'Dota 2' takes to the high seas with a tournament on a cruise ship

Some of China's best Dota 2 teams will be competing in a LAN tournament in October, but not in your typical arena setting. This tournament will take place on a cruise ship.

The Nanyang Cruise Cup features four Dota 2 teams including TI6 champions Wings Gaming and Newbee, who will compete while cruising across the Pacific Ocean for four days. The ship, called Sapphire Princess, shoves off from Shanghai Oct. 13, stopping in Japan and South Korea before returning to port four days later.

All of the matches will take place on the ship, which has a crew of 1,100 and guest capacity of 2,678. The remaining two teams who join the cruise tournament at sea will be determined by qualifier matches before the end of September.

The biggest issue with hosting a tournament in the Pacific Ocean (and streaming it) is the lack of internet access. Tournament director Wang Zilin told JoinDota that the organizer, KeyTV, is renting a satellite and has rewired the whole ship to support the necessary equipment.

"Cruises are not very popular among young people, no internet on the high seas, slow pace of life etc.," Zilin told JoinDota. "We decided if we could solve the internet problem, and add some activities that young people like, the cruise journey will be interesting."

This will be KeyTV's first time doing something like this. They have done productions for Valve before at the 2016 Shanghai Major, but were fired by Valve co-founder Gabe Newell for issues with the production.

If the event goes well, Zilin told JoinDota the organizers may expand with more cruise tournaments.