Competitive gaming is coming to
This year's International Dota 2 tournament will be broadcast on ESPN networks, Valve announced. This comes on the heels of the Call of Duty MLG X Games Invitational this past June in Austin, TX, the first time gamers competed for X Games medalss. The tournament was featured on ESPN.
This year's International, which begins tomorrow and runs through the 21st of July, is being held in Seattle and will be broadcast on ESPN3 and ESPN2---though one suspects it's only a matter of time before video game matches are on the premiere ESPN channel as well.
"From the success of the Compendium to the collaboration with ESPN, this year's International really demonstrates how much competitive gaming has grown to rival traditional sports," said Valve's Erik Johnson in a statement. "We believe the teams have also pushed to a new level of play this year and will further demonstrate the incredible advances made across this tournament since it first began three short years ago."
The first International Dota 2 tournament was held in Cologne Germany, back in 2011. The prize: $1 million. In just three years the pot has swelled to a whopping $10.8 million---the largest competitive gaming prize ever according to Valve thanks to the Compendium, a program which essentially funds the prize pool via gamification.
The ESPN deal is emblematic of the growing popularity of e-sports across the US and the world. Last year the League of Legends finals sold out the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Game-streaming site Twitch has surpassed Facebook in peak traffic.
For my part, I have yet to climb aboard the game-spectating train. I enjoy playing games. I enjoy watching other people play games when they're next to me on the couch. And I enjoy watching other things such as TV and movies.
But I haven't made the leap to game-streaming, even though I'm well aware it's the wave of the future.
Broadcast on ESPN begins tomorrow and can be viewed on normal television or through a variety of devices via the WatchESPN app. Coverage will include interviews with players, Valve's Gabe Newell, and the matches themselves.
While the inclusion of e-sports on ESPN is certainly a hallmark for the industry, I can't help but wonder if it's actually as significant as we want it to be. Are gamers more likely to watch the Dota 2 tournament on ESPN or its app, or on Twitch?
We're at, or approaching, a crossroads as traditional television and online streaming begin to overlap. A similar confluence is happening with sports and e-sports.
The International Dota 2 tournament itself, and its 10,000 tickets, sold out in an hour.
