Is one of the most important esports tournaments to come in Germany? Following the cancellation of Sweden, ESBD is promoting The International vigorously.
Update from June 23, 2021 (5 PM): Via Twitter Minister of State for Digital Dorothy Barr (CSU) and Judith Gerlach (CSU) of Bavaria have pledged their support for an application for a local venue to host the major e-sports event The International.
After 2011, Germany will host the Dota 2 World Championship for the second time. Previous hosts: China (Shanghai/2019), Canada (Vancouver/2018) and USA (until Seattle/2017).
Message from June 23, 2021 (11:30 am): “An important update on TI10: The International – Dota 2 Championships in Sweden”: Title On the official website of the online game Seems harmless. But the host of the major esports tournament – US studio Valve – has a really big problem: The event probably won’t go as planned in Stockholm.
Background: Contrary to what was discussed earlier with regional and local authorities, the tournament does not fall under the exception rules that apply to major sporting events. The Swedish Sports Association has also decided against the inclusion of e-sports in the sports association – a position comparable to that of Germany.
Sweden’s Interior Ministry immediately rejected a request to reclassify The International as an “Elite Sporting Event”. Result: Neither the players, supervisors, nor the organizer’s staff will receive sports visas in advance. Upon entry, the individual border officer will decide whether people from countries outside the European Union are allowed to enter.
The Swedish government is also not able to help in this particular matter. Therefore Valve has decided to look for alternative venues in Europe so that the tournament can take place this year as well.
With a white knight in need, Germany could come to the rescue – after all, Cologne was already hosting the premiere of The International as part of Gamescom 2011. since then it Dota 2The tournament evolved into the world’s most thriving esports format: in 2019, teams battled for $34 million in prize money, the equivalent of about €29 million. This year it’s around $40 million.
The e-Sport-Bund Deutschland (ESBD) brings its own space to the sport and strongly promotes a return to The International: “In Germany we have a long history of successful export events that are respected around the world”, knows Mathias Remert aka ‘Bones’, who heads the organizing department at ESBD. “Internationally, our members are known to be reliable organizers and we would be delighted to welcome The International to Germany after ten years.”
In any case, there is no shortage of potential areas: The LANXESS Arena (Cologne), Barclaycard Arena (Hamburg), Commerzbank-Arena (Frankfurt) and Mercedes-Benz-Arena (Berlin) have already been the scene of major e-sports battles.
International 2021 could also be more than enough replacement for him League of Legends-European Championship, which should have been held in Munich in 2021. In a dispute over funding, the city council together with Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) decided against the alignment – much to the displeasure of the state government. Finally, Digital Minister Judith Gerlach (CSU) has to bring a major tournament to the Free State on behalf of Prime Minister Marcus Söder (CSU): the Bavarian cabinet approved the same plan in October 2019.
A Sweden-like visa problem would at least be eliminated: It is true that e-sports – contrary to what has been promised by politics over the years – is neither recognized as charitable nor classified as a sport. Nevertheless, foreign professional players can also pursue their profession in Germany: the Federal Foreign Office has adjusted the requirements accordingly.
