The Battle Cup 2016

In classic fashion, Valve is keeping a tight lid on the inaugural Battle Cup. Recent posts indicate the long awaited tournament is soon to arrive.

I think that “inaugural” is the key word here. I didn’t put it in the header text for nothing. Valve’s awful clever, hiding behind words to hint at the possibilities of what is to come. It’s almost as if the entire organization got off collectively on being as obscure as humanly possible. Their choice in words leads me to believe that should things go well with the cup, this could be a regular feature of the DOTA world.

I think that only good can come of this, if Valve can manage the Cup efficiently or outsource it to someone who can. I have my application ready and waiting, Valve. Yes, I know there are no applications for the position yet. Yes, my application is still ready.

A regular, lower stakes tournament will mean more opportunity for prospective players to climb up into the pro bracket. The pro world of DOTA is already bursting with talent consisting of a diverse, multi-cultural group of players from around the globe. However, I’m sure there’s more talent out there just waiting to be discovered. Whatever Valve can do to nurture the pro scene and encourage its growth will only make the pro DOTA circuit more interesting.

So this thing we’ve never heard of…

Well, you’ve probably caught wind of it on Reddit and STEAM forums. There was a whopping one sentence about it in a news post released on the Immortal Treasure II. “Additionally, the inaugural Battle Cup is almost here, and details on the beta tournament will be available soon.” Looks like our details come in the form of a twitter post. SHA-BAM!

With nothing more than a golden Battle Cup ticket and (supposedly) the most recent compendium, you can form a party with your friends or guildmates to fight it out in eight team brackets for your chance at battle points and a trophy (exciting!). Teams will be sorted according to skill level and split among the four geographic regions of the DOTA world, Europe, the Americas, China, and Southeast Asia.

Oh God… does this mean the smurfs are coming?

Yeah, that’s what I thought to. I got my good ol’ smurf poison out and everything. The last thing you want is a smurf infestation ruining your tournament, am I right? Pro tip: golf clubs are also useful, but clean them after you’ve solved your smurf problem. The blue gets everywhere.

Then someone pointed out to me that it’s likely the compendium will be required to take part in the tournament, and everything clicked. The $10 compendium might not be a serious strain on the wallet, but if you plan to enter the tournament with smurf accounts, you’ll have to shell out those ten clams with each smurf you make. That sort of expense just doesn’t seem worth it for the battle points and trophy.

Give me the keys, Valve. You shouldn’t be driving

I’m sure changes to format and frequency will be made as the tournament staggers and hiccups along in true Valve format. Let’s just hope this tournament doesn’t fall by the wayside like so many features that have been added to and then forgotten about in DOTA. In the meantime, I’ll be bringing you developments on the Battle Cup as news is released.

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