We’re quickly entering a world where you will never miss a pro match of Dota 2.
The game livestreaming site Azubu announced today that it has nailed down the rights to broadcast Mars TV’s Dota 2 League outside of China. This means fans in North America, Europe, and everywhere else can tune into the Mars TV channel on Azubu to catch the event live. Qualifying kicks off 5 p.m. Pacific time on Monday, and the season will continue through January. The top teams compete for $270,000 in prizes. This move by Azubu represents both the thirst for esports content around the world — League of Legends just had 36 million unique viewers for its finals — as well as the continued globalization of the competitive gaming scene.
Mars TV’s Dota 2 League is one of the premiere events in China for publisher Valve’s multiplayer online arena battler. And that makes it an important preliminary for the The International Dota 2 Championships since China often fields some of the best teams in that competition each year.
Azubu is counting on that interest to attract a major audience. The company is an ongoing battle with Twitch, Major League Gaming, and others to capture the lucrative esports crowd. Competitive gaming has quickly turned into one of the biggest categories for live video on the Internet. That’s because a Dota 2, League of Legends, or Counter-Strike tournament can bring in a huge number of people between the ages of 13 and 34, which is a key demographic for advertisers. And when those young fans tune in, they typically watch for hours at a time.
While Twitch built itself into a business that Amazon was willing to spend nearly $1 billion on in large part due to its esports content, Azubu is working to prove that the space is large enough for more than just one dominant player.