Valve To Hold DotA 2 Championship at Gamescom

Valve is no stranger to creative game marketing, and with DotA 2, the sequel to the mega-popular Defense of the Ancients, the company looks to take things to the next level. Alright, “unprecedented level” might be a better description. Not only is the company planning to show off the game for the first time at the upcoming Gamescom convention in Cologne, Germany, the company is also holding a DotA 2 championship at the exact same time.

That’s right… a championship for a game that, at the time, will not even be released. Oh, and did I forget to mention the one million dollar prize?

Before you pack your bags, I should warn you that the seats have already been filled, and with the top DotA teams on the planet; 16 in all. Most of the teams are scattered around Asia with a handful from Europe. Somewhat interestingly, no USA or Canadian teams are present.

While most gaming championships are only ever seen by the people participating or those who happen to be there, this one is different. To make sure anyone who wants to see how DotA 2 is shaping up actually gets to see it, the company will be streaming the event on the game’s official website (and in four different languages).

I admit I’m not generally a big fan of DotA-like games (LoL, HoN, etc), but given the marketing surrounding this one alone, my interest is actually piqued. While I’m still a bit sour at the fact that Valve somehow took a community game and turned it into a commercial one, so far, it does seem to be shaping up right. True fans of the original will know for sure when they can see the game in action later this month, though.

The championship isn’t one that’s going to end in an afternoon, but rather is one queued up for a five-day run. If you are interested in checking it out at the time, head on over to the official site linked to below, and stalk the official blog.