An enthusiastic crowd gathered to watch the finals of the International Dota 2 Championships. For those who don't know Dota 2 (Defense of the Ancients) is a free to play multiplayer online strategy game developed by Valve Software. According to Dota 2 - Pubstomps festivities started around 5am which offered fortuitous timing as the grand final match between the Swedish esports team, Alliance, and the Ukraine's representatives, Natus Vincere, was heating up just as a sizeable proportion of Brisbane's workforce were heading out to enjoy a very sunny lunch break.
The place was packed and overflowing into the surrounding area of the Mall, and the crowd was going off. I've seen enthusiastic sports fans at The Pig 'N' Whistle on a number of occasions, but I have rarely seen a crowd this engaged with the onscreen action. The atmosphere was incredible (even if I did see a few drinkers looking very confused about the goings on).
I know the popularity of esports has been growing quite rapidly over the past few years, but to see this sort of turn out hosted at a major sports bar in Brisbane of all places is nothing short of incredible. If what happened today is any indication I think we will be seeing more mainstream screenings of esports events in the very near future.
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