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Dota 2 Gamescom tourney’s million-dollar prize goes to a bunch of Avatar fans

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This morning (GMT) marked the close of festivities at Gamescom, an event highlighted by a tournament for Valve‘s upcoming Defense of the Ancients sequel, Dota 2. The competition ran for the length of the show, with all participants settling in for their first crack at the unreleased game and the million dollar prize.

The event is now over and a winner has been crowned: Ukrainian team Na’Vi, named for the blue-skinned race of extra-terrestrials in James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi blockbuster, Avatar. Chinese team EHOME nabbed the runner-up prize of $250,000. The showdown started on Wednesday, August 17, with 16 teams gathering while Valve streamed in live coverage of the event on the game’s website. The participants were pulled from among the world’s top-rated Defense of the Ancients players.

Valve confirmed just last week that the public beta for the upcoming game will kick off “a few weeks” after the close of the Germany-based trade show, with the final release of the game to follow later this year or early in 2012. Sign-ups are still open for the beta; to register, just head over to the Dota 2 website and click the green “Sign in through Steam” button in the middle of the page. Log into your Steam account at the link that opens and you’ll be all set.

Adam Rosenberg
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…
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