A giant screen was installed at Beneroya hall to create a stadium for the over 1700 gaming fans from around the world that were in Seattle to be a part of Valve Softeware’s global video-game competition.
Valve, based in Bellevue, is the maker of “Dota 2” one of the most-played online games. The tickets for this event sold out in minutes as 16 teams from 12 different countries prepared for the video game battle. Valve put in $1.6 million for the prize but the pot was growing with sales of a $10 compendium; before the end of the competition the winnings were up to nearly $3 million.
The first international competition was in Germany two years ago with a grand prize of $1 million. Benaroya hosted last year’s tournament as well and saw up to 500,000 viewers at any one time watching online broadcasts worldwide. Finals were broadcasted like a soccer match in pubs everywhere from Capitol Hill’s Auto Battery Bar to restaurants on the other side of the world.