If you need another reminder of eSports’ growing popularity, just check out the scene at Key Arena in Seattle this week.

That’s where some of the world’s top gamers and thousands of fans are gathering for the next six days, as more than $18 million in prize money is on the line at the fifth annual Dota 2 tournament.

Players arrived at Key Arena on Monday morning — many by limousine — where a throng of fans and media awaited:

Hosted by Bellevue-based Valve, The International kicks off today as 16 5-person teams will duke it out playing Valve’s free-to-play game Dota 2. The $18 million prize pool — $7 million more than last year’s pool — will offer the biggest payout in the history of eSports, the fast-growing field of competitive video games played in front of big crowds. The total payout will exceed the prize purse of a number of major sporting events, including the Masters, the Tour de France and the Kentucky Derby.

gabenewelldotatournamentValve CEO Gabe Newell kicked off the tournament today to rousing cheers at Key Arena. Newell called the event the “highlight of the year” for himself and many of his colleagues at Valve. He took a dig at the Seattle Seahawks’ decision to throw the ball at the 1-yard line at the Super Bowl in February, saying that “a bunch of us went down to the Super Bowl to watch the Seahawks throw.”

“Arguably the Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events in the world with these parties, drinking, and events,” he continued. “What were we doing? We were back at the hotel clustered around a laptop watching the [Dota Asia Championships] group stage.”

Valve also brought in a full-on orchestra at Key Arena:

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eSports is also becoming a huge spectator sport, as tickets to this year’s Dota 2 tournament at Key Arena sold out within one hour. For those that can’t be there in person, Valve is live-streaming the action here. You can also watch on Twitch and WatchESPN — yes, even ESPN is covering this event.

Valve raises money for The International’s prize pool with crowdfunding. After first contributing $1.6 million to the pool, it chips in $2.50 after every time someone buys an in-game collection of items for Dota 2 called the the Compendium that costs $9.99 and offers a number of benefits to its owners. Players can also purchase points to upgrade their Compendium, and Valve contributes a percentage of all those purchases to the pool as well.

Dota 2 is played by two opposing 5-person teams. Each player controls a hero, with a particular set of special abilities and statistics, which they can augment by purchasing items and leveling up during the game. The first team to use their combined powers to destroy an Ancient at the heart of their enemies’ base wins.

Valve is partnering with Fathom Events to host The International viewing parties at more than 400 movie theaters across the nation. More information and tickets here.

SBNation — typically known for writing about sports — has a good rundown of the tournament here.

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