Competitive video gamers vie for $18M pool in 'World Series' of gaming

The day starts with breakfast, followed by a trip to the gym for a morning workout. Then it’s back home to clean up and eat lunch, mostly healthy options like non-fat Greek yogurt, lean meats and veggies.

Practice kicks off around 1 p.m., with a series of team scrimmages before breaking off into individual strategy sessions or reviewing game footage. After a little evening relaxation, it’s off to bed so the cycle can repeat the next day.

This sounds like the routine of a professional athlete, and it is.

Except they're video gamers.

The drill is one followed by a group of five players representing compLexity Gaming,  a competitive video-game playing team. They're following this strict prep regimen ahead of the sport's big event — The International Dota 2 Championships in Seattle.

The 16 participating teams compete in group play to determine tournament seedings, with the main event running Aug. 3-8.

These players are professionals in eSports, which includes team-based competitive video games. It's a subset of gaming that has surged in popularity in the U.S. Considering the $18 million prize pool for The International — with $6 million going to first place — it’s not surprising to see players invest this much energy into getting ready.

“This is crunch time,” says Kyle “Swindlemelonzz” Freedman, a member of compLexity’s Dota 2 team. “This is the World Series.”

As competitive, group gaming surges in popularity, organizations and teams put in countless hours of practice and preparation, similar to what sports fans might see among their favorite teams, to get ready for big tournaments including The International and The League of Legends Championship Series, which hosts its finals in Berlin this fall.

The sport has even had its own drug scandal. The world's largest eSports organization, ESL, will implement a policy targeting performance-enhancing drugs after a player admitted to using them during a recent tournament.

The International was started in 2011 by Valve Software, creator of the Dota 2 video game.

“There was always a strong competitive scene around Dota, and we thought running the first International would both recognize the skills of these players, but also give us a way to show off the game in the best possible way,” Erik Johnson of Valve Software says.

Dota 2 is part of a growing video game genre called the multiplayer online battle arena, or MOBA. It’s a real-time strategy game where players control a character boasting special abilities, working together with teammates to infiltrate an opponent’s base and destroy a key structure. Games including Dota 2, Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends are among the most popular MOBAs.

The rise in popularity of Dota 2 and League of Legends fueled a jump in interest in eSports, says Joost van Dreunen, CEO of SuperData Research. The company projects global revenue of $612 million this year, while the audience is expected to grow to 170 million in 2017 from 134 million viewers this year.

“What’s radically different from the eSports market today than, say, 2007 — when you had this heyday in South Korea — is now it’s all free to play,” van Dreunen says. “There’s a massive audience.”

The International's record prize-pool of $18 million is up from $10 million last year. Valve funds $1.6 million of the prize pool, with the rest generated by fans through the purchase of an interactive tournament program called The Compendium.

The tournament attracted the attention of ESPN, which will air the main event on the ESPN app for the second consecutive year. It’s also available on other streaming sites, including Twitch and Steam, Valve’s online games marketplace.

LIVING, GAMING TOGETHER

CompLexity’s routine started in April when the team was formed. All five players and a team manager live in a house in Maryland, practicing and studying ahead of the tournament. “All the big money is taking place when you’re playing right next to each other," says Kyle “Beef” Bautista, general manager of compLexity Gaming and manager of the organization's Dota 2 team. “When you’re spending more and more time with each other, you get to know each other a little bit more.”

That only gave the team six weeks to practice and prepare before the qualifying rounds held in May. Despite the short time together, compLexity won the Americas region and entrance into the main event.

Freedman says practices consist of scrimmaging and writing down ideas about what to do in a match. He’ll also study stats on Dota 2’s Heroes — there are 110 to choose from — or watch replays of opponents.

“It’s really important that you’re in a positive state of mind,” he says of the team’s daily routine. “Team camaraderie is often a lot more important than your actual in-game practice. It’s sort of the same with actual sports. It’s why the (NBA's San Antonio) Spurs are successful. They’ve got a really strong team.”

Each eSports group employs a different strategy for preparing for big events such as The International. Evil Geniuses formed their team in January, allowing them to practice from home before gathering for boot camps in Boston and San Francisco three weeks ahead of the trip to Seattle, team manager Charlie Yang says.

During boot camp, the team engages in a series of scrimmages before breaking off for solo practice and replay reviews. Yang says the team considered living together in one space but opted for the boot-camp approach to give players some space.

“It’s very difficult to maintain a balance between work and your private life,” he says.

Yang says the rise of eSports was expected but is surprised at its rapid ascent:  “It’s becoming a generation thing. Video games are the new media of this generation."

Freedman estimates 90%-95% of a player’s time is spent focused on Dota in the weeks leading up to a tournament. But that commitment can pay off. “The difference between winning or losing one game could earn you  $50,000 personally, maybe $200,000,” Freedman says.

Freedman had only played Dota 2 for a little more than a year ahead of The International, which kicks off pool play this week. He has been involved in competitive gaming since he was 18, playing Heroes of Newerth, and has turned it into a full-time career.

“People make this big of a living playing billiards, golf and doing magic tricks,” Freedman says. "My dad always told me, ‘If you can be the best at anything, you can make a living off it.’ ”

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.