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Photo by Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images

Tourism Vancouver expects the six-day tournament here to inject roughly $7.8 million into the local economy. Thursday afternoon, sidewalks and restaurants in Gastown were packed with fans wearing Dota 2 lanyards and toting bags of swag and merchandise.

Inside the Pint Public House, just a few blocks from Rogers Arena, fans sipped craft beer while watching the tournament on flatscreen TVs.

Assistant general manager Jeff Lockwood said event organizers approached The Pint about booking the whole pub for the week, but ultimately settled on a special broadcasting arrangement.

Photo by Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images

Lockwood said the fans have been great customers, keeping summer afternoons busier than usual and packing into the pub each night after events wrap up at Rogers Arena.

“It’s fantastic,” he said. “They’re super-polite, they tip well and my staff is really happy about it, so it makes for a really enjoyable work environment.”

Lockwood didn’t want to get into the numbers, but said the tournament has brought a “massive boost” in sales.

“I kind of wish they’d do this every year,” he said with a grin.

Outside Rogers Arena, Mike Holst, 27, a longtime Dota 2 player who travelled from London, Ont., said he’s watched The International since it was first held in Germany in 2011. He was thrilled to catch it live in Canada.

Photo by Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images

“The crowd is just amazing, how hyped they get,” he said. “Every single play, every single kill — just everything about it is outstanding.”

His friend Brian Arndt, 26, from North Tonawanda, N.Y., said he’s treating the trip as a big annual holiday paired with the chance to watch his favourite teams play. Arndt said he’s staying at a hotel with three other Dota 2 players he befriended online a few years ago.