Valve has announced the third annual The International tournament, the most prestigious competition in competitive Dota 2. The competition returns to Seattle's Benaroya Hall August 6-11, where the 16 top Dota 2 teams in the world will compete to be named world champions. A prize pool has not yet been formally announced, but considering both previous iterations of The International posted pots in excess of $1 million, we think it's safe to say that it won't be chump change.
The bracket will consist of 13 invited teams and three who make it through a preliminary qualifier. The only invited team announced so far is last year's champions, Invictus Gaming (iG) of China. There will be two qualifier events: East and West, taking place at the end of May. The winning team from each qualifier will be guaranteed a spot in The International 3. The runners up will compete against each other for a final, Wild Card spot on the eve of The International 3.
If you're looking for some Dota 2 e-sports to watch in the mean time, there are some exciting games going in in the Chinese G-1 Champions League Season 5 , featuring both Western and Eastern teams, with a $40,000 top prize.
