TF2 ‘fragumentary’ proves esports don’t need millions in prizes

Last year the best Team Fortress 2 players from around the globe invaded England for the biggest tournament in the game’s history at that time.

For Insomnia 49, or i49 as it’s better known, the top team from America, High Rollers Gaming, and Australia, Team Immunity, challenged Europe’s best, thanks to travel money funded by the community. A new i49 “Fragumentary,” as the video’s creators Pete “CUBE” Wilkins and Andy “BoneS” Bones put it, chronicles the journey of both teams in their quest to be crowned the best team in the world.

When you combine a documentary and fragging, you get this hour-long monstrosity. And it’s beautiful.

The film provides welcome perspective on what being a “professional” gamer is like in a game where the “professional” moniker describes more the effort put in than the money received. Team Fortress 2 earned more revenue for Valve last year than its esports mega-hit Dota 2. But in esports, Team Fortress 2’s meager prize pools are chump change compared to Dota and similar titles.

But that doesn’t mean the stakes aren’t high. The video shows the effort and emotion that goes into becoming the very best at an esport without the million dollar prize pool, sponsor money, and hundreds of thousands of fans. 

It also has frags. Glorious, gib-filled frags.

This weekend Team Immunity will join the two best American teams, Classic Mixup and Froyotech, will again challenge Europe at the Insomnia 52 LAN tournament.