Share this Story: 'Wish they'd do this every year': The International Dota 2 Championship a boost for Vancouver tourism 'Wish they'd do this every year': The International Dota 2 Championship a boost for Vancouver tourism As the world's best Dota 2 players duke it out for a US$24.8-million purse at The International championships at Rogers Arena, local businesses are also fighting for their share of millions in tourism dollars from eSports fans in town from across the globe. Photo by Nick Eagland / PNG Article content As the world’s best Dota 2 players duke it out for a US$24.8-million purse at the international championships at Rogers Arena, local businesses are also fighting for their share of millions in tourism dollars from eSports fans in town from across the globe. In December, the Valve Corporation made the decision to move the competition to Vancouver from Seattle, where it had been held since 2012. Dota 2, a multiplayer online battle arena game developed by Valve, is like a mix of chess and capture the flag, where teams of five are pitted against each other to take down the opposition’s base and defend their own. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'Wish they'd do this every year': The International Dota 2 Championship a boost for Vancouver tourism Back to video Fans of the game, eager to watch their favourite players compete live for the largest prize pool in eSports, snagged midweek tickets for $75 and tickets for Friday and Saturday’s finals for $280. Worldwide, eSports revenues hit nearly US$493 million in 2016 and will grow to US$1.48 billion by 2020, according to researcher Statista. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Photo by Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images Tourism Vancouver expects the six-day tournament here to inject roughly $7.8 million into the local economy. Thursday afternoon, sidewalks and restaurants in Gastown were packed with fans wearing Dota 2 lanyards and toting bags of swag and merchandise. Inside the Pint Public House, just a few blocks from Rogers Arena, fans sipped craft beer while watching the tournament on flatscreen TVs. Assistant general manager Jeff Lockwood said event organizers approached The Pint about booking the whole pub for the week, but ultimately settled on a special broadcasting arrangement. Photo by Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images Lockwood said the fans have been great customers, keeping summer afternoons busier than usual and packing into the pub each night after events wrap up at Rogers Arena. “It’s fantastic,” he said. “They’re super-polite, they tip well and my staff is really happy about it, so it makes for a really enjoyable work environment.” Lockwood didn’t want to get into the numbers, but said the tournament has brought a “massive boost” in sales. “I kind of wish they’d do this every year,” he said with a grin. Outside Rogers Arena, Mike Holst, 27, a longtime Dota 2 player who travelled from London, Ont., said he’s watched The International since it was first held in Germany in 2011. He was thrilled to catch it live in Canada. Photo by Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images “The crowd is just amazing, how hyped they get,” he said. “Every single play, every single kill — just everything about it is outstanding.” His friend Brian Arndt, 26, from North Tonawanda, N.Y., said he’s treating the trip as a big annual holiday paired with the chance to watch his favourite teams play. Arndt said he’s staying at a hotel with three other Dota 2 players he befriended online a few years ago. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “I love the game and seeing it played at a professional level is just jaw-dropping,” he said. “The way I like to think of it is, if you are a football fan and your favourite team goes to the Super Bowl, would you actually want to go to the Super Bowl? I would say yes.” Photo by Nick Eagland / PNG Austin Liu, 21, and his brother Brandon, 19, flew up with six family members from Fresno, Calif. Both said they were impressed by the level of skill and determination shown by the competitors, and the size of the purse for which they’re competing. “It’s kind of like a new era of sports,” Austin Liu said. “Video games are getting to the point where people can actually make a living doing it, and I think a lot of us, as gamers, respect that, so we come out here to support it.” “The internationals is a culmination of all the best players in the world, so it’s crazy to see them all play in one area,” added his brother. “It’s like being a part of history.” neagland@postmedia.com twitter.com/nickeagland — With files from Behdad Mahichi and Josh McConnell CLICK HERE to report a typo. Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com. 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Please try again Trending<doc-sep>They come from “all corners of the Earth,” and this week, instead of settling in Seattle, competitors and rabid fans have assembled three hours north, in Vancouver, B.C., for The International, the huge “Dota 2” esports tournament. Bellevue, Wash.