The prize pool for the Dota 2 world championship tournament The International is now greater than $10 million thanks to sales of its digital program, The Compendium. With that much money on the line, you might be curious about the eSports event, but no sporting event is fun to watch if you don’t understand what’s going on.
That’s exactly why Valve will have a “Dota Newcomers Broadcast,” dedicated to introducing new players and viewers to the basic rules. Valve says the Dota Newcomers Broadcast is “an English stream happening alongside the main stream, and will feature commentary aimed at easing people into understanding the exciting world of BKBs, tri-lanes, and counter-picks.”
Dedicated Dota 2 fans will probably want to stick to the International Multicast, which will consolidate all the simultaneous matches into one stream, or the Spoiler-Free DVR Broadcast, which allows you to catch up with matches or moments you missed with pause and rewind features.
You can find out more about how, when, and where to watch the event on Dota 2’s website.
The International’s $10 million in prizes marks the world record for biggest reward in history for an eSports tournament. It crushes last year's mark of $2.8 million, which was the biggest eSports prize to date. When the Compendium launched in May, its proceeds raised the prize from its initial $1.6 million to $2.2 million in its first night. In case you’re wondering, the first place will win more than $4.7 million.
