In the world of eSports, Dota 2’s domineering vertical is becoming stronger.
Valve, the developer of the game Dota 2 and the organizer of the competition for this game, went to meet the owners of competing tournaments, but in exchange, obliged them to play by their own rules. The rules were announced in the game's blog .
Instead of developing its network of events, the company decided to “buy” all its rivals in exchange for loyalty to its main e-sports tournament, The International. Former rivals will even double the prize pool at the expense of Valve, but the organizers of the regional tournaments will have to collect the starting $ 150 thousand and $ 500 thousand themselves. Control over the tournament schedule will take over Valve. Teams from all 6 major regions of the game world - North America, South America, Southeast Asia, China, the EU and the CIS must be represented at each tournament. Until now, in most tournaments they managed without South America and the CIS.
Rush is vital Valve. The number of Dota 2 players is growing every year faster than the prize volume in the main tournament grows. Yes, in absolute figures, the fees from the fans are growing. But an ever smaller share of the growing army of fans finances Valve tournaments - The International itself and 2 more Dota 2 tournaments with budgets of $ 3 million each.
Gabe Newell , CEO of Valve, cleans the Dota 2 Cyber Tournament Market
In relative numbers, prize money grows slower than the number of fans. More and more players, but passionate fans, they are becoming less and less. Confused by the disorder in the tournament grid and in the system of inviting teams to the main tournament of the year, the best players of the teams either go to compete and get sick in other games, or get tired of their deluded expectations and play by their rules out of tournaments. And for professional players, even ordinary fans are drawn, from the deductions from the tickets of which 90% of the tournament prize pool is formed. A number of organizers in other game disciplines MOBA have already left Valve earlier - for example, MLG in America refused to hold unprofitable tournaments.
Now Valve refuses to compete directly with other organizers, intending to buy some of them directly, some to bind to themselves with pressure from below - from players recruited by a personal rating. Players get their freedom and are less tied to stupid tournaments ("hilarious", or ROFLo-tournaments, as they are called in game slang).
Personal rating of players will henceforth become the main criterion for inviting teams to the tournament (determined by the best three players). Previously, ratings were used to select teams that are more or less equal in strength in the tournament grid, but did not influence anything else. The order in the tournament grid and the stability of the participation of stars are also needed by the fans - this allows you to get a predictable high level of tournaments and a gradual increase in excitement towards the main event of the year.
Indirectly, the economic motives of the new order are evidenced by Valve’s attempts to save on TI teams. Thus, the quota of 8 people from the team, coming to The International 2016 for free, over the past year has slipped to 7 people and threatened to drop to 6 in August, but the outrage of the teams led to the cancellation of the next quota reduction. At the same time, The International (TI) prize fund will again become a record one, ahead of last year’s figure of $ 20 million. This amount TI has already taken a few days ago, and another month before the tournament. The amount of the prize last year is going faster and faster In 2015, she was going to 101 days, in 2016 - 70, it took 64 days. However, there is a nuance. When the schedule of fees began to lag behind last year, the organizers launched special game kits for fans with a huge number of new options with big discounts and this helped. This is a traditional technique, but earlier graphics filling the prize pool of the current tournament always grew faster than the previous ones. In a situation where the growth rate of fees is lagging behind the growth rate of players, it is justified to try to attract more fans and sponsors to a top event, rather than risk your name and attracted money in a passing tournament, where at the last moment some of the best teams will run away in favor of a competitor.
The new system will work from next year. Many Dota 2 tournament organizers will have to either increase the prize pool or merge. Tournaments will receive a specific rating value, passing tournaments with only small prizes are likely to die. Teams will post new game blanks and tactical moves to tournaments, where there is more budget and that are closer by August. Perhaps some drop in the interest of teams to the autumn-winter tournaments. The organizer of tournaments with different conditions for the use of heroes and economic rules, such as Moonduck Dote 2, will have to clarify with Valve how their non-standard tournament formats will be evaluated. Fans and players are mostly satisfied with the new rules.
Dota 2 is a game that is played daily by at least 0.5 million people. In terms of profitability it competes with League of Legends, yielding to it, but in eSports Dota 2 is the most popular game among teams due to the prize money. For the audience and the time spent playing, LoL is ahead of Dota 2 at times. Valve holds its industry tournament 7 times, in which 18 of the best teams in the world fight.
6 players who theoretically could become twice champions of The International in August
Instead of developing its network of events, the company decided to “buy” all its rivals in exchange for loyalty to its main e-sports tournament, The International. Former rivals will even double the prize pool at the expense of Valve, but the organizers of the regional tournaments will have to collect the starting $ 150 thousand and $ 500 thousand themselves. Control over the tournament schedule will take over Valve. Teams from all 6 major regions of the game world - North America, South America, Southeast Asia, China, the EU and the CIS must be represented at each tournament. Until now, in most tournaments they managed without South America and the CIS.
Keep the fans' attention
Rush is vital Valve. The number of Dota 2 players is growing every year faster than the prize volume in the main tournament grows. Yes, in absolute figures, the fees from the fans are growing. But an ever smaller share of the growing army of fans finances Valve tournaments - The International itself and 2 more Dota 2 tournaments with budgets of $ 3 million each.
Gabe Newell , CEO of Valve, cleans the Dota 2 Cyber Tournament Market
In relative numbers, prize money grows slower than the number of fans. More and more players, but passionate fans, they are becoming less and less. Confused by the disorder in the tournament grid and in the system of inviting teams to the main tournament of the year, the best players of the teams either go to compete and get sick in other games, or get tired of their deluded expectations and play by their rules out of tournaments. And for professional players, even ordinary fans are drawn, from the deductions from the tickets of which 90% of the tournament prize pool is formed. A number of organizers in other game disciplines MOBA have already left Valve earlier - for example, MLG in America refused to hold unprofitable tournaments.
Now Valve refuses to compete directly with other organizers, intending to buy some of them directly, some to bind to themselves with pressure from below - from players recruited by a personal rating. Players get their freedom and are less tied to stupid tournaments ("hilarious", or ROFLo-tournaments, as they are called in game slang).
Personal rating of players will henceforth become the main criterion for inviting teams to the tournament (determined by the best three players). Previously, ratings were used to select teams that are more or less equal in strength in the tournament grid, but did not influence anything else. The order in the tournament grid and the stability of the participation of stars are also needed by the fans - this allows you to get a predictable high level of tournaments and a gradual increase in excitement towards the main event of the year.
Indirectly, the economic motives of the new order are evidenced by Valve’s attempts to save on TI teams. Thus, the quota of 8 people from the team, coming to The International 2016 for free, over the past year has slipped to 7 people and threatened to drop to 6 in August, but the outrage of the teams led to the cancellation of the next quota reduction. At the same time, The International (TI) prize fund will again become a record one, ahead of last year’s figure of $ 20 million. This amount TI has already taken a few days ago, and another month before the tournament. The amount of the prize last year is going faster and faster In 2015, she was going to 101 days, in 2016 - 70, it took 64 days. However, there is a nuance. When the schedule of fees began to lag behind last year, the organizers launched special game kits for fans with a huge number of new options with big discounts and this helped. This is a traditional technique, but earlier graphics filling the prize pool of the current tournament always grew faster than the previous ones. In a situation where the growth rate of fees is lagging behind the growth rate of players, it is justified to try to attract more fans and sponsors to a top event, rather than risk your name and attracted money in a passing tournament, where at the last moment some of the best teams will run away in favor of a competitor.
What will happen
The new system will work from next year. Many Dota 2 tournament organizers will have to either increase the prize pool or merge. Tournaments will receive a specific rating value, passing tournaments with only small prizes are likely to die. Teams will post new game blanks and tactical moves to tournaments, where there is more budget and that are closer by August. Perhaps some drop in the interest of teams to the autumn-winter tournaments. The organizer of tournaments with different conditions for the use of heroes and economic rules, such as Moonduck Dote 2, will have to clarify with Valve how their non-standard tournament formats will be evaluated. Fans and players are mostly satisfied with the new rules.
Dota 2 is a game that is played daily by at least 0.5 million people. In terms of profitability it competes with League of Legends, yielding to it, but in eSports Dota 2 is the most popular game among teams due to the prize money. For the audience and the time spent playing, LoL is ahead of Dota 2 at times. Valve holds its industry tournament 7 times, in which 18 of the best teams in the world fight.
6 players who theoretically could become twice champions of The International in August
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