Recently took place the most important #ESport tournament of the year for #Dota2 players and viewers, Valve's The International. I was a little worried when I read the blog headline "In-Game Advertisements at The International" from Valve, but to my good surprise, it was outlining how none of the teams sponsors names and logos would be appearing in-game through team banners, base logos and player name tags during the tournament's games.

After the Ryadh Masters at the Esport World Cup, the previous major Dota 2 tournament which heavily featured advertisements, both in and off-game, it is a breath of fresh air. Valve doing it right. 👍

#VideoGames

In-Game Advertisements at The International

The International is a celebration of Dota and the global community of players and fans who support it, providing a chance for everyone to come together and see it played at the highest possible level by the best teams in the world.

^{Dota 2}

The #Dota2 change logs keep delivering subtle sarcastic gems:

Fixed longstanding and game-breaking bug where the chance for hero melee damage block was 49% instead of 50%

Game-breaking, huh? 😏

This past week-end was my first time going to #Dota2 #TheInternational in Seattle, WA but from the few conversations I had with other attendees on my way home it was the most expensive and disappointing one to date since the yearly tournament started in 2001.

Oh well, I guess I had to try, and the little I saw of a city I had never been to before was nice.

#eSport #Travel

#VideoGames logic from the latest #Dota2 change log:

PROXIMITY [LAND]MINES
- All flying hero units can now trigger the mines

🤔

• BeBop Team
  
• BoomBoom Team
  
• BedBath and Beyond
  
• BasketBall Team
  
• BoomBox Team
  
• BingBong Team
  
• BumbleBee Team
  
• BeanBlobs Team
  
• BlockBuster Team
  
• BikiniBottom Team

While watching a #Dota2 tournament, during a winner's interview with professional player Quinn "Quinn" Callahan, he was asked which was the strongest feeling between the joy of a victory and the disappointment of a defeat. He immediately answered that losing felt worse than winning felt good. If applied to all the contestants, it would mean the net sum of player feelings during this tournament would be crushingly negative.

Maybe this is what I dislike about competition for myself. Even winners don't win as much as what losers lose in the process. Even a zero-sum game would be an improvement over the current state of competition.