Formed in January 2019, the Weavr consortium – made up of ESL, Rewind, Dock10, Cybula, FocalPoint VR and the University of York, the idea was to create a technology platform geared towards esports. After an initial test at ESL One Birmingham in August, the app hit a major milestone by making the app publicly available on Android for the Dota 2 event in Hamburg. The event also saw Weavr’s first virtual reality (VR) broadcast take place.
Weavr’s Dota2 Companion allows fans either at the stadium or in their own home to enhance their esport experience with features such as a live intelligent map offering real-time hero status, lane analytics, tower overlays, and AI-powered win prediction. Then there are head to head stats so you can track and compare the performance of players in real-time. One of the more unique features is the Weavr Performance Index, a statistic driven by machine learning showing how each player affects their team’s chance to win.
The VR implementation was far more restricted at this point, broadcast live to some of the ESL Play community in the UK.
“We said at the start of this project that we wanted to move away from linear ‘one-for-all’ coverage towards hyper-personalised experiences. Here at Hamburg we have just taken a huge step towards reaching that goal. Experiences are tailored to each viewer’s interests, they are fully interactive, and provide individualised insights into matches in real-time,” said James Dean, ESL UK CEO in a statement. “And it’s not just fans here in Hamburg who have been impressed; people have also been downloading the app from home. The feedback we have received both here in Hamburg and further afield has been fantastic, and we are already planning for the next stage at ESL One Birmingham which takes place next year.”
“While spending time with the Weavr team at ESL One Hamburg, it became clear that the work they are doing has the potential to grow into something that is an integral part of the esports viewing experience; benefiting both the broadcaster & the viewer,” adds Robson ‘TeaGuvnor’ Merritt, Dota 2 player and coach.
If you’re a fan of Dota 2 and watch the matches then download the Weavr companion app here for Android. Be aware that it’ll only be fully compatible when the Weavr team attend select live events. As further details of the VR functionality are released, VRFocus will let you know.