-based gaming giant Valve moved the tournament to Canada for the first time after holding it at Seattle’s KeyArena for four years. When the decision was made in March, Valve pointed to upcoming renovation of the venue at Seattle Center. Now Rogers Arena is playing host to the main event — which opened Monday and runs through Saturday — and its thousands of attendees and big tourism dollars. A video from the opening ceremony, above, was a mix of live music, acrobatics, team introductions and footage of gamers’ agony and ecstasy from previous competitions. Valve co-founder Gabe Newell then took the stage to welcome everyone. “I do want to personally thank our Canadian neighbors,” Newell said. “Putting on an event like this when you have people coming from 64 nations is really challenging.” Newell had previously said that The International could be moved out of the U.S. because of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, but blame was ultimately placed on the $700 million renovation of KeyArena. The prize pool for The International is almost $25 million, with more than $10 million of that going to the first place team. If you’re not in Vancouver with thousands of other “Dota 2” fans, the action is being live streamed. You can also check out the scene so far in some images from the official @dota2i Instagram account: The watchful blade #TI8 A post shared by Dota 2 Valve Software (@dota2ti) on Aug 20, 2018 at 12:47pm PDT Welcome to The International #TI8 A post shared by Dota 2 Valve Software (@dota2ti) on Aug 20, 2018 at 12:13pm PDT<doc-sep>Rock stars, a struggling hockey club and plenty of entertainers have found out the hard way that filling Rogers Arena isn't easy for one night, let alone six. But on Monday, the Canucks' home will open its doors and usher in thousands of raucous fans of the video game Dota 2, an event akin to the Super Bowl of esports. They'll be there for the main event of The International: a six-day, all-day professional esports event pitting 16 teams of the world's best Dota 2 players against each other in a $30-plus million tournament that will draw thousands of viewers in person and millions more online. It's the pinnacle of competition for a video game with an estimated 10 million active players worldwide, drawn by the game's blend of fantasy, strategy, and teamwork. The game has a rabid fanbase that invests hours of time and millions of dollars, crowdfunding almost all of the big money prize pool. ​​ Vancouver's Kurtis 'Aui_2000' Ling is former winner of The International, capturing the 2015 title and with it, a cut of the $6.6 million US first place prize money. Fans filled Seattle's Key Arena for the 2015 edition of The International. This week's event is expected to draw six days worth of similar crowds to Vancouver's Rogers Arena. (Jason Redmond / Reuters) "Dota is an incredibly hard game to get into. But once you get down to understanding it, the strategical depth of the game is so high, and it's incredibly exciting to watch," he said. "But at the same time, if I was a new spectator I wouldn't have any idea what was going on either." If you're one of those new fans, here's some of what you need to know about The International and Dota 2. Announcers, referred to as casters, provide commentary and analysis during game play. (Jason Redmond / Reuters) What is Dota 2? Here come the acronyms. Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena game, or MOBA. In the game, two teams of five players each select characters and battle across a virtual landscape in an effort to destroy each other's base, referred to as an ancient. Characters from the video game Dota 2 developed by Valve Corporation. Vancouver will play host to the game's top tournament, The International, for the first time this month. (Valve Corporation) Dota itself is an acronym for Defense of the Ancients, and as the name implies, Dota 2 was launched as a sequel to the original Dota. One more: The International is the event's formal name, but most there will call simply call it TI. Vancouver is hosting the eighth edition of the tournament, so this one is known informally as TI8. "It's absolutely electric," said Ling of The International. "There's so many people from all over the world who are just there to watch you play video games. It's insane." Fans holding the flag of the People's Republic of China cheer for CDEC Gaming during the 2015 grand finals at The International. (Jason Redmond / Reuters) Isn't it boring watching other people play video games? In your living room, it probably is. But, at a tournament setting inside a NHL arena, it's a true sporting spectacle. "The crowd is really nice. Everyone in that arena wants to see good Dota so if you display good Dota, people are going to be happy about it," said Artour 'Arteezy' Babaev, a Vancouver-raised TI veteran at just 22 years old. Matches play out with teams each sheltered in transparent soundproof booths positioned roughly where centre ice would be at a hockey game. Fans watch and react as the action unfolds live on the view screens above. "The only thing you can really hear is the vibration of the crowd," said Babaev of playing amid the pressure-packed TI atmosphere. "It's muffled a bit, but you hear the vibration." "The audience's energy actually shakes the booth. It's crazy," said Kurtis 'Aui_2000' Ling of competing at TI. (Jason Redmond / Reuters) Most matches at TI's main event will be best of three games, with Saturday's grand finals between the final two teams contested as a best of five. No one has won The International twice, meaning a TI victory carries with it a singular prestige in the gaming world. Cosplayers dressed as Dota 2 characters are part of the spectacle at The International. (Valve / Flickr) Who will local fans be cheering for in this? Some teams are made up of players solely from one country or region, so national flags are a common sight in the stands. Some players have massive social media followings and are the rock stars of the tournament. For hometown fans, there will be five Canadians at TI's main event this week — two players and three coaches — including B.C. 