Cover-Credits:
The Games of the Future 2024 is an experimental tournament that has brought together traditional sports and esports under one roof. Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over the opening ceremony of Games of the Future 2024 in the Russian city of Kazan on 21st February. During the President's visit to the venue, he was detailed about Dota 2 and how it is played by Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko.
Notably, Dota 2 is one of the esports titles that is part of the "Phygitial" [physical + digital] competition.
President Putin Told About Dota 2 At Games of Future 2024
A video clip of Deputy PM Chernyshenko explaining to President Putin about Dota 2 and its strategies surfaced on social media. According to the clip [translated using AI into English], the deputy PM detailed that the game has 121 heroes who take up different roles and how they are unpredictable.
He said, "The task is to conquer the opponent's half of the field. It is a strategic game and it develops strategic and tactical skills. Here, athletes with different abilities compete, but right now we are witnessing a clash between athletes from China and athletes from Malaysia to spark global interest in this discipline. The Dota 2 World Championship final was watched by more people than the Tokyo Olympic Games final. I was amazed when I learned about it."
Since President Putin was at the venue on 21st February for the opening ceremony and the deputy PM mentioned a series between teams from China and Malaysia, it is safe to assume that President Putin was briefed about Dota 2 during the Azure Ray vs Geek Fam match.
Notably, Azure Ray won the series with a 2-1 scoreline. Both the teams were eventually knocked out of the tournament.
The International 2023 (TI12) had a peak viewership of 1,442,274 and this was the grand finale on 29th October 2023 between Team Spirit and Gaimin Gladiators.
The Games of the Future is described as "a large-scale sporting event at the intersection of sports, science and technology, a synergy of spectacular classical and digital sports."
The Dota 2 event kicked off on 19th February and is set to conclude on 25th February. This offline tournament features some of the best Dota 2 teams from around the world and boasts a $1,000,000 USD prize pool.
