Redeye at The International 8: An excerpt from This is esports (and How to Spell it)
It can be debated which exact moment was the one where esports 'arrived,' but Paul 'Redeye' Chaloner recalls one of the big ones at The International 8. Here's an excerpt from his new book This is esports (and How to Spell it): An Insider's Guide to the World of Pro Gaming.
A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of speaking with esports luminary Paul 'Redeye' Chaloner. He's been one of the most recognizable voices for competitive gaming for many years. And he recently wrote a book where he dives fully into the topic of esports, what it entails, and its greater place in the world.
This is esports (and How to Spell it): An Insider's Guide to the World of Pro Gaming offers a window into competitive gaming from the perspective of one of its biggest voices. Many recognize him as one of the faces of The International, Dota 2's premier tournament. So for today, we'd like to focus on one of Redeye's own TI experiences.
Redeye (left) on the TI8 analyst desk (Dota2ti Flickr)
Courtesy of publisher Bloomsbury Sport, here's an excerpt from the opening pages of This is esports (and How to Spell it): An Insider's Guide to the World of Pro Gaming, where we take a look at Redeye's experience at The International 8 in 2018, his first behind the analyst desk, and one of the biggest moments where esports started to become a phenomenon.
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This is esports (and How to Spell it): An Insider's Guide to the World of Pro Gaming by Paul Chaloner is published by Bloomsbury Sport (9781472977762; $18 USD; on sale 5/26/20). It is available to order in paperback, eBook and audiobook now!
Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?