Valve just passed along word that the Main Event festivities for The International Dota 2 Championships for 2019 have officially kicked off. This is all going down at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China.
This is the ninth annual event and, once again, it has broken all sorts of records by having the biggest community-driven prize pool of over $33 million. First place is looking to get $15,276,981 once all is said and done. I think that amount can even go higher before the event ends, so that's kind of nuts.
Even the 18th place team will get to take home just shy of $84,000. How crazy is that? $84,000 for placing last. Wild stuff there. Counter-Strike teams are probably looking in awe at this (and maybe a bit of anger).
This Main Event runs from today, August 20 through to August 25. There are a ton of ways to watch which include Twitch, SteamTV, or simply watching from within the Dota 2 client itself. Standings, schedules, and all of the information you could possibly want can be found at The International Dota 2 Championships official website.
Also, you should check out the official Flickr page for The International Dota 2 Championships. If for no other reason than you could get your very own high-resolution shot (larger than the attached) of Gabe Newell looking like he just got done telling some fools, "COME AT ME, BRO! LET'S DO THIS! I'M RIGHT HERE! COME AT ME!"
