The Dota 2 International 2016 breaks records

Many+aesthetic+items+were+given+to+those+that+contributed+to+the+prize+pool+such+as+the+Immortal+Gardens+terrain+featured+above.+%E2%80%9CThey+get+to+be+involved+in+the+biggest+tournament+of+their+game%2C%E2%80%9D+Dew+said.+Dew%E2%80%99s+favorite+team%2C+OG%2C+was+eliminated+in+the+first+round+of+the+main+event.+

Kostas Kakadiaris

Many aesthetic items were given to those that contributed to the prize pool such as the Immortal Gardens terrain featured above. “They get to be involved in the biggest tournament of their game,” Dew said. Dew’s favorite team, OG, was eliminated in the first round of the main event.

Kostas Kakadiaris, News Editor

The very best Dota 2 players from around the world gathered in KeyArena, in Seattle, Aug. 3, to compete in The International 2016 for a prize pool that totaled $20,770,460, the largest prize pool in e-sports.

“It’s good for the image and not just for Dota but for CS:GO [another e-sport]. The prize pools really make it newsworthy,” senior Matt Dew said.

Every International has resulted in a larger prize pool and subsequently a larger following. A streaming service called Twitch was broadly used to watch the tournament and The International racked up a total viewership of over 100,000,000 people on only their main stream.

“It cements e-sports as a real thing. People wonder, ‘Oh, it’s an e-sport. What’s the deal?’ And then you tell them the winning team got like $10 million. They don’t laugh as much cause they realize it’s an actual thing,” Dew said.

A Chinese team by the name of Wings took home the first place prize of $9,139,002, while Digital Chaos, a western team, acquired $3,427,126 as the runner-up. The grand finals ended with Wings winning 3-1 in a best of five series.

“It was destined to happen,” Dew said. “Next year a western team will win and the year after that another Chinese team.”

Aside from the main stage, there was plenty of entertainment in the forms of Dota personalities, a cosplay competition and an all-star match featuring pros playing with fans.

“The International this year had so many things to fill in that gap, and it was so fun to watch even when there wasn’t a game going on,” Dew. said

The Dota 2 International 2016 continues to prove itself to its fans with ever-increasing prize pools and ways to include the fans themselves.

Dew said, “The best part was betting on a team, and then watching them lose horribly and realizing in Dota literally anything can happen.”