Nick "Dorazion" D'Orazio traveled from Phoenix, Arizona to Yinchuan, China to make the grand finals of the World Cyber Arena 2015. With 11 different games being played at their highest level, the multi-day event is truly massive. One person couldn't possibly hope to cover all of this eSports with any level of detail so, instead, Nick will attempt a journal of sorts. Matches and game results will be covered elsewhere; here is the story of the event.
The first thing I noticed when I got off the airplane was that it was cold. Aggressively cold. Piercing and invasively cold. So cold that many of the players who got off the plane with me immediately regretted their light clothing. As we all waited to pick up our luggage, the conversations around the conveyor were laughably eSports related. Multiple teams from multiple different games form different groups and, as the lone journalist there, I just listened:
"It's a good solid buff all around. It's just a better hero now"
"Why wouldn't you just put him offlane?"
"Dr. Boom comes down on 7 and what does your deck do? It loses."
"I'm going to being playing the odds, 3rd place isn't too bad"
"80 damage per second? Why wouldn't you run that?"
This would be a re-occurng theme of the trip. English voices talking video games over the sound of cold wind and Chinese music. Once we all got are luggage, we were greeted by a WCA welcome comittee who took pictures of the group and shuffled us to a bus. The first thing you see when you step out of the airport is a massive electronic billboard with WCA advertisements and hype trailers. It was surreal to see eSports so proudly displayed in such a public space.
Once on the bus, I took the opportunity to talk to a local and ask about the city of Yinchuan. Apparently, the city is best known for a food called Gouqi, Babo Tea, and fur clothing. One day, the city hopes to also be just as well known for eSports. The WCA tournament is actually operated by the local government of Yinchuan and the Yinchuan International Game Investment Co, something I had heard about prior but didn't really understand. With all of the fan-fare of our arrival, it started to make sense.
Drivers in Yinchuan didn't seem to really care about the rules. Twice, I saw cars drive right over sidewalks or medians to get to their route quicker.
The city of Yinchuan has a personal stake in this tournament and, as I was told, is quite dedicated in promoting eSports and the industry. Over 500 different players from 4 different regions of the world were all coming to one city just to compete at video games so it's no wonder the production of the event feels so important.
As I sat thinking about all of this, I couldn't help but notice the excessive ammount of honking going on everywhere. Our bus driver would casually and routinely slam his hand down on the horn, honking for long periods of time without any hesistation. I lightheartedly mentioned that no one where I was from ever honked this brazenly, but I was assured that the honking was more of a safety precaution than a sign of anger. I eventually came to accept this explanation, as our bus essentially didn't stop for anything, instead honking constantly so other cars would move out of the way.
Drivers in Yinchuan didn't seem to really care about the rules. Twice, I saw cars drive right over sidewalks or medians to get to their route quicker. When I asked if this was normal, the bus driver only laughed, saying that "slippery" drivers are all over the city.
In a fashion I've grown to expect from China, the production is simply over-the-top oustanding. Is this an eSports tournament or a concert?
Once we arrived at our hotel, the excitement and chaos of the event broke loose. The hotel was absolutely top notch and it's enourmous lobby was quickly filled with dozens and dozens of eSports elites. WCA were providing sleek looking WCA 2015 jackets to all of the players (the cold players who failed to bring warm jackets were thrilled) and a joke quickly spread regarding the sizes. If you asked for a small or a medium, you were in for a quick lesson on how much larger western clothes by default. A medium is more like an XXL in China, and a small is actually an XL. A true Chinese small fit no-one but the locals.
Looking around, it was overwhelming just how many top tier players were all hanging just shooting the breeze. All of us had just finished nearly 20+ hours of travel time so the main goal was just to unwind, get out of the cold, and get to our hotel rooms. As usual, I heard the same familiar sounds walking among the players:
"It's not like we haven't practiced against them before..."
"We wait and let them feed. It's that simple."
"Secret Paladin is out of control and I'm ok with that."
Yep. Gamers will talk video games no matter what country they are in.
That was yesterday and the tournament opening ceremony is happening now. In a fashion I've grown to expect from China, the production is simply over-the-top oustanding. Is this an eSports tournament or a concert?
Actually yes, it is a concert as well. Colorful visuals, loud music, and energetic dancers entertained the crowd of eSports fans and players and were all leading up to the star attraction- a woman with an soft face and a even softer voice serenading the crowd. Admittedly, we aren't the typical "dance along with the music" crowd. More a "stare silently while awkwardly appreciating it all" crowd. I hope the entertainers realized this, as their performances were really quite amazing.
As the lone voice of GosuGamers in China, I'll try my best to capture the feel and story of the event as it unfolds. Time to find a place to charge my laptop, enjoy the music and some warm tea. It really is that cold.
This article is part of a series of GosuGamers at Yinchuang, China for WCA 2015. Check out our coverage hub for full event coverage.
