Sydney‘s Olympic Park hosted the biggest eSports event in Australia over the weekend and folks, it was fucking lit.
It’s the first time the Intel Extreme Masters has hit our shores, hosting a crowd of roughly 10,000 as eSports teams from around the world battled it out for a share of the $260,000 prize pool.
Playing the latest iteration of iconic first-person shooter, Counter-Strike, the matches were broadcast via Twitter and Facebook live, among other outlets.
Not only were viewers treated to some intense games of CS, they also got a glimpse of the Australian fan base who were, at times, rowdier than attendees of a regular sporting event. I’m not fucking exaggerating.
Along with chants, songs and hectic sledging, each time the camera panned over the audience, you could be almost guaranteed a shoey. I have never seen so many shoeys in my goddamned life.
Old mate going for gold at the bottom right
It was bizarre, but exciting to see such a lively crowd for what was a landmark event in Australian eSports. Intel‘s global eSports specialist, George Woo, agrees, telling PEDESTRIAN.TV that Sydney is the “best crowd in the world. Maybe it’s the liquor.”
Sunday’s opening announcer described the crowd’s energy by saying, “it’s like everyone’s drunk at 11am in the morning.” To be fair, they probably were. Alcohol and sports go hand-in-hand, no matter the platform. Friendly rowdiness aside, punters behaved themselves.
Before the grand final, we were treated to a showmatch between Team Australia and Team England, both featuring veteran players past and present. The game took place on a classic CS map called Cache and as such, the match was called – wait for it – The Caches, a play on cricket’s own AUS vs ENG event, The Ashes.
And just like its traditional sporting counterpart, The Caches had an insane amount of sledging and banter between the two teams. It was a bloody laugh-riot.
I was also lucky enough to get a backstage tour of the event, revealing the inner workings of the massive setup that hosted the players and streamed their actions to millions.
While the stage utilises about half of the Qudos Bank Arena, George told me that they plan to push it back each year as the event becomes more popular. IEM will become a yearly staple of the Australian eSports industry and the weekend was a very successful litmus test.
I got a sneaky peak of the broadcast desk, where analysts and commentators did their thing, as well as a look at the gnarly central control room.
Whether you love it or are still unconvinced of its legitimacy, there’s absolutely no denying that eSports is here to stay. As a gamer and eSports enthusiast, it was amazing – almost to the point of disbelief – to see us finally step up to the plate on a level that matches the sport’s scene internationally.
On behalf of the Australian eSports community, P.TV says FUCK YEAH.
Photo: PEDESTRIAN.TV / Matt Hopkins.
