Red Bull ESL One Genting 2017 - How High Can You Go?

“Red Bull is the official energy drink sponsor of ESL? 
Umm… we work with Red Bull right? Right? RIGHT?”

As the only Orchanite initiated with the realm of esports, there was only one sane option Craig and Farrell had – to send me to Genting as part of the Comms team with Red Bull to facilitate media relations (probably in the hopes that I’d somehow get lost there and not make it back).

Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool

Prepping in the lead up to the event was smooth sailing throughout, except for a 4500-word essay that I had been putting off for weeks. After spending 44 out of the 48 hours prior to departing for Genting fixated on a Word document, compiling months of research, the product of procrastination was submitted at 4:30am, 2 hours before I was supposed to wake up and leave for Red Bull headquarters. And I hadn’t packed my stuff yet.

I soon realised that 4 hours of sleep in 2 days was not the optimal way of sustaining the human body, but tosai and chai worked well to undo some of the damage – Jalan Gasing never disappoints. Clock struck 9, and the media joined team Orchan to create the Fellowship of the Ring Genting, and we departed for the Misty Mountains.

(from left to right) Hazril, from the Harian Metro Gen Y faction;
Matthew, from the CHIP Magazine kingdom; Benjamin, royal Orchanite jest.

The journey was a pleasant one, Dota-talk sped up the trip, and we went through all the mundane check-in / baggage / location coordinating stuff sorted with haste. This was the biggest esports tournament to ever grace Malaysian soil, and upon collecting our media passes, we dunked some Red Bull into the system, and rushed towards the Arena of Stars. It was a sight to behold!

Yes, turnout was awesome. This should clear out all the
doubt about the potential and trajectory of esports!

Image Credit: JomGaming Facebook

The media centre was spacious, and stocked with food and refreshments at any given time. Distance between media centre and event location provided me with enough cardio to last a good 6 months, but the hype and excitement for the event – just by being there, was enough to power me through any to-fro trips required. But enough of that – back to watching the games!

Image Credit: Stuff.tv

Image Credit: Red Bull MY

Drafting in process as Virtus.pro played Digital Chaos in the first semi-finals.
The beverage-form of draft was planned for later that evening…

Image Credit: Gamehubs

It wasn’t only the games at the Arena of Stars which fans could enjoy. Side-events including Red Bull challenges and signing sessions captivated attendees throughout the event, with food trucks being the default oops-I-need-food option. Cosplayers braved the unusually cold highlands, and brought their A-game, dressed up in absolutely stunning costumes.

Juggernaut and Windranger cosplayers.

Image Credit: JomGaming Facebook

My favourite of the event: Invoker!
The white contact lenses definitely gave the cosplay an elevated authenticity.

Image Credit: The Level MY

Red Bull challenge participants in 100% focus.

Image Credit: Red Bull MY

Red Bull gives you wings…literally?

Skywrath Mage giving us the death-stare!

Image Credit: JomGaming Facebook

It was a less-than-stellar show for our local teams – Fnatic and WG.Unity both dropping in the first elimination rounds. However, this did little to dampen moods. Game after game, match after round, the crowd was treated to scintillating contests between teams, as the professional players tried to wrap their heads around the newest 7.xx patch, which had brought about drastic changes to how the game was played.

Ultimately, Digital Chaos claimed first place as the champions of ESL One Genting – the first-ever title by the organisation, after close finishes at The International 6 and the Boston Major. Technically speaking, the team is 20% Malaysian – no prizes for guessing which member it is!

Image Credit: ESL Twitter

The highlight of this tournament for me though, was when the team manager of current world champions Wings Gaming approached us, asking for a laptop with Dota 2, so that the team could watch the finals from select point-of-views, instead of from the general spectator perspective. I offered my prized device, which was promptly returned to me in a few hours. I was curious if they had used my laptop for other purposes (all on you to define ‘other’), to which I found this!

They were trying to understand what Lif Bomba meant in Chinese!

Monday morning was marked by a decent breakfast with (almost) all members of the invited media. Everyone got along extremely well with each other, with stupid jokes being thrown at each other whenever we were in each other’s presence. The trip back to Red Bull headquarters was plagued with wafts of truck-exhaust gases, and going back to the sweltering heat didn’t quite put everyone in the best of moods.

We parted ways soon, as the media had to churn through photos and interview data to publish about the event. The Whatsapp group is still intact, so the nonsense has definitely continued, and does not seem like ending anytime soon! The Fellowship has disbanded…

(for now...)

Now I’m back at my desk, wondering when the next big esports event would be…

Benjamin is a student of International Relations at the University of Nottingham, currently exploring unchartered realms of the Public Relations field for a voluntary internship. Writing is clearly his interest – a decisive contributor to his foray into the public relations industry. To date, he boasts the proud record of having tamed one of the office cats, and drinking expired tea from the pantry.