On Saturday, May 18, four teams engaged in digital combat during the Dota 2 Tournament at OverKlocked Gaming.
Teams of five competed in the triannual Dota 2 competition, which was a winner-takes-all tournament that featured a round robin with the top two teams advancing to a final.
The winning squad, Team Mike, won the tournament and took home a prize pool of $400, and each player was also given a five hour gaming card to use at OverKlocked.
“When we actually hit the four-team turnout — that’s a very low turnout,” says OverKlocked owner Tim Cooper. “We normally average around 8-12 teams, but we can fit up to 16 teams in these five team tournaments.”
Dota 2 is an action real-time strategy game that pits two competing teams (Radiant and Dire) of five against each other.
The goal is to destroy the enemy team’s Ancient within its stronghold.
Each player chooses a unique hero — with its own distinct characteristics and abilities — to achieve this goal.
Team Dog’s Charles Hoang, who competed in the tournament, said that the game is essentially a tug-of-war, with each team trying to push the enemy back into its base.
Team Dog locked in and looking for the victory here at @okgaming’s #DOTA2 tournament.
Today’s winner will walk away with the entire prize pool! pic.twitter.com/WEJOXB8SjD
— Kiefer Scott Sutherland (@KSuther1and) May 18, 2019
“There’s a steep learning curve [in Dota 2],” says Jackson Inthavong, another member of Team Dog. “There is a lot of mechanics that are a lot harder than League, but I think once you get the hang of playing Dota, it’s a lot of fun and challenging to play.”
Team Dog consisted of five friends: Inthavong, Hoang, Quentine Truong, Myron NG and Kalvin Li, who were competing in their first-ever local area network (LAN) event.
“It is our first time playing in LAN together, so we’re gonna feel a new experience compared to just playing online,” Hoang says.
Overklocked Gaming opened its doors in July 2011 and is an internet gaming and LAN facility that offers over 150 games at the price of $5.50 per hour.
Cooper added that the concept was to bring together friends to play conveniently without having to set up their own LAN party.
“If you’re looking for an environment to get out of the house, to experience some social gaming and an activity to do once a week with friends [then] OverKlocked is a great option for that,” he says.
OverKlocked Gaming offers opportunities for both casual and competitive players to get involved in the local gaming scene through LAN tournaments.
They host anywhere between 12 and 30 tournaments every year and the skill levels vary from beginner to high caliber eSports athlete.
Players who have participated in tournaments at OverKlocked have gone on to have successful careers in the industry.
“Danny Le [Shiphtur] has come to a bunch of tournaments here in the past and then he went and played in the LCS with Dignitas and some other teams too,” says Cooper.
Fast-paced action here at @okgaming and we already have our first Ultra Kill #DOTA2 pic.twitter.com/t6bdmF3SgM
— Kiefer Scott Sutherland (@KSuther1and) May 18, 2019
The list also includes Twitch streamer “Gosu” and some Counter-Strike streamers as well.
“I think a lot of people maybe look up to [Shiphtur] here in Edmonton, but as in Dota — I feel like not a lot of people play here in Edmonton,” says Inthavong.
Dota 2 is a popular game worldwide, but in Edmonton OverKlocked is the only gaming facility that currently hosts tournaments for the game.
Team Dog shared in the sentiment that they hope more people get interested in the game here in Edmonton, which will bring bigger crowds to the tournaments.
OverKlocked already has its next five events scheduled, including a Fortnite tournament, which is set to take place on June 22. Cooper invites members of the gaming community to sign up today.
“Don’t pick the movies, come out and play some video games with your friends,” he says.