Dota 2 is generally considered one of the games with a particularly toxic community. Of all games, Valve’s MOBA brought forth a touching moment: During the Berlin Major 2023, there was a marriage proposal.
What kind of tournament was that? The Berlin Major 2023 took place between May 5 and 7, marking the second stop on the way to the Dota World Championship, The International.
The Velodrome, where the finals of the Major occurred, has a capacity of 12,000 visitors and was completely sold out (via MOZ). In addition to the on-site audience, an average of 235,258 viewers followed the finals online across 4 streaming services. At peak, even 507,620 people were watching (via escharts.com).
However, two fans will likely remember the event not just for the victory of Gaimin Gladiators over Team Liquid, which just built an expensive gaming palace: They got engaged at the event.
Do you want to feed with me?
How did the proposal come about? During a break between maps, commentator Neal Tsunami
Khandheria was walking around the audience and asked fans about their impressions. Eventually, he stopped at one viewer and asked her what special could happen at the event.
The viewer did not hesitate: a victory for her team, Liquid. In the background, you can see her boyfriend kneeling next to her to propose.
We met in a pub [public lobby] 8 years ago and started feeding together. I want to feed with you for the rest of my life, will you marry me?
How did the viewer react? She said yes
, to the great delight of the audience. On Reddit, where a video of the special moment was shared, a user identified herself as the newly engaged and provided additional background. We have embedded the post for you here; the video is in English.
According to the fiancée, her partner had told her that there would be a raffle among the present audience members, and she needed to hold her position. He had gone to get something to drink. In reality, he had met with Tsunami and planned the action. Half an hour of preparation was spent solely to overcome his fear of public speaking.
The newly engaged bride took the opportunity on Reddit to thank everyone involved. This will probably be one of her most valuable memories. Moreover, she is very glad to have the crucial moment on video – at the time it happened, her brain had actually short-circuited, and she can hardly remember anything (via Reddit).
The commentator himself also reported back and added that he was a bit nervous too: He had no Plan B in case the bride-to-be might say no
. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that. That a yes
can also become a problem was shown in the case of a CS:GO professional who proposed to his girlfriend after a spectacular tournament victory.
A public marriage proposal is always a bit of a thing: some can hardly imagine anything more romantic, while others believe it’s something that should happen in private. It becomes particularly awkward when the chosen one declines in front of a large crowd:
Man proposes to his girlfriend on Twitch, thousands watch as he gets rejected
