KeyArena in Seattle played host to 12,000 professional video game players last week for the International Dota 2 tournament—an event that offers a $6.5 million prize for the first place winner. To compare, Jordan Spieth netted $1.8 million for winning the 2015 Masters Tournament.
So, what do you need to know about this increasingly popular sport? Well, the good folks at Engadget provided the following interactive infographic to help you understand it better.
Can you believe the top three teams from The International DOTA 2 Championship at KeyArena split a total of 18 Million Dollars?! Gone are the days of telling your kids to stop playing those video games because they are a mindless pursuit…………….now there are college scholarships available. Valve, the company that presents this event and the game (Defense of the Ancients 2) has staff for the creative and technical sides of building and maintaining the games and the competitions. There are event broadcasting opportunities. The most exciting thing for our industry is that now that it is being viewed as a real sport, it has unlimited potential for arena and stadium programming.
Edie Burke
Facility Manager
KeyArena at Seattle Center