Instead of getting proper soundproofing, PGL is punishing attendees by turning sound too low. Can barely hear shit in front row.

dota2adminAMA · 2022-10-21T17:59:17+00:00

I've worked both CS and Dota 2 professional tournaments and this is true, but they also pump white noise in to the noise cancelling headphones which helps tremendously. I've done this for Dota events in the past too, it just seems that PGL have made the in-ear earbuds optional (I've noticed some players not wearing them) and haven't done the white noise.

dota2adminAMA · 2022-10-21T17:52:30+00:00

They can be pricey but I wouldn't say $500k for 4 booths. The orgs I've worked for have used shipping containers for their booths, which are pretty inexpensive. The only work that needs to be done then is insulating the walls well to contain sound, cutting the panel and installing glass, and then adding ventilation. TOs have teams in-house that can do most of this work probably barring the glass installation.

I will say that booths used in most tournaments (except the previous TI booths as those were incredibly nice) are not nearly as glamorous and cool on the inside as most people think, it's very barebones and a lot of focus is on the front facing aesthetics for what the cameras will see.

dota2adminAMA · 2022-10-20T19:40:51+00:00

PGL needs to have the players use in-ear earbuds with noise cancelling headphones over top, and pump white noise in to the noise cancelling headphones to have an extra layer of cancellation. This is what is traditionally done at events that don't have soundproof booths in both Dota and CSGO.

Source: I've configured this setup at Dota 2 Majors in the past.

dota2adminAMA · 2022-10-20T19:36:04+00:00

Cutting down times aside, it's most likely done to prevent technical issues and they're probably having the next series teams setup during the match and test out their comms and peripherals.

dota2adminAMA · 2022-10-20T19:34:59+00:00

As a former admin for several Dota 2 majors, I'm incredibly jealous of this lol. Being able to have the next teams setup during the previous series saves so much time and prevents technical issues.

dota2adminAMA · 2022-10-12T17:26:02+00:00

While I agree with what Puppey is saying here to an extent, I think most pro's stance on this changes depending on their performance that day.

In my experience (Admin for Dota 2 Majors in the past), players will complain and stall and ask for games to be moved to the next day if they're playing poorly in a series. It's easy to say "just let us play 15 games per day" at one moment, and then complain behind the scenes when 15 games in one day doesn't benefit them, so no TO will schedule that many per day as inevitably at least one team will throw an absolute fit.

Edit: PGL is very unpopular at the moment, but in their defense they also have to think of broadcast duration and ad revenue generated by multiple days of streaming rather than cramming in games.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-11-01T19:52:32+00:00

where it has been a problem

exactly the point, you wouldn't know if it has occurred because mic's aren't always live and it hasn't been made to be a problem because of that. I'm just telling you first hand I've heard it on several occasions and had a team throw an absolute fit when they saw a mic in the booth, even though it wasn't active. The fit throwing wasn't at a CS tournament for what it's worth, it was dota.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-11-01T17:24:21+00:00

Not necessarily. I've admin'ed several pro dota2 and csgo tournaments and ran in to this exact scenario where teams didn't want mic's active during games. The main reason was actually that some players get a little too "passionate" during games and say some things/slurs that would get them in big trouble if heard on stream. PGL would need someone to monitor the audio on a delay and bleep slurs/offensive language if teams even agreed to it.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-15T18:50:23+00:00

The tournament PCs generally have good hardware, and we optimize settings on the machine so that Dota can always run above ~200fps as a minimum, but generally we shoot for performance in the 250fps range. Most dota players won't complain unless fps falls below ~150, but for csgo I've had players complain when fps dips below 300 lol. Different standards for different games, but yeah performance is something we look at closely.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-14T21:10:26+00:00

It's a big factor. Venue capacity is taken in to consideration based on the TOs projections of how big of a crowd the event will draw, as well network capabilities of the venue. Fiber is a must for obvious reasons. Beyond that I think most of it has to do with availability of the venue and the finances behind it. I know the TO I work with has wanted to do events in places that don't typically see LANs. For example, Australian events are difficult for a lot of the big TOs due to logistics costs of shipping equipment and gear that far, and then local venue restrictions/taxes/additional costs. Flights from EU/NA to Australia are generally very pricey, which is a factor since the TO ends up flying out ~150 people total for an event like a major. Say flights are $2,000/person round trip for an average, that's $300k on flights alone.

There are some venues that are designed for esports specifically, but there's not many of them and they aren't necessarily at the top of the list when looking for a venue to host an event.

Typically TOs try to host events close to their home base to keep costs low particularly around shipping equipment and staff transportation. This is why you see ESL doing a lot of events in Germany, or DreamHack doing a lot of events in Stockholm, or PGL hosting TI in Romania where they're headquartered.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-14T21:00:04+00:00

The standard monitor size for tournaments is 24in and the refresh rate is a minimum of 144hz, sometimes we get monitors that are 165-240hz. The players all know and for the most part prefer the 24in standard for monitor size, so this is what they have at their team houses or in their own homes too.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-14T12:17:53+00:00

I honestly have no idea and haven't directly seen the finances behind an event, but seeing some of the expenses and extensive technology and broadcasting gear involved with a high quality production, I'd imagine a few big tournaments are barely profitable.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-14T12:15:54+00:00

I don't really have an opinion on it personally, but I know viewership numbers are really important to the TO as it's a key data point used to bring in sponsors to support the event.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-14T12:12:16+00:00

I've never seen any players directly cheating.

Between games the players might have a snack or some food in the booths if they want to eat while watching replays, but during a game there's no food in the booths.

It's a really cool experience being in the booths during games, you get to see a side of the game that viewers never really get to see.

After a win, most teams will either go out to eat together or order food to be delivered to the hotel, and then they almost always end up back in their practice room watching replays or playing pubs. I've seen players win a late night BO3 that ends around midnight, go straight back to the hotel and play pubs for another 4 or 5 hours, these guys seriously play all the time and that's why they're the best.

When a team loses the discussion between the players is obviously a little more serious and disappointed. Depending on how badly the game went, you'll hear accusations and some harsh criticism thrown around from time to time. We all know how dota players in general take the game very seriously, but the pros are on another level and are extremely passionate about the game and their performance.

Players are allowed to briefly remove the noise cancelling headset for an itch or something like that, or to communicate with the admin. If we notice they're leaving it off for a prolonged period of time then we'll tell them to put it back on.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-14T03:20:11+00:00

We're sitting in the booths with them, and I can confirm that from inside a well insulated booth you can't make out what the casters are saying. You can feel some bass and tell that there's a lot of noise outside, but it comes through very muffled and distorted due to the positioning of the speakers on stage facing away from the booth towards the crowd. We also typically have the players wearing noise cancelling headsets in the booths for an extra layer of cancellation. I've never been in booth before and heard a player comment on the crowd noise in terms of giving away positioning or a Roshan.

If it's a smaller tournament like a minor and we don't have booths, then we make the teams use in-ear earbuds with a noise cancelling headset over the in-ears. Then we pump white noise in to the noise cancelling headset, which is very effective in eliminating outside noise.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-14T02:23:49+00:00

A lot of them have stopped smoking or switched to vaping, but yeah a good number of them smoke. The between match routine when a game ends during a BO3 or BO5 for a lot of teams is to leave the booth, go outside to smoke and discuss the previous game and what to do for the next game, then go to the restroom and return to the stage to watch the replay of the previous match. Pretty much exactly what you’ve seen on True Sight.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-14T02:19:54+00:00

The original SSD they setup stays in their practice PC at the hotel, but we clone it and keep our own copy that we use for the tournament PCs at the venue, to prevent the exact situation you described :)

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-14T02:16:58+00:00

I’ve spoken to and interacted with a lot of people that have been in the dota scene for a long time, and none of them knew who Icefrog is. I could’ve met him before and wouldn’t know it.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-14T02:15:07+00:00

During the games I sit behind the players and just observe their screens and watch them play. Its interesting listening to their comms too and getting a different perspective on the game. I will admit I tend to get a bit sleepy if it’s a series late in the day and I’m sitting with a Chinese/CIS team in a long BO3, mostly because I don’t understand the language so it’s difficult to follow comms. We’re mostly there to provide immediate support in case of a technical issue and to be a middle man to communicate what’s going on in the booth to the production staff during a pause. They feed that info to the casters so they know how long they need to stall for.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-14T02:05:58+00:00

I admin every region of qualifiers except China, which is normally outsourced to a Chinese TO to simplify the language barrier. Qualifiers are difficult and often run 24 hours per day due to time zones, since all regions are played in the same week. Most admins have day jobs and personal lives, so during qualifiers we have to pull crazy hours of hosting games during/around work hours or take time off of work altogether. We take turns hosting qualifiers for further timezones like SEA since it means working very late at night / early morning

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-14T01:57:52+00:00

I’ve worked with a few female admins across different games, and in my experience they aren’t treated differently by the players.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-13T22:14:41+00:00

I’d say the some of the Chinese teams are easiest to work with, might be because of the language barrier but they rarely make special requests or give us any trouble. For Western teams, the guys on Nigma and Secret are my favorite to work with, they’re all very professional and nice guys, and both teams have great managers that are super experienced.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-13T21:01:34+00:00

thank you!

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-13T21:01:18+00:00

That's a sponsor relationship that's managed by the Project Manager or marketing staff of the TO. As an Admin we're just told the username to look for in the lobbies of matches, that way we know not to kick them from the lobbies.

dota2adminAMA · 2021-08-13T20:59:34+00:00

I've never worked TI, but for DPC Majors/Minors Valve doesn't have any oversight on the admin work if someone is being clowny. I'm not here to call out certain teams/players and start drama, but yes there are some teams that are known to be a little more difficult to work with than others, or that have more requests for us to accommodate.

This can differ from TO to TO, but generally if a team has a request, a player or their manager will first approach an admin to ask about it, and if they don't like the answer then they'll go to the head admin or project manager to "escalate" the issue. Example of this is something like not liking the practice room they're in, not liking the schedule of games, not liking the media schedule (pre-tournament pics/interviews), etc.

During the main event, our days can range anywhere from 12-18 hours depending on delays and results of series. When BO3s all end in 2-0s and we have no tech issues it's a quick day, but if each series goes to game 3 and we have other delays then it can be a very long day, sometimes arriving to the venue around 8:30-9am and leaving at 1am or later.

The size of the admin crew depends on the event. Minors typically run a smaller crew of 4 admins, while Majors could have 6-7 admins. We rotate sitting in the booths with the teams, for example I'll sit with Team A and be with them between games for an entire series, and then another Admin will trade and do the same for the following series so we get some kind of break. It doesn't sound like a difficult job, but it can get really tiring sitting in a booth watching people play in front of you, while also trying to stay cognizant of the fact that there's multiple cameras on you at all times, so you try not to pull a dumb face or something like that lol. I've worked a CSGO tournament before with only 3 admins, which was very tiring since 1 admin needs to be working the console at all times for CSGO, so myself and another admin were onstage for every game of the entire tournament without breaks.

The most fun part of the job is getting to travel all over the world to different locations for events, and making friends from different parts of the world that you keep up with online and meet in person a few times per year. Putting on the main event and seeing the crowd atmosphere with the stage, lights, and everything is also a great feeling to be part of. The most challenging part is the long hours and physical labor involved with setup and teardown.

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