ESL brings esports to San Jose’s SAP Center with Intel® Extreme Masters The world’s best gamers in League of Legends® and StarCraft® II: Heart of the Swarm® to compete in NHL Sharks' home arena ESL, the world’s leading independent esports brand, will bring Intel Extreme Masters to the largest sports venue in its history. Housed in the SAP Center, home to the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, the event is set to host League of Legends and StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm competitions on December 6-7, 2014. Adding a global spotlight, this landmark event will be live streamed on Twitch. San Jose will act as the seventh Intel Extreme Masters tournament in the US since the tour started in 2006 and the first ever standalone event in North America. As such, it will be a milestone for both ESL and the gaming community. “It is a massive challenge and a massive opportunity for us. This is the new frontier,” says Michal Blicharz, Managing Director Pro Gaming at ESL. “We are the first independent esports content creators to run an event of this scale inside a US sports stadium. It’s a chance for gaming fans to prove that their hobby belongs in the spotlight.” The SAP Center in San Jose regularly plays host to Olympic athletes and Grammy award-winners, boasting over 150 events a year. For the first time in the venue’s history it will fuse the sports and entertainment events it is used to, into one: Intel Extreme Masters San Jose. With a capacity of over 18,000, the venue is set to welcome one of the largest esports events in North America. “SAP Center at San Jose continually looks to add new and exciting entertainment options to our event schedule that appeal to a variety of fans both locally and on a national and international level,” said Jim Goddard, Executive Vice President of Business & Building Operations, SAP Canter at San Jose. “We are pleased to be working with ESL and Intel to bring Intel Extreme Masters to the Bay Area, an area known for its contributions to the gaming industry and an area that is home to many top gamers and video game enthusiasts. We look forward to hosting a successful and entertaining event in December.” The tournament in San Jose will also be a milestone for Intel whose headquarters are a short drive away from the SAP Center. Intel has been a title sponsor for the Intel Extreme Masters for 9 years. “When we started this sponsorship in 2006 it was an investment with the hope that gaming would some day reach the size it is today,” says George Woo, Event and Sponsorship Programs Manager at Intel. “It feels fantastic to see it pay off and to be able to showcase Intel Extreme Masters on this scale so close to our headquarters in Santa Clara.” Ensuring a global audience, the event will be broadcast on Twitch, the world’s leading live video platform and community for gamers. ESL estimates the event will attract 4.5 million viewers online. “There is no greater example of the rise of esports in the US than the proliferation of stadium-hosted events,” said Kevin Lin, COO, Twitch. “With major ESL events, like the one at SAP Center, esports have officially arrived, with Twitch providing a window into this phenomenon on a worldwide scale.”
This OWNS. Lifetime Sharks fan, former season ticket holder. Lived here for most of my life. Wish they were hosting a CS:GO tournament as well, but oh well.
On September 17 2014 03:44 Holytornados wrote: IEM keeps being awesome. Hopefully a lot of SC locals will show up to the event if there is any kind of open bracket
Well I know I dont count because im not good at all lol but if there is an open bracket, I might play anyway just to do it, and I would hope some of the locals who are actually good would as well
On September 17 2014 01:26 vult wrote: Why so many non-Northeast/Mid-Atlantic events (minus DC but thats like 8 hours from me).
I couldnt go to IEM NY, so the last event that was within reach for me was MLG Providence which was ages ago...
Was hoping IEM would go to like Boston or Philly, but alas, no.
From the perspective of a San Franciscan, the last live event we had closer than Los Angeles (which probably sounds close to you east coasters, but SF and LA are barely closer than Boston and Washington DC) was the IPL Team Arena 3 finals in 2012. No major individual tournaments here ever. Pretty psyched about this.
On September 17 2014 05:19 Melix wrote: About time we had a major Bay Area SC2 event. Hopefully we crush it in terms of attendance.
We definitely need to represent so we can put in a good showing to get other tournament organizers interested! It is a little surprising that with so many tech companies headquartered in the bay area that an opportunity like this hasn't happened yet. And for that same reason you would think that there should be a large number of eSports fans in this area so we will have to see how fast the tickets sell :D
Serious question here: how do I buy tickets? Aside from the age-old "throwing of wallets at screens" jokes, I'm not seeing any info yet on when ticket sales open up or how to purchase. Pretty far in advance, I know, but I will need to book flights/make plans with friends in the Bay Area and will want to purchase tickets in advance.
If anyone has prior experience, please let me know what to expect! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
On September 18 2014 05:04 sWs wrote: This is so sick! I am living in SJ going to SJSU/playing for their CSL team.. hope to see some info on the open bracket soon
You're local enough and a notable enough name within the NA scene that you'll probably get an Open Bracket spot when applications open.
This is a huge deal for the bay area. The last event we had here was IPL Team League a few years back. Hopefully the SC2 crowd in the area will really show up. I know for sure that the LoL side is going to be packed.
On September 18 2014 05:04 sWs wrote: This is so sick! I am living in SJ going to SJSU/playing for their CSL team.. hope to see some info on the open bracket soon
You're local enough and a notable enough name within the NA scene that you'll probably get an Open Bracket spot when applications open.
Never been to an IEM before, does anyone know how expensive tickets generally are/how far in advance they are posted?
I have lived in the bay for the last three years and have been waiting for an event like this to come around for a really long time, so I really don't want to miss out on getting tickets.
Also GL to all the bay area natives who will be trying to qualify (I am thinking of you Nony [is he still playing? haven't seen him stream in a while but I remember talking to him about how difficult it is to find a place in the bay], sWs and Suppy.)
holy hell i just actually might be able to attend my first ever SC2 event far enough away date wise for me to save enough to go. and just looked at flight tickets not to expansive now just need to know how much tickets will cost.
I just bought tickets. It is such a bitch to order tickets from Ticketmaster. