With 16 teams competing over the course of five days for both bragging rights and the chance to walk away with over $18 million, “The International” represented the biggest e-sporting event to take place so far. To get a brief understanding of how much of an impact this tournament you just have to look at the fact that the combined prize money on offer at last year’s event was more than that paid out at the most recent Augusta Masters.
Dota 2 truly represents the ever-increasing global reach of e-sport as a whole. Known to fans worldwide as “The International”, this five day tournament tests the skill set of gamers who face each other in a highly competitive do or die game of Dota 2. Representing one of the most popular multiplayer online battle arena category of games, Dota 2 pits teams of five players against each other in a battle of smarts and real time strategising in a pursuit of victory. Encouraging users to destroy their enemies’ bases, this fast pace game has become the uncrowned leader of the growth of e gaming.
Broadcast by ESPN and with players as young as 16 years old, the growth of events such as “The International” and competitive gaming over the last five years has led to those competing being recognised as legitimate athletes by the US government. The impact of this decision is already being felt as the winners of this years Valve sponsored event were the USA team, Evil Geniuses. The first USA team to take the title.
Dota 2 has become the poster child for the streaming generation as the game was the first to bypass the one million concurrent user mark on Steam when it was first launched. This was almost double the amount of the next nearest game. Not to be outdone by Steam, the tournament itself ratcheted up impressive online viewing figures on Twitch, YouTube and WatchESPN respectively. The desire for the game was such that the finals were live streamed in up to 400 movie theatres in the US. Recognising that welcoming and including newbies to the game is an important element of their retention strategy, the team behind Dota 2 once again had a separate channel for newcomers. Although it didn’t have as stellar viewing figures, its presence represents a continuing shift towards future proofing the game for generations to come.
Focusing on the social elements of a game by making it easier for users to drop into and take up their games has now become a major selling focal point for games companies. Content channels like Twitch have made gaming more appealing to first time users by allowing them to discover like-minded individuals and resource sources that help solve issues they are facing.
The mainstream success of the 2015 “The International” tournament highlights a certain undeniable truth about e-sports with the recognition that the growing interest in this burgeoning sporting pursuit is not going away anytime soon.