Telltale Signs That eSports Athletes Are Becoming Bonafide Celebrities
Gone are the days when the term, “professional eSports player,” was regarded as little more than a sad joke. Well okay, you would probably still get the occasional scoff here and there, but I’m pretty sure it’s almost at an end.
With a particular Dota 2 tournament’s prize pool — The International 5 — already exceeding $17 million, the players participating in the event are receiving the real-deal star treatment.
All eyes will be in Seattle in the coming weeks. The monopoly of pro gamers being only revered in places like China and Korea is quickly disappearing.
The Dota 2 craze is at a fever pitch from Shanghai all the way to Rio de Janeiro. In a tournament as big as The International, pro Dota 2 players are being treated like real celebrities. Let’s put things into perspective.
The players actually star in their own commercials
Danil “Dendi” Ishutin is one of the most popular Dota 2 players on the planet. SteelSeries, a manufacturer of gaming peripherals for the personal computer, hired Dendi to star in one of their commercials.
But their endorsements aren’t limited to the gaming niche. Here’s Newbee’s Wang “SanSheng” Zhaohui in a freaking car commercial.
Basketball athletes love Dota
NBA player Jeremy Lin is an avid lover of Dota 2 and even played a part in the 2011 documentary, Free-To-Play, that chronicled the very first Dota 2 International. Heck, even our very own Junemar Fajardo and Marc Pingris of the PBA are avid Dota 2 fans.
Dendi has more followers than some NBA players
Dendi currently has 284k followers on Twitter. NBA players Jared Dudley (199k) and recent NBA Finalist Matthew Dellavedova (89k) have less than this Dota 2 icon. Getting a sizable amount of Twitter followers is no easy task.
Players are getting recognized as athletes by the US Government
Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev was denied a US Visa three times. SoNNeikO’s team Navi then reached out to US Senator Maria Cantwell for help. Lo and behold, SoNNeikO got his visa. Something similar occurred in the Philippines when Senator Benigno Paolo “Bam” Aquino helped players from Filipino team Rave secure their US Visas earlier this year.
Wherever you’re looking, eSports professionals are getting recognized for the hard work and insane competitions.
Teams are getting the VIP treatment after touching down in Seattle
NaVi
Evil Geniuses
Team Empire
Team Secret
Each team gets their own special training room (where they are also free to relax in of course)
Complete with a welcome letter from the face of Valve himself
The rooms also come with sweet rigs
As well as custom Maxnomic Chairs
Boy, do these look soft!
The eSports industry is making money. It’s not just making money… it is making a LOT of it. How else would they be able to afford to host something of this caliber?
The golden age of eSports is here and it is going to be legendary.
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