's Ling and Babaev.<doc-sep>Open this photo in gallery Players on Team Liquid play Team OpTic during the International Dota 2 Championships in Vancouver on Aug. 20, 2018. DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press When thousands of fans pack Vancouver’s Rogers Arena this weekend, it won’t be a hockey player or a musical superstar they’re screaming to see. Instead, the deafening crowd will cheer on professional video gamers as they battle for the more than US$25 million up for grabs in what’s being described as the esports Super Bowl. This week marks the first time the International Dota 2 Championships are being held in Canada, and fans and organizers say the tournament’s success shows esports has exploded from a niche hobby to a booming industry. Story continues below advertisement About 15,000 tickets for Saturday’s finals sold out almost immediately and at least 10 million others are expected to stream the action live online, said Erik Johnson of Valve, the company that created “Dota 2” — a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game — and runs the tournament. “It’ll be a packed house. It’ll be loud,” he said. “Everyone in the audience plays this game. They all have their favourite teams but they’re also cheering for the game and just want to see great play.” It’s the eighth year Valve has put on the tournament and every year, competition gets more difficult and the prize pool grows, Johnson said. The winnings come from in-game purchases and this year’s purse — including more than US$11 million for the first place team — is the biggest in esports history, he added. For gamers, making it to the big stage requires an incredible amount of focus, Johnson said. “It’s their job,” he said. “They’re not playing games for fun in their basement. They’re all super competitive people who have that competitive drive that most high-end athletes have and their outlet for that happens to be our game.” In “Dota 2,” a player controls one of 10 characters, split into two teams of five. A team wins by destroying a large structure in the opposing side’s base. There are dozens of unique characters available to play in the game, each bringing its own strengths to the battle. Last year’s victors, Team Liquid, have spent months preparing for the championships, said the team’s co-CEO, Victor Goossens. They even formed a partnership with technology giant SAP to develop software that uses analytics to improve their training and in-game performance. Story continues below advertisement The team’s players and coach — who are from Germany, Bulgaria, Finland, Jordan, Lebanon and South Korea — have been on the road for weeks, flying first to the Netherlands for three and a half weeks of intense practice, then to Vancouver 10 days before the competition began. “You cannot do this if it’s not the sole focus and priority of your life. And the degree of dedication that you need to be playing at this level, it’s really intense,” Goossens said. The Vancouver Canucks’ home stadium was transformed for the event, with the arena darkened, save for green and purple lights that gave it an eerie feel. Smoke emanated from the floor and a mossy-looking fabric hung from the rafters, while a soundtrack of ominous rumbles and drips played ahead of the competition. Two large glass structures were erected at centre ice, each outfitted with computers and gaming chairs, ready for competitors from 64 different countries to climb in and log on. When they did, four massive screens suspended from the ceiling broadcast every animated move the gamers made. A smaller inset screen flashed close ups of the players’ faces, contorted in concentration or excitedly chattering with teammates via headset. Even at midday in the middle of the week, spectators sat rapt in the stands, gasping and cheering as battles brewed. Story continues below advertisement The complexity of the game is what intrigues Gwen Rickerby, who watched Wednesday’s action live, wearing the helmet of a legion commander, one of the game’s characters. “It’s like chess with lots of different heroes and items and all sorts of different possibilities,” she said. The esports community is similar to fans of traditional sports, Rickerby added. “It’s just like people following their favourite football or hockey (team). It’s just the same, you’re just watching a different game,” she said. Justin Simpao of the University of British Columbia’s esports association equates his own emotional investment in esports to how he felt when the Canucks made a run for the Stanley Cup in 2011. “People experience that ecstasy of victory or that really, really, really tearing emotion of defeat. People find that in the teams and players