Young Gamers Tried to Turn Sports Arena to Esports Haven
At least a hundred of young Filipinos flock to Cuneta Astrodome in a hot end-November weekend. No, not to watch a game or two of basketball or volleyball. But to witness a video game tournament being played in a sports arena.
This and few more reasons why Arnel Salazar, 20, camped out as early as 6 p.m. on the eve of the TNC Grand Finale 2015 (Nov. 28-29).
“Excited kasi kami para sa prizes at freebies. Nakatulog naman kami. Ginawa na nga naming bahay itong labas, dito na kami kumain at niligpit na lang ‘yung pinagkainan,” Salazar, a League of Legends (LoL) player, told eSports by INQUIRER.net
This is the first time that an eSports event was held in a sports arena.
“Sulit naman ‘yung pagpunta namin ng maaga. First time ko ng manunuod ng live,” he added. Salazar got a couple of ballers, some in-game items and a black hoodie for being one of the first 10 attendees.
A queue as far as from Cuneta Astrodome to Roxas Boulevard welcomed the opening day of the tournament. Filipino gamers in basketball shorts, jeans, t-shirts, polo shirts, slippers and rubber shoes filled the line.
“TNC! TNC!” the crowd shouted as the clock ticked 11:30 a.m., three hours past the promised 9:30 a.m. event start. “Ang init!” one said.
A long queue for a video game tournament in a sports arena.
Cuneta Astrodome was turned into a concert-like grounds. A stage was set up in the middle of the arena, where two tables with five computers face each other. A gold trophy that resembles a man wearing headphones punching in the air placed on the middle of the stage separates the two competing teams. Blue and red lights blaze the arena.
“Kakaiba. Ibang-iba sa normal na event na napuntahan ko. Nasa center yung stage tapos yung atmosphere [parang concert],” said Paolo Guzman, 22.
Noticeably, at least 20 minors attended the event and even couples took an eSports Sun-date.
“Bigay ng teacher namin ‘yung ticket,” said a high school student of a Pasay City-based academy who supports LoL. “Palagi ako naglalaro pero hindi naman bumabagsak sa school.”
“First time namin manuod. Masaya na nandito kami,” said Elena, not her real name, who brought tagged her boyfriend along. “Sinusuportahan ko siya sa LoL, tapos eventually tinuruan niya na rin ako.”
Redulfin said that a certain Pasay City-based youth group requested to allow their minors to attend the event.
THE CENTER STAGE.
In the end, Filipino gamers witnessed brothers going head-to-head in the finals.
Pacific Macta took the CrossFire title as well as P100,000 from their brothers Pacific Wara in a 2-0 fashion. While Imperium Pro Team put on a show against sister team Imperium Pro Team Blue in the LoL finals, where the former swept also the series. The finals of Dota 2 was a different story. Incussus Gaming took the grueling three-game series 2-1 from Extremist.Espada.
Eric Redulfin, CEO of The Net.Com (TNC) and organizer of the event, earlier said that they eyed at least 5,000 attendees for the two-day finale.
“In terms of the turnout, siyempre hindi iyon ‘yung expected namin eh. Kahit kami ‘yung nag-organize ng event, failure siguro kami roon (sic). Na-meet ‘yung 3000 pero hindi na nag-increase sa 3,000,” Redulfin said. “Pero this is a learning process. Kung hindi ko gagawin ito bilang TNC eSports enthusiast, sinong gagawa? Marami kaming natutunan at marmai kaming puwedeng ma-improve pa.”
Members of Pacific.Macta rejoicing after winning the TNC Grand Finale 2015 CrossFire title.
Redulfin said that they may reconsider the sponsors of their event in the future.
“Most probably gagawin namin talaga sports talaga. Hindi kailangan ng maraming sponsor although nakakatulong sila pero para magawa mong sports talaga, le-lessen namin ‘yung mga booth,” Redulfin said.
The TNC Finale Cup 2015 graced an early promotion of NBA 2K ONLINE and the presence of North American live stream platform Azubu in the country.
— with reports from Donn Clarence Gonzales
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