What's Dota2?
Dota 2 is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena video game and the stand-alone sequel to the Defense of the Ancients (DotA) mod. Developed by Valve Corporation, Dota 2 was officially released on July 9, 2013 as a free-to-play title for Microsoft Windows, concluding a beta testing phase that began in 2011. OS X and Linux versions of Dota 2 were released on July 18, 2013. In most regions, the game is available exclusively through Valve's content-delivery platform, Steam.

Each match of Dota 2 is independent and involves two five-player teams, each of which occupies a stronghold at a corner of the map. Located in each stronghold is a building called the "Ancient"; to win, a team must destroy the enemy's Ancient. Each player controls a "Hero" character and focuses on leveling up, collecting gold, acquiring items and fighting against the other team to achieve victory.

Development of Dota 2 began in 2009, when DotA developer IceFrog was hired as lead designer. Dota 2 was praised by video game critics, who lauded it for its rewarding gameplay, enhanced production quality and faithfulness to its predecessor. However, the game was criticised for its steep learning curve and inhospitable community. Dota 2 has become the most actively played game on Steam, with daily peaks at over 800,000 concurrent players.[5]

SCHEDULE
TUESDAY 8
Playoffs: Phase One - Wild Card
Solo Championship

WEDNESDAY 9 through SATURDAY 12
Playoffs: Phase Two

SUNDAY 13 through MONDAY 14
Playoffs: Phase Three

FRIDAY 18
Main Event: Upper Bracket

SATURDAY 19
Main Event: Lower Bracket
All-Star Match

SUNDAY 20
Main Event: Lower Bracket

MONDAY 21
Main Event: Grand Finals
Pre and Post-Match Press Conferences
All broadcasts start at 9am PDT
Streams can be found on Twitch.tv and also on Dota2 website.

Twitch.tv Streams
http://www.twitch.tv/dota2ti OFFICIAL ENGLISH STREAM
http://www.twitch.tv/dota2ti_ru_4 RUSSIAN STREAM


Prize Pool
Prize pool can be viewed here!


Are there any Dota2 fans out there?! If so, let me know! The International 4 currently holds the largest prize pool in the e-sports history! It's worth to watch this, even if you are not familiar with this game at all!

Not being familiar with a MOBA game means it's not really worth to watch this because you'll have no clue about what is happening on the stream and what is the goal. You can only enjoy these types of streams if you are familiar with the genre and the game itself too. I don't have much satisfaction from watching this, simply cause I don't know crap about DoTA2 teamcomps, characters and their spells and objectives other than towers. It's not really a jump in and win style genre.

Also this stream: http://www.twitch.tv/dota2ti_4

BTW: first place winner takes about $4,5 million

Quote from Kristi :

Not being familiar with a MOBA game means it's not really worth to watch this because you'll have no clue about what is happening on the stream and what is the goal. You can only enjoy these types of streams if you are familiar with the genre and the game itself too. I don't have much satisfaction from watching this, simply cause I don't know crap about DoTA2 teamcomps, characters and their spells and objectives other than towers. It's not really a jump in and win style genre.

There's also a beginner-friendly stream that actually explains stuff a bit more in-depth.

http://www.twitch.tv/dota2ti_noob