WHAT IS FREE TO PLAY?
"Free to Play" is a 2014 documentary film by Valve. The documentary revolves around an event called "The International 2011", an annual e-sports event for the game DOTA 2 and also the first ever e-sports event to have a grand prize of $1 MILLION. "The International" is an annual DOTA 2 tournament held by Valve. Sixteen teams from all over the world will be invited to the competition to compete against each other for the grand prize. The tournament starts with group stages in which the winners will move up to the winners bracket', and the teams that lost entered the loser's bracket. The rest of the tournament was played as a double-elimination tournament. The results of "The International 2011" were:
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First Place with the grand prize of $1 Million: Natus Vincere
Second Place with $250 Thousand: EHOME
Thrid Place with $150 Thousand: Sycthe Gaming
Fourth Place with $80 Thousand: MYM
Fifth Place with $35 Thousand: M5
Sixth Place with $35 Thousand as well: iG
Seventh Place with $25 Thousand: Online Kingdom and MiTH-Trust
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Besides the tournament itself, the documentary also focuses on the lives of gamers. In this case, 3 gamers who were involved in "The International 2011". They have given up things and devoted their lives to their games and won't settle for second best. Their lives show that having a career as a professional gamer is not all fun and games. They are:
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Review
Free To Play is a proper example of explaining how a gamer's life is. Parents would normally say that having a career like this is difficult but the child would say other wise. Hyhy's career proves that a career in gaming is hard and your parents might be right. However, some parents can be proven wrong that it is not a worth while career. The grand prize of The International is $1 Million. That is a lot of money and would pay a lot more than most jobs. Even if first place was not achieved, second and third place's prizes are still okay. The consolation prizes aren't bad either. This documentary also shows how the world is slowing accepted video games as a new sport, e-Sports.
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In a nutshell, Free To Play did a good job on covering different kinds of gamers. from the surprising hyhy to the passionate Dendi and finally the veteran Fear.
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A college student at the time, hyhy put aside his studies to pursue gaming. With his team Scythe Gaming, they entered "The International 2011" with only a week of practice. Read more here
An artistic and funny person, Dendi always loved gaming since he was young. Entering "The International 2011" was a dream come true and although he is a bubbly person, he can also get serious. Read more here
A veteran from DOTA 1, Fear transitioned to DOTA 2 with what they called the best team in the world Online Kingdom, to take on "The International 2011" and take their grand prize. Read more here
Want to know about something else?
What is DOTA 2?
DOTA 2 is an online game made by Valve. It is the game that was played during "The International 2011".The game is about...Read more here.
What is Valve?
Valve is an American game company that hosted "The International 2011". They also have created many good games like......Read more here.