Deadlock’s $10k invitational is taking place in closed alpha, but what’s the point?

A two-day tournament for Deadlock is scheduled to kick off on October 4, marking the first instance of Valve’s shooter/MOBA hybrid entering the esports scene, but isn’t this all just a bit premature?

In partnership with afterMath Esports, Deadlock Prime is a “brand new tournament platform,” with its first fixture being a $10,000 invitational featuring “top pros from several games.” Who are the pros in question? “That surprise is yet to come,” organizers teased in the announcement on the game’s subreddit.

“We have worked hard to lock down the best players possible to create an engaging and entertaining experience for you,” the statement continued, outlining that “players, talent, and sponsors” would be unveiled in the weeks ahead.

Surprising? In the sense that Deadlock‘s native genre makes it ripe for competitive broadcasting, absolutely not. The marriage was inevitable and completely expected, but the timing is questionable.

Deadlock remains in Closed Alpha, and Valve still has a marathon to run before it reaches beta, let alone a public release. For competitive play, stability and consistency are key. Not just from an infrastructure perspective, but a mechanical one. Deadlock has neither of these. How could it, when not even Valve has made a final call on some of the game’s intricacies?

Even putting aside the fact that, from personal experience, mid-match crashes happen regularly enough to be considered a nuisance, Deadlock’s meta is constantly in flux. Frequent patches and reworks are to be expected of a project still finding its feet, meaning heroes can go from Thanos-balanced to wildly overpowered at the flip of a switch.

“Deadlock is very much not ready for tournament play. If the server doesn’t crash, there are technical issues that get worse and worse in late game,” one player responding to the announcement said. “Not to mention the myriad glitches inherent to character abilities that give them an unfair advantage,” they continued.

Likewise, others voiced concerns over the ever-changing meta landscape. “It’s a bit too early for grassroots tourneys because the game is functionally different every other week. These to me are a showcase of the edge cases of play right now,” another said.

Transience aside, one could make the case for getting the ball rolling on exposure and marketing, but neither is necessary. Deadlock already has a gigantic following through little more than word of mouth. Before Valve even officially acknowledged the game’s existence, thousands were playing it. Post-embargo lift, that figure ballooned into the tens of thousands.

Gatekeeping invariably becomes another concern. If the only individuals invited to participate are ultimately content creators already boasting devout followings, how are up-and-comers supposed to make themselves known?

“We shouldn’t support sh*t like this,” one user stressed, claiming that “This invites people to be pros who are pros in another game to be pros in this game. Like one of you in this subreddit is among the best, but the pros are preestablished before you can get recognized? Let the top players bubble up.”

Of those “preestablished” players, Shroud and Summit1g have both played and shared their thoughts on Deadlock. Whether either creator has been invited to participate remains to be seen, but if the only names on the docket are those immediately recognizable, concerns over gatekeeping would prove valid.

More details will naturally provide answers to some of these questions, but until then, check out our in-depth tier list ranking every Deadlock character in the current meta and how to build them.