Over 20 million people watched The International 4, a major tournament for Valve‘s Dota 2.
Considering the wide variety of viewing options, ranging from the in-game Dota 2 client, Twitch, and even the Watch ESPN app, it’s not surprise to see that high of a viewer number. It also helps when Valve had a prize pool of nearly $11 million for the tournament. That type of money is sure to get a lot of people interested.
The International 4 also featured a Grand Finals preview saw on ESPN 2, further showcasing the mainstream growth of eSports. ESPN has said they were pleased by their viewing numbers, so maybe they’re coverage will expand next year. Maybe next year people won’t be stuck wondering what the heck they’re watching on ESPN 2 as well; a little more education for non-players could go a long way. Valve isn’t above that either, as we saw with the “noob friendly” Twitch stream.
We should no doubt look for Valve to capitalize on The International 4’s success next year. How they’ll capitalize, though, remains to be seen. We’ll just need to be patient.
