Is The International The Best Dota 2 eSports Tournament?
When gaming aficionados discuss which Dota 2 tournament is their favorite, there are a few big names that immediately get thrown into the hat. Different gamers have different ideas of what constitutes the best tournament, whether measured by prize pool, viewing figures, or the teams that participate. Usually, it is a blend of all three, and The International, which is set to take place in Seattle from the 12th of October to the 29th, ticks several boxes, with many gamers believing it is the most significant Dota 2 fixture on the calendar.
Which Dota 2 Tournament Sees The Most Gambling Activity?
As eSports is such a new area of gaming, there isn’t research that conclusively details which Dota 2 event sees the most gambling activity. However, some significant names in the world of professional video game gambling offer substantial markets. These markets can change quickly and rapidly, with many operators facilitating live in-play markets. It takes considerable time and resources to piece these in-play markets together, so there is unquestionably a strong audience looking to place bets on eSports tournaments.
The internet is also an excellent resource to not only find out which markets offer some sort of value, but you can explore Dota 2 betting tips and strategies to give yourself a more grounded knowledge of how the betting markets work and what strategies you can implement when you place your wager on professional video gaming. These tips can often extend to the broader markets too, so although The International is one Dota 2 tournament that will bring in a significant number of people, and it is one of the most gambled-on eSports tournaments on the calendar, including other prominent games with huge prize pools like Fortnite and League Of Legends.
Key Points
The International brings in the world’s finest Dota 2 talents from all areas of the world. Unlike many other Dota 2 tournaments, it is a truly global competition that brings in two European and South American teams and one team from China, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and China. Due to the fact it attracts the top players from these key gaming continents, the prize pool on offer is a staggering $1,600,000.
If you take a glance at the top prize pools for eSports tournaments, the list is dominated by Dota 2 tournaments. In fact, up until this year, the 2021 International tournament had the highest-ever prize pool of $37 million, which has since been eclipsed by the Gamers8 tournament this year, “The Land Of Heroes,” which is part of a massive rebranding of sports that Saudi Arabia have signed off on. After identifying eSports, alongside boxing and football, as key areas where major sporting investment could generate significant interest and profit in the medium to long term, they have acted accordingly and offered startling sums of money for the world’s top video gamers.
The History Of The International
The International is one of the oldest eSports tournaments there. After launching in 2011, it has become one of the most prominent and most-watched annual tournaments. Phase one involves a round-robin group, which sees twenty teams battle it out in five different groups. Following completion of this stage, stage 2 commences and involves the last sixteen teams to determine how the final stages of the competition will pan out and which team can take the lion’s share of the $1,600,000 prize pool.
Dota 2 has been able to keep up with other prominent eSports leagues due to the fact the creators of the game have consistently released updates and listened to the players to consistently churn out an inventive, fresh, and engaging new game. This has paid dividends for their eSports tournaments, which is a big reason why many of the highest-paying tournaments all feature Dota 2 games. Over the last decade, although many tournaments have attempted to get to the same level of popularity as The International, few have managed it.
Final Answer
We’d say in terms of format and some of the teams involved, such as Evil Geniuses, Azure Ray, and Quest, to name a few, that The International is one of the best global tournaments. There are a lot of eSports matches and tournaments, including but also stretching beyond Dota 2, that refer to themselves as global or intercontinental, but they focus on a specific region. With recent unsportsmanlike conduct overshadowing some events, The International will be keen to avoid that this year, but they are well-equipped to handle such incidents, too.
The International, from the beginning, has featured teams from at least four continents and has plans to increase the net size for people who want to try and attempt to win the $1.6 million prize pool, wherever they are in the world. However, there are more prestigious tournaments currently, and the Gamers8 tournament with the world-record prize pool is ahead of The International. But that isn’t to say that it isn’t in the top bracket, and who knows, in a few years, it could leapfrog some of the bigger tournaments and reign supreme?
