region.

Valve also released the following ticket details for those who are planning to attend the event in Seattle:

• General admission ($99)
• Floor seats ($199)
• VIP package ($499)

The VIP package includes:

• Access to all 6 days of playoffs (formerly the group stages) taking place on July 8, 2014, before the main event
• Floor seating
• Exclusive VIP Meet & Greets
• Access to the after party

Tickets will be sold via Ticketmaster starting on April 4, 2014, 3:00 PM GMT-7 (April 5, 2015 6:00 AM, GMT+8).

While last year saw the introduction of The International Interactive Compendium, which allowed fans to support their teams, compete in fantasy leagues, and make predictions about the games, it doesn’t seem likely to happen again this round. Valve seems keen on letting everyone participate in The International, whether in Seattle or in their own homes. However sales of the Compendium helped bump last year’s prize pool up to $2,874,380, the biggest ever prize pool in an eSports tournament, and it would be remiss of Valve not to repeat that success. Maybe they have something else up their sleeves?

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