Every Tuesday I like to take some time to focus on the hardworking and dedicated “YouTubers” within the gaming community. This week features an amazing moment from last week’s Dota 2 International tournament. Everyone loves a good comeback; having played Dota, LoL, and Dota 2 I can say that it isn’t uncommon to see a big play like this turn the tide in a close game. What is unusual is that it would happen in front of such a large audience who are also being filmed. Although Na’vi lost the grand finals in the tournament to iG, they still managed to wow the crowd with an amazing comeback, earning them a standing ovation.
I haven’t seen an e-sports reaction like this since that Evo Moment #37 video that has been around for eight years. There is a tangible difference between the two videos, showing us more how far e-sports have come than anything else. The Evo moment has two guys playing on a small console in the middle of what looks like an old warehouse, while this weeks’ video from the International looks more like a legitimate sporting event, banners and all.
E-Sports have clearly gone to the next level, with Valve showing the world that with some support the industry can turn what was once a backwater pastime into an international phenomenon. Oddly it’s America that seems to be behind when it comes to events such as this, as MOBA E-sports tend to showcase the abilities of teams from Asia and Europe more than American ones. Still, as Dota 2 is a game that’s still technically in a beta it’s safe to say that this is only the beginning.
In the future I hope that this is one of many more “wow” moments such as this. While Dota 2 is one of only a handful of games that gets this sort of attention, as time goes on more and more games will become worthy of competitive international play. Hopefully more developers will see that there is a market for these types of games. While many of us will never participate on the world stage, it’s inspiring to gamers in the same way that professional sports inspires children playing little league or pee-wee football. Sometimes just having something to imagine and strive for is good enough.
If you’re interested you can find the actual gameplay footage of the comeback here (starts at roughly 27:00).
Source: Reddit
