- Valve won a sports Emmy for Outstanding Esports Championship Coverage
- It did so thanks to its amazing coverage of The International 10 Dota 2 finals
- This is an important step in bringing esports into the mainstream spotlight
Valve’s coverage of the final of its The International 10 Dota 2 final has brought it a Sports Emmy award.
Valve Wins a Prestigious Award
When it comes to the scale of esports events, one quickly thinks of the Dota 2 International. It is the biggest Dota 2 tournament every season and has a large production value, top-level talent appearing on stage, and a huge prize pool. Because of these facts, the event very often brings attention from more mainstream media, ultimately contributing to the rising popularity of esports in the public eye.
In recognition of Valve’s efforts with The International, the company recently received a Sports Emmy for the grand finals of TI10. The event saw Team Spirit beat PSG.LGD to lift the Aegis of Champions and take home $18,208,300 from the $40 million prize pool. The match was full of excitement and excellent storytelling which ultimately brought Valve the award for Outstanding Esports Championship Coverage.
The Dota 2 Finals Surpass Competitors
One has to see some numbers to put into perspective the large amounts of people The International Dota 2 finals managed to pull in. The event was capable is surpassing the viewership numbers of Overwatch League, League of Legends' Worlds, and many others.
The International’s final beat its own record of viewers by a whopping 37%. The TI9 managed to gather about 1.9 million viewers, while the latest TI outdid its predecessor, garnering a peak viewer count of more than 2.7 million people watching.
This jump in peak viewers was achieved by a combination of Eastern European fans showing out to support Team Spirit. They also set a new viewership record for the region at 1.2 million viewers from CIS streams. The fact that there was a two-year hiatus between TI9 and TI10 also contributed a lot, as fans were thirsting to see some international play again, thus the hype was big.
Because of all these factors combined, Valve got the Outstanding Esports Championship Coverage category at the 43rd Sports Emmy Awards. The event managed to beat out these competitors:
- League of Legends Worlds 2021 Final: DAMWON KIA vs. Edward Gaming
- Overwatch League 2021 Grand Finals: Shanghai Dragons vs. Atlanta Reign
- Ultimate Madden Bowl Finale
- WePlay AniMajor: Evil Geniuses vs. PSG.LGD
The Outstanding Esports Championship Coverage was the only esports category at the event. However, its inclusion means a big step forward in bringing esports events into the mainstream spotlight.