they fall in love with when watching them play,” he said. Story continues below advertisement That passion has turned competitive video gaming into a big-money business, Simtao said. “If anybody asked me five years ago what is esports, I would say it’s just sort of the top percentage of gamers playing a specific game, who are really the best at what they do,” he said. “And now, not only can you say that, you can also say it’s a billion-dollar industry.” In Vancouver, one group is looking to capitalize on the growing popularity by building a esports stadium where players of all levels can train or play for fun. The Gaming Station wants to have five purpose-built gaming facilities across the country in the next nine years, said CEO Dan Cybak. Young people have grown up with video games and their desire to play competitively — or even professionally — isn’t going to wane, he said. “It’s not a fad, it’s not going away. You’ve got a generation that’s grown up with these games ... and now they’re completely invested in it.”<doc-sep>
Share this Story: Thousands of worldwide gamers flock to Vancouver for massive eSports tournament Thousands of worldwide gamers flock to Vancouver for massive eSports tournament International competitive players will partake in a weeklong Vancouver tournament that will see some $24 million in prizes distributed to teams Photo by Terrin Waack / AP Article content There’s more than $24 million waiting to be won in a tournament that holds the largest prize pool of any eSports championship — and it’s on Canadian soil for the first time. “This is kind of like the Super Bowl,” said Peter Anders, referring to The International Dota 2 Championships tournament that kicks off at Rogers Arena on Wednesday. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Thousands of worldwide gamers flock to Vancouver for massive eSports tournament Back to video “You get these absolute diehard fans that are running around with their countries’ flag, or have the T-shirts of the different players and scream for them when the players walk on the stage,” said Anders, who belongs to the UBC eSports Association. Photo by Terrin Waack / AP The game Dota 2 is a mixture of chess and capture the flag, where teams of five are pitted against each other to defend their base and destroy that of their opposition. It’s a game that requires high strategy and foresight, explained Anders, making for an ever-increasing high-stakes championship, and an enthusiasm from the crowd that is comparable to that of any other major sporting event. Article content With 18 teams at play, the tournament goes through a round robin before entering the double elimination stage. Each game usually lasts between 15 minutes to more than an hour. Tourism Vancouver, which hopes to pursue more eSports tournaments in the future, said the estimated economic impact of this event will be more than $7.8 million in direct visitor spending. Photo by Nick Procaylo / PNG While Anders and others from UBC’s eSports club will be attending as spectators, they are among the best collegiate teams in North America, winning two consecutive titles in a different tournament. Vivian Chung, also part of the UBC team, has attended the event for the past two years in Seattle, and was excited to see it come to Vancouver. “In my first experience, I remember thinking it’s hard to imagine that something that you just play on the computer has such an amazing large-scale event,” Chung said. While some of the best international players are from China and Europe, Canada has a handful of names on that list as well. “There’s only about three to five players that are top competitive (Canadian) players, but some of the most popular players are Canadian actually,” Chung said. Team “Fnatic” for example not only features famed Canadian player Jacky Mao, but is also coached by Kurtis Ling, a former UBC student who won $6.6 million in the 2016 championships. “Fnatic is my favourite team,” said Anders. “The fact that their coach went to my school makes me even more passionate about the team.” Article content he historic decision in July by the game developer, Valve Corporation, to move the tournament from Seattle to Vancouver for this year was based on the fact that Vancouver is an up and coming powerhouse in the industry. Earlier this month, it was also announced that Canada’s first eSports stadium would be built in Richmond, and is scheduled to open in 2019. “It’s a big deal to have this come to Vancouver,” said Dal Yong Jin, a professor at Simon Fraser University with an expertise in eSports. “The video game industry is getting bigger than the film industry in terms of both the production and consumption.” Jin also pointed to the fact that organizers of the 2024 Olympics in Paris are in talks to include eSports in the games. The 2018 Asian Games is Indonesia happening this weekend will also feature eSports for the first time, as a demonstrated sport. “Vancouver and Canada as a whole should prepare for it coming into the Olympic field,” Jin said. “In four years it will be considered a regular game, and we cannot ignore that.” bmahichi@postmedia.com Share this article in your social network Vancouver Sun Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Vancouver Sun, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address.