14 DAY TRIAL // Last Monday saw the Grand Finals of The International 4 Dota 2 tournament and the conclusion to the biggest eSports competition of all time, as a whopping 10.9 million USD (8 million EUR) prize pool was up for grabs by the attending teams.
This was also the first time eSports tournaments have started getting coverage in mainstream media, as the finals were broadcasted by ESPN2 while many outlets wrote articles about the massive competition.
Sure, many of them were focusing on the huge prize pool, but publicity is still publicity and quite a lot of people expressed their opinions about the new trend in terms of "sports vs. eSports."
While many hardcore veterans of the scene were proud to see recognition for their passion, there were also plenty of regular sports fans that denounced the silliness of these "kid games" and how they aren't worth the attention.
However, Valve didn't pay attention and focused on ensuring a great spectacle for Dota 2 fans, especially since they were the ones who contributed with money to ensure such a whopping prize pool by buying the digital Compendium. The matches were great and, barring a few technical issues in the first day, everything went off without a hitch, even the after party with guest star Darude who played the unofficial anthem of eSports – Sandstorm.
Valve also made a great choice by providing viewers with a Newcomer (newbie) stream in which experienced casters and analysts shed insight about the core mechanics in Dota 2 and explained them so that those who aren't familiar with the whole MOBA genre can understand.
I'll admit that with almost over 100 hours played, I'm still a newcomer to Dota 2 and, while I definitely enjoyed the main stream with all the hype casters and in-depth analyses, I almost always went back to the Newbie stream, as I needed quite a few explanations about end-game items, why some heroes synergize better with others, and so on. Throw in the great casting from Purge and Sunsfan and I had a great time.
What's more, because of the extra coverage and because there was a stream dedicated to newcomers, I could invite my wife and my friends to join in and at least see why I'm so passionate about the competition overall and about the game in particular.
Considering eSports are constantly growing in popularity, with the example of Dota 2, League of Legends, or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, they're bound to draw in more and more people, not just through external media coverage but also through the so called evangelizing done by hardcore players who want to share the experience with their friends.
Rooting for a favorite sports team, whether it's about soccer, football, basketball, hockey, and many other competitive sports is something that comes natural for many people and I think it's time more and more gamers also get involved in eSports and cheer on for their favorite teams or at least their favorite players at different competitions and in different games.
By doing this and demonstration passion as a community can eSports really break into the mainstream.