“W0nderful puts that AWP over to the corner, that could come back to haunt him, tough spot to get the multifrag … oooh … OOOH … WELCOME TO WONDERLAND! THEY LOCK DOWN THAT POST-PLANT LIKE IT’S NOTHING”
Day 1 (Friday)
It’s generall quite difficult to explain to people who don’t play Counter-Strike (CS) or other video games that you are going to London for 3 days to watch people play video games. The classic response is “why don’t you just play the game yourself, surely that’s more fun”. This past weekend, I learned that was anything but the case.
We opted to head up on the Friday instead of the Saturday, as the tickets were cheap and we wanted to make the most of the weekend. We made it through London and arrived at the arena about 2:30, and found the arena was relatively quiet due to the fact we were there on a work day. After pottering around and looking at some of the stands and displays on offer (mostly sponsored stuff, although I won a pin!), we found our seats at the back. Before we had a chance to sit down however, a gentleman in high-vis appeared and gave us 3 tickets to the front, to fill it out for the cameras! Definitley made the right choice buying the cheap seats! This was our view before and after the seat change:
Image source - Me
This meant we had brilliant views as casters, analysts and players took to the stage for introducations, analysis and commentary. Many of the casters were also more than happy to take photos and chat with fans between segments on stage, which was a lovely touch. By the end of the weekend, I’d met 6 of the 10 stage talent from the weekend!
On day 1 we watched Vitality knock out Faze, and Astralis get sent home by VP. While the arena was not at it’s busiest, the atmostphere was fabulous and the production value was incredibly high, as Blast events often are. It was interesting to see all of the work and effort that goes into events like this, and the amount of people needed to make the event work.
Day 2 (Saturday)
This day was much busier. Everyone that had been at work the day before was able to make it down, and the arena filled out a little more. There were still a few empty seats however, so we managed to slip forwards and sit about halfway towards the stage. We watched Spirit beat Vitality, which was a shame as Mezii was the only British player in the tournament, and had great support from the crowd. We also watched NaVi destroy VP, which was amazing fun as many of the fans in the arena (including me!) were there to see them. The energy was amazing, and the CS was amazing too.
Image source - Me
After the matches finished for the day, we headed to Wagamama for dinner. We headed in, only to be seated a few tables away from the entire Astralis team + staff who were there enjoying their team dinner despite being knocked out the day before! We didn’t disturb them of course, but it felt exciting to be “dining among celebrities”. That concluded an exciting day 2.
Day 3 (Sunday)
Unfortunatley, NaVi were beaten in the final by Spirit. While this wasn’t the result we wanted, it was still an amazing experience none the less. We loved being in the thick of the action and being up close and personal with these stars. I wouldn’t even say an understanding of CS would be required to enjoy the event, as the fans and atmosphere were first class.
Pizza Express was dinner of choice for the evening, and while we didn’t sit next to Faze, there was still a cool experience to come. As we were walking to the bus stop we noticed a small crowd of fans waiting on a road inbetween the arena and a hotel. As we had some time to spare we wandered over, and hung around for about 10 minutes. The others were keen to head off, but I had a feeling something was going to happen so I asked for 5 more minutes. As we were about to call it a day, jL of NaVi came out to take photos with fans! This was a great interaction to end an amazing day, and was a class act from him to come out 10 minutes ahead of his team to take photos despite their team’s defeat just hours earlier. I’m a fan of a unique souvenir or trinket, and this definitely meets that requirement:
Image source - Me
Conclusion
Overall, this was a great event and we had a lot of fun. I’d reccomend it to anyone with even a passing interest in video games. The tickets can be cheap too, in this case the Friday tickets were just £10! An experience I won’t be forgetting.
“This is another 2vX! Aleksi’s in the corner and he’s keeping it cool. Dives to the right side, CT on the site, Aleksi take your time … STRAIGHT UP IN YOUR FACE”