Max «Shachlo» — a well-known Dota 2 streamer and analyst — shared his thoughts on Deadlock on his channel. According to him, the game has every chance of surpassing Dota 2 in audience size, but the esports scene is still a long way off.
Why Deadlock outshines Dota 2
- More dynamic match pace — 25-35 minutes versus 45+ in Dota 2.
- Third-person mechanics add a higher skill ceiling.
- More intuitive for new players.
When I look at Deadlock, I see the same thing that made me fall in love with Dota. Except here everything reads faster — through a crosshair, not a hundred icons in the corner of the screen.
— Max Shachlo
What Quinn says about esports
Quinn «Quinn» Callahan — one of the most prominent Dota 2 pros — was more cautious. In his view, Valve hasn't yet given any signals toward launching an official league:
As long as there isn't even a ranking in the client, you can forget about ETS. But if Valve put in the same effort as they did for TI — it'll be massive.
— Quinn Callahan
Takeaways
- The game is still in playtesting, but peak audience is already 300k+.
- Major orgs are taking notice, but no pro player contracts have been signed yet.
- The first cash tournaments are being run by enthusiasts — like our Deadlock Tournament.
What do you think — will Deadlock take off in esports or stay a play-for-fun game? The discussion is live in the community's Discord server.