The biggest gaming tournament of all time kicks off next week

The Dota 2 International begins next week, and it will be the biggest eSports tournament that the world has ever seen.

The tournament’s prize pool is currently sitting at around $18,600,000 and is still growing.

The Dota 2 International is hosted by Valve and is the biggest tournament of the year, featuring the best Dota 2 teams from around the world competing for a ridiculously large amount of money.

Players have grown the prize pool throughout the course of this year by purchasing in-game battle passes and items that allow them to interact with the tournament in various ways.

The Wild Card eliminations will take place on 2 August, with the main Group Stage running from 3 – 5 August.

The Group Stage determines the teams’ placing in the Main Event, a six-day double-elimination leading up to the Grand Finals.

Below are the 16 teams competing in the Dota 2 International 2016:

OG
Newbee
Team Liquid
LGD Gaming
MVP Pheonix
Natus Vincere
Team Secret
Alliance
Wings Gaming
Vici Gaming Reborn
TNC Gaming
Fnatic
Evil Geniuses
Digital Chaos
Wild Card Winner
Wild Card Runner-up

The tournament is set to be a massive spectacle, with Dota 2 fans worldwide watching the best professional gamers in the world battle it out to become overnight millionaires.

Fans around the world will also be hosting Pubstomps closer to the main event, which means that various pubs, bars, and coffee shops around South Africa could be showing the Dota 2 International Grand Finals.

Will you be watching the Dota 2 International 2016? Let us know in the comments and forum.