A pro gamer’s chair sold for more than Messi and Rooney’s jerseys in an auction
There is no doubt that the popularity of competitive video games is not as it used to be, we have came to see pro players treated as future celebrities who excel in esports just like any other sports star. One evidence of that was what we saw a few days ago when a Dota 2 pro’s chair was sold for more than two signed football jerseys of Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney.
In an initiative to raise money for the European “Save The Children” association, legendary OG player Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka donated his signed chair to an online auction in cooperation with the Finnish Valavuori Live Twitch broadcast, where a number of valuables were shown through the program for sale, with the amount raised going towards this charity.
It didn’t take long until the auction ended with the sale of the signed chair by the former OG champion and two times The International winner, as it was sold for a whopping €5,300, outpacing other valuable holdings, notably the shirt signed by Barcelona star Argentine Lionel Messi, one of the best athletes in the world, which sold for €2,300.
A signed shirt of former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney was sold for €4,500 for its great classic value for fans of Red Devils, but the English star also failed to break the number of the professional Dota 2 player who retired from professional play early this year after an amazing march with the best Dota 2 team in the world.
The funny thing is that the sold chair bears the Team Liquid logo, the arch-rival of OG that failed to achieve glory in the last International 9 grand final after a fiery match that brought the two teams together, so you can imagine how much the value of the chair would have increased if the chair had the OG logo!
Regardless of the comparisons between these wonderful athletes, the most important thing is to donate these valuables for such a noble cause, at a time when all of humanity is facing a threat due to the emerging COVID-19 virus, which has had negative effects on the competitive video game arena. During the year 2020, most events were canceled until the moment and they were limited to playing online.
Despite this, the video game field still provides a safe haven for everyone during quarantine periods, with an unprecedented turnout, with Fortnite as an example being played for 3.2 billion hours playing time in April, while game hardware has achieved a new record, such as Nintendo Switch, doubling its sales to 200% in the last quarter.
