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A novelty Dota 2 tournament is sponsored by the Kennedy Space Center, for some reason

Midas Mode

Update, October 31: Midas Mode is drawing ever closer, and despite an eclectic group of sponsors, there’s still room for one backer to help make what could be the greatest Dota 2 tournament ever a reality.

Midas Mode, the community-organised Dota 2 tournament that charges players fake money for everything from picking heroes to pausing the game, is getting closer. To make sure it goes ahead, it’s been picking up some sponsors, and it’s looking for one more.

They might not help in Midas Mode, but here’s our list of the best Dota 2 heroes.

In a video released yesterday, SirActionSlacks, a Dota 2 personality and part of the team behind Midas Mode, announced the four sponsors for the tournament. Some of those are to be expected, with a lot of esports-related sponsors already confirmed, including Twitch, GGBet, and Ginx TV.

But then there are some more novelty sponsors. Those include Bomb Sauce, an E-liquid manufacturer from Atlanta, as well as arguably the tournament’s flagship sponsor. Somehow, and for some unknown reason, Midas Mode has found sponsorship from the Kennedy Space Centre, which according to the video, has never previously been associated with esports of any kind.

Despite that heady mix of financial backers, Midas Mode is still looking for one more sponsor, and the video ends with a call for supporters to be part of what could be the start of a beautiful tradition.

Midas Mode (which you can watch a full trailer for here) begins on November 18.

Original story, October 3:Midas Modeis finally coming to Dota 2. The novelty Dota 2 tournament, originally scheduled for April this year, will now run from November 18-28.

If you don’t know what Midas Mode is, allow us to enlighten you. Developed by Dota 2 talent agency Moonduck, Midas Mode is an unofficial Dota 2 tournament featuring eight teams from Europe and North America. At the beginning of the tournament, each team will be given a number of ‘Moonbucks’, an imaginary currency that will be used for a variety of actions throughout the tournament.

For example, both picks and bans cost Moonbucks, but the amount each team will be charged depends on the relative success and popularity of the heroes they pick, which will change in real time as the tournament progresses. On top of that, everything from picking a side to pausing the game uses up some of a team’s Moonbucks. Running out of money strips teams of any in-game privileges, and forces them to pick from a pool of the very worst heroes in the game.

Teams can, however, earn Moonbucks back in a number of ways. The community will suggest challenges through the tournament’s ‘Bounty’ system that teams can complete to earn extra money. Teams will also be able to bet on other matches in an attempt to win big, and if they find themselves in dire straits they’ll also be able to beg from other teams.

The teams participating in Midas Mode will be EG, Immortals, DC, and OpTic from NA, and Team Liquid, OG, Na’Vi, and Mid or Feed from EU. Moonduck haven’t explained exactly how the tournament will be structured, but we’ll keep this post updated as they do.