In Less Than Three Hours, The International 5 Will Begin

Hey there. Let’s have a conversation.

In less than three hours the Wild Card round of this year’s The International, Dota 2’s grandest tournament, will begin. You can watch it here. Let me help you with that.

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You’ve read the articles talking about how big the prize pool is, how interesting the competition will be or even how excited everyone is that this tournament will mark a turning point for professional Dota 2 as we know it.

I know you are excited. I am too. While we cover a wide range of eSports and videogame titles here on the site, my first eSports is Dota and it will hold a special place in my heart. My hype levels are high, not just for the event, but for everything else coming down the line after it is done.

Which is why we need to talk.

Whether you’re rooting for fan-favorite Dendi from Natus Vincere, Old Man Fear from Evil Geniuses or Carl “S4” Magnusson from Secret, I implore you — yes you, dedicated fan sitting in front of the monitor excitedly waiting for the official start of matches — to support your favorite teams and personalities like a true fan.

Too easily are we swayed to jump ship the moment our favorite teams are doing poorly. Too easily do we wash ourselves from supporting the teams that end up coming up last. This is a uniquely eSports thing; being a true fan in other spectator sports means celebrating glorious victory and commiserating with crushing defeat with the team you’ve chosen.

While a lot has been said about how monetary and economic factors lead to a team’s demise, especially in a volatile world such as Dota 2, there is one constant that people seem to underplay: a team with a massively devoted fan-base will, time and again, find their way back into the spotlight because of the support of their fans.

This year’s The International will feature — at least — a new prize payout scheme that will at least compensate teams who come in dead last in the main event. While this is great news in the sense that teams can at least recoup their losses somewhat, no team — not Secret, not Na’Vi, not Vici Gaming — will even think about pursuing the eSports dream without the support of their fans.

And I’m hoping this event will see true fans stick with their favorite teams to the bitter end.

I want to see Facebook posts outlining the best plays and the worst throws of your favorite teams. I want to see raw passion in the status updates that will undoubtedly fill my news feed.

I want to see a genuine connection between fans and teams because at the end of the day, that is what our industry is built on.

For my part, this is my promise: I will do my best to be as objective in presenting the news, updates and recaps for The International 5. But at the same time I will back my team, Vici Gaming, 100%. I want you guys to make the same promise.

In a few short hours, the Wild Card matches will begin. If you are fans of CDEC Gaming, VEGA Squadron, MVP Phoenix or Team Archon, now is about the right time to get pumped up.

Are you ready for The International? It’s been a great chat, guys.

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