Watch Dota 2 in action for the first time via tournament replays right now

After barely any info on Dota 2, today the first elimination round of Valve's International Dota 2 Championship at GamesCom began, with the game played in public for the first time. Matches will continue through the end of the tournament on Sunday. To make it easier to follow the action, Valve has posted full-length high-definition replay videos of all the matches. To watch, just go to the Dota 2 schedule pageand click “View Replay.” It's easy! We're rooting for OK.Nirvana.int (a team made of European players). They were knocked out of the winners bracket today, but we're confident they'll win their match tomorrow.

The matches began yesterday, when the sixteen teams were split into four groups to play preliminary matches and be ranked. Teams that performed well were put into the winners bracket and the losers were shamefully tossed into the losers bracket. Teams that lose a match while in the winners bracket drop into the losers bracket, and anyone that loses a match in the losers bracket is out of the competition. The last teams standing will meet on Sunday for the final match. The biggest thing at steak is pride, but the winners will also receive a million dollars.

The tournament is also serving as the public unveiling of Dota 2. Though this is our first look, the game is expected to launch either late this year or early in 2012. If you'd like a chance to try it out before then, the beta signup is open, and Valve has said that testing should being a few short weeks after the tournament ends.