Do yourself a favor and go to an event
As Leenock accepted his MLG Providence championship trophy and HerO prevailed at DreamHack Winter in Sweden, I was reminded of the worst part about attending major events. Not the long days of travel, lack of sleep or overdoses of caffeine. Not the freezing venues or hours upon hours of standing. Not the inevitable illness that follows. No, the worst part of heading across the country to be there in person isn’t anything that actually happens at the venue. It’s that with every tournament attended, the ones you miss become worse and worse.
To be fair, it isn’t all bad. In addition to the previously mentioned travel, sleep, caffeine, and post-event plague problems, there are definite advantages to sitting at home and enjoying the show - starting with actually sitting down. While not every tournament has a seating problem, MLG and some other events are notorious for the lack of places to actually sit. It might sound like a petty complaint, but standing around from 10 AM to 2 in the morning isn’t always the most ideal way to enjoy a spectator sport. Being able to relax in the comfort of a chair or couch is something that your feet will appreciate.
With the advent of multiple streams for each tournament, the biggest advantage is just being able to watch more games. MLG’s quad view allows four games to be shown at the same time, something that just isn’t possible in a live setting. IPL3 had a similar setup and Dreamhack had multiple streams throughout. For a fan, watching that many games is amazing. For those producing content and trying to keep track of everything for coverage purposes, it’s a borderline miracle. With the amount of top level games that were previously unstreamed, being able to enjoy and cover the sheer quantity of amazing matchups that are shown over the course of a weekend is by far the best thing about being at home.
Yet none of that comes remotely close to making up for the excitement of being there in person. Sitting in the front row when MC gave IdrA the throat slash in Columbus, feeling the crowd excitement build as Stephano rolled through IPL3, and seeing the joy on the faces of the entire EG team and staff as HuK closed out Orlando are things that simply cannot be replicated over the internet. The streams do a respectable job of capturing the atmosphere of being there, but you really haven’t watched competitive gaming until you’ve watched it with a few thousand of your closest friends.
Those few thousand people are the best thing about every single event. It starts with the fans. Truthfully, I was never very fond of the term ‘esports,’ but the incredible passion and enthusiasm on display at these events has softened my stance on the term. Other than sports, there really isn’t anywhere else that you will see the kind of reactions and emotional attachments displayed by the spectators in the venue. The crowds are knowledgeable, passionate, and intelligent. There are some amazing people involved with pro gaming.
Photo: Zhang Jingna
And those people are what truly make live events special. The games themselves are the reason to travel across the country to these gatherings and they are what make these events great experiences. But the people make them memorable. Meeting others with the same passion and love for gaming, learning from those who have helped build esports into what we have today, and forming connections and friendships with amazing individuals is unmatched. Go to an event... You’ll see. You will meet people that for practical purposes will only exist online for most of the year. But for those few weekends you’ll meet back up or head to the bar and it’ll be like seeing an old friend who moved away long ago.
That’s why the ones you miss only get worse. You end up being the guy who misses the gathering of old friends and gets sent pictures with a “Wish you were here!” message.
Sound ridiculous?
Just go. You’ll see.
