True Sight is no longer on TI, but it is on Streamers Battle. We wonder why no one has done this before

On October 3, BETBOOM Streamers Battle 15 for Dota 2 ended, the final of which took place in Moscow at the VK Play Arena. Perhaps the most remarkable moment of the event was not the sensational defeat of Daxak Team, which was considered the favorite, but the trick with True Sight - non-stop filming of all tournament participants. Read about how this was implemented and why such a tool is worth a closer look.

We quite often criticize the production of Dota 2 tournaments. The level of events in the discipline is falling from year to year: the number of LAN championships is decreasing, and the remaining ones have not produced a wow effect for a long time. In addition, Dota 2 studiously ignores successful experience and features from other disciplines. And while in CS the conventional apEX epically leaves from under the stage with the middle finger, and in LoL they show the emotions of coaches after fights with the participation of their players, in Dota 2, as in the famous song, everything goes according to plan without any innovations.

In addition, the stream of streamer tournaments has now become so powerful and continuous that it faces the same problems as a regular competitive season. That’s why the experiment at BETBOOM Streamers Battle 15 seems so interesting.

So what is True Sight?

At the LAN finals of BETBOOM Streamers Battle 15, each of the three teams was assigned a person with a camera who followed the players absolutely the entire time.

Previously, The International had the same practice during the grand final, but then all the recorded material was later compiled into a documentary. Here everything was broadcast live at once. In fact, not counting the games themselves, the person with the camera created the captain’s personal stream. Although there were still common cameras: one, for example, was installed in the lounge area.

As a result, throughout the final day the spectators literally did not leave the teams. And the lens captured everything: from arriving at the arena, preparation, snacks, discussing tactics to going to “breathe” and even trash talk with opponents in real life.

A goldmine for streamer tournaments

In the format of streamer tournaments, True Sight seems as organic as possible. Interest in such events is largely based on the opportunity to follow what is happening through the eyes of the participants, “eavesdropping” on conversations. Therefore, the official cast of any streamer tournament usually turned out to be the most unpopular idea, a real archaism. It was good without him, you just had to choose a streamer you liked.

But then the whole format began to crack when the tournament moved to LAN. Yes, it was still possible to watch the match through the eyes of the participants, but all the other accompanying content evaporated as soon as the players got up from their PCs between maps. But it is the “showdowns” after the match that often become the most delicious part of any such tournament.

The True Sight format solved this problem. At BETBOOM Streamers Battle 15, we managed to combine the LAN and the tournament format itself, without losing in content and even gaining more. So, instead of online trash talk, the viewer got access to trash talk already offline - for example, to a funny exchange between Daxak and the manager of Team Cake, in which Kuzmin explained on his fingers why he has the right to send anyone on his stream [to heaven for an asterisk].

Well, or you can get more friendly material like food blogger content from Cake, tasting all the dishes in the lounge.

Well, at the same time, it was a good opportunity to look at how tournaments work behind the scenes: how people are running around with headsets and equipment, how teams are explained where to go, where to stand, and other little things.

And all this, of course, not counting those very hot analysis of games, but in the fresh air...

Or even some interesting footage like this. Here, the loser Daxak sadly wraps his own monitor in a blanket, which he specially brought for the grand final (the only one among all participants).

As a result, thanks to this camera feature, the LAN final of the streamer tournament turned out to be what it should have been: a show that included much more than just a Dota 2 match.

The quote is published preserving the spelling and punctuation of the source

This is a normal production on streamersbattle) Better than shooting gallery 1 tourists 😁

Is this possible on the professional stage?

Most likely, we won’t see a similar story at tier-1 tournaments. Professional teams treat all their great products with extreme care. For example, BETBOOM TEAM in the final vlog with TI, which was released after the team left the event, blurred the players’ monitors so as not to reveal who they were training with. Therefore, at the height of the season, it is unlikely that anyone will allow a cameraman to show them all the discussions and the inside of the teams. This is generally logical.

But the fact that competition drives progress only in streamer tournaments, while tier-1 players are content with little, is no longer particularly logical. I would like to hope that as the season progresses and at professional events, we will see at least something new and unusual from the organizers, which we can also talk about.