To all the gamers in the world who have been told to

By Kelton Sears • August 6, 2013 2:31 pm
To all the gamers in the world who have been told to

To all the gamers in the world who have been told to get off the couch and find a real job: you can now officially flip the bird to your detractors.

Reason being, the 2013 installment of Valve’s “The International” tournament held in Seattle just set a record for the largest cash prize pool for an e-sports event ever. Teams from around the world are set to start competing tomorrow in Valve’s Defense of the Ancients 2 for a total of $2.8 million.

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, an “e-sport” is essentially another name for “competitive gaming,” in which gamers (who sometimes become professionals) play video games against each other competitively for cash prizes. In Korea, more people gather to view the Starcraft national tournaments than Americans do to watch the Super Bowl. They gather to watch people play Starcraft

in stadiums

.

While the Seattle Defense of the Ancients 2 tournament might not be at CenturyLink Field, it is being held at Benaroya Hall, a place normally reserved for orchestras. Valve needs all the room it can get to cram $2.8 million dollars inside of it. Originally a Warcraft mod, Defense of the Ancients 2 has turned into one of the biggest competitive games in the world. “The International,” which gathers the top DOTA 2 players around the globe, is now in its third year.

Competitors with names like “Puppey,” “BurNing” and “Ferrari_430” pose like valiant warriors in their photos, ready to annihalate all that stand between them and e-glory. With $2.8 million on the line, the intensity is understandable. The main event begins tomorrow, Aug. 7, and runs through Aug. 11. Tickets for the event are sold out, but you can stream the event live on Twitch TV, just like gamers from literally everywhere in the whole world are planning to.