EPTWhen ESL first announced that RaidCall EMS One’s Dota 2 Spring Season finals are to be held in Katowice, I immediately brought my attention to it. A Dota 2 event in Poland? It was certainly the first one I heard of, and as such, I knew it was something I couldn’t miss. 22EUR and about 3-4 hours of travel one way from Warsaw to Katowice - not a problem at all. The tickets were in very short supply - the site even gave me a scare when the tickets appeared to be sold out, then became available again after a couple of F5s. Thankfully, everything went smoothly - I acquired my ticket, booked a train to Katowice and a return bus, as well as a room at Hostel Centrum Katowice, which I would recommend to anyone looking for a decently priced and comfortable hostel. (Book VERY early, though!)
On a mere two hours of sleep, having to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to get ready and take the train at 6:25, I showed up at Hotel Angelo... and felt somewhat lost. There was no clear indication of where to go. There were some people hanging out at the lobby and by the reception desk, some of which I recognized as members of Dota 2 community or ESL staff, so I knew I was at the right area - but that was it. The guy at the information desk was reluctant to let me upstairs and didn’t explain fully where the event is (trying to find me on a list where only staff, casters/hosts and players were mentioned), but eventually I figured out I just have to go there and find the exact location myself.
The venue itself was very small. A couple of rooms - the control room and the Polish casting studio, and the main conference room itself, set up as the stage for the tournament. There were about 30-40 chairs in total and they were usually mostly filled during games, not only by spectators, but also by some of the teams (later, however, they watched outside in the corridor, on a separate monitor). In the corridor, EMS1 posters were up for grabs and there was a table with boiling water for tea, coffee and cool water for drinking, as well as small snacks (salted sticks and cookies).
Pretty much no one at the place was impressed by that one RaidCall ad. The negative opinions on the Internet were largely reflected at the venue. Everyone watching cringed whenever the ad was played. Thankfully, it was removed on Day 2 and we probably won’t see it again...
As mentioned on the stream, one of the multiple tech issues of Day 1 was that the main spectator screen was a bit zoomed in. We couldn’t read the kills, the skill levels, target’s XP and a couple other details. This also was fixed on Day 2. Generally speaking - props to ESL for fixing stuff from Day 1 to Day 2.
As for my impressions about the people I’ve met there...
It was easy to find whomever you wished to talk to - be it a caster, a host or a player. The event was small - there were less of us spectators than the players, casters and staff combined.
The first person I met - downstairs at the reception, before I even got to the main conference area - was n0tail of Fnatic.eu. I jokingly asked about drafting Meepo and he said they’ll snatch it when it’s least expected. He was happy to hang out with us spectators after the whole day’s games and chat about everything, from the Dota scene to other games, comedians and experiences from various countries.
Rats in the Dark took the bus to Warsaw with a few of us viewers to catch their flight back. We talked about Dota and the tournament while waiting, since the bus was late. They were happy about the free trip to Katowice - ESL paid their flights.
Na`Vi tend to keep to themselves a little bit, but are not unapproachable.
When they were not together as 5, Puppey tended to hang out with Kuro, while the CIS players sticked together.
Puppey is as tall as people say - I’m almost 190cm and he’s about a head taller than me. At one point during an interview with Miracle, Puppey almost launched a pack of Marlboros at him using the bands separating the stage from the audience. Sadly, he was stopped by the staff.
Dendi is also what you know him to be from people’s accounts. Friendly, happy and often smiling between games. He shouted taunts during games a lot. Remember that “HA, HA!” after the failed gank vs his Storm Spirit in mid? That was him, of course. Watching his hands during games is fascinating. As you might know from the WTF Invoker video, he has crazy APM - and he maintains it consistently while playing!
Kuro is somewhat quiet, contrary to the amusing little taunts he did in the final games.
On the first day, Starladder’s v1lat - everyone’s favorite Ukrainian caster - had a little table with his netbook and an extra PC to stream his cast from, out in the main corridor. The CIS Dota players often joined to watch and listen. Whenever there was a teamfight... I’m pretty sure you guys heard him on the English stream - he was perfectly audible from the main stage chairs. Loud and passionate, indeed. As you might’ve seen on his Twitter, he got a separate room the next day.
Kawa found the event very trying for his endurance. He was, however, paying close attention to every game he did not cast - even taking notes!
Soe and Pyrion drew a lot of cool/cute stuff for the fans. Pyrion drew his famous Skeleton King with every signature, including one full drawing on the back of a Na`Vi poster.
Tobi, Soe and Pyrion were joking with each other during the stream. One funny moment was Tobi trying to boop Soe’s on-screen visage during the pre-stream testing.
The managers - especially mouz.Paisy, Na`Vi’s zer0Gravity and Rox.KIS’ PoDoX - were the most hype at the event. I’m not sure, but I don’t think this is appreciated enough - those guys are their teams’ #1 fans. If you heard “DON’T MAKE MISTAKES!” yelled during one of Na`Vi’s games, that was Zer0Gravity. If you heard passionate Ukrainian (I assume?) after one of Dendi’s RPs, that was also him. Paisy loudly cheered and clapped after every play that brought his team closer to victory.
Overall, it was a very unique and enjoyable LAN experience. Even if you weren’t formally a VIP, it kinda felt like being one - there were plenty of opportunities to talk to the players/casters/hosts and hang out with them between or after the games. The viewers that attended were all passionate fans of Dota (in fact, if you missed it on stream, w200me of DotaCinema was there!). The players, from what I heard, overall enjoyed the atmosphere as well, having a less tightly wound schedule, The only downsides were the tournament format, a small, weirdly balanced single elimination bracket, and the tech issues plaguing Day 1, fortunately fixed over Day 2. I’d gladly go again if I had the chance and money.
Pflax needed a bit of makeup or something he looked kinda sleep deprived (or hungover) on camera.
