Dota 2 tournament ESL One Frankfurt had over 12,500 spectators in the arena each day

ESL One Frankfurt

ESL One Frankfurt 2014, the recent Dota 2 tournament, was the largest eSports competition in Germany and one of the largest worldwide. More than 12,500 spectators crammed into the Commerzbank-Arena to watch the matches each day, while ESL says millions more watched the streams.

We really do need more of this sort of thing in the UK, something Jules championed in regards to League of Legends live events earlier today. As someone who only goes to see the occasional rugby match, I don’t often find myself getting the chance to enjoy passionate crowds roaring and cheering as teams and players clash.

“The fans, the stadium, and the entire atmosphere were overwhelming,” said Invictus Gaming’s Hock “ChauN” Wong. “It’s an amazing experience to play in such a massive stadium in front of all these people and you could feel the energy from the crowd all throughout the tournament.”

The ESL One Frankfurt final on June 29th saw Invictus Gaming and Evil Geniuses face off against each other after knocking out the six other teams, but ultimately Invictus walked away the victor after a best of three where they won two games.

“ESL One Frankfurt 2014 was a major success for ESL and for eSports in general,” said Ulrich Schulze, managing director of Pro Gaming at ESL. “Whether you were inside the stadium or watching online, I believe everyone felt the special atmosphere which made this an unforgettable experience for all gaming fans.”

New to Dota 2 and don’t know which heroes to play? Take a gander at ourbest Dota 2 heroes for beginners guide.

If you missed the tournament, you’re sure to find videos of the matches, and in the mean time, enjoy these ESL photos.

ESL One Cologne kicks off during Gamescom, August 14th – 17th, featuring Counter-Strike: GO pros battling it out for a $250,000 prize pool. The top eight teams from the Katowice tournament and another eight from regional qualifiers will be in Cologne to shoot the crap out of each other.

Will you be watching?