Valve announces dates for Dota 2 tournament The International 2014

Valve has announced the 2014 details for its annual Dota 2 tournament The International, which is now in its fourth year.

The four-day event will now take place starting July 18 at the KeyArena in Seattle. Tickets will be sold starting Friday April 4 at 15:00 PT, with a four-day ticket going for $99, floor seating $199, and $499 for a VIP ticket.

Six days of playoffs will begin on July 8, which VIP ticket holders can also attend, and the big spenders will also get access to an exclusive meet and greet and Valve's (presumably opulent) after party.

Don't fancy making the trip to Seattle? Valve will also be airing the games live online and through Dota 2's magnificent in-game client.

11 teams will compete in the tournament this year, with four regional qualifiers taking place from May 12 through May 25. Alongside the invited teams, the winner of each regional qualifier will secure a guaranteed place in the finals, and the four runners-up will compete for the final slot in the tournament.

Valve says it will shortly announce details about a Compendium for this year's tournament. Last year the company released the 2013 Compendium as a digital interactive programme for the competition, which also boosted the total prize pool to $2.8 million.

Swedish pro team Alliance scooped up the biggest slice of the prize pie last year, $1.4 million, after beating Na'Vi in a thrilling best-of-five final. Just don't talk about fountain hooks.