Valve's Dota 2 tournament The International introduced the game to the world last year, and now it's returning to show people how far both the game and its professional scene have come since then. So here's a friendly reminder that tickets go on sale this morning for the event running alongside PAX Prime in Seattle.

The International will run August 31 to September 2 at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. The first batch of tickets go on sale today at 9am Pacific, with more batches to follow every day at that time. They're curiously being sold through the Dota 2 Store, and will be tradeable like any other Steam inventory item. Redeeming the ticket will tie it to your Steam account.

A "limited amount" of seats will be available for people with PAX Prime passes, but unless you fancy queueing for yonks, you may want to just pony up the moolah.

There's still no clear idea of when Dota 2 will officially launch, beyond the obvious "when it's done," but you can buy your way into the colossal closed beta. The $40 Dota 2 Invite gets you instant beta access along with a selection of in-game cosmetic customisation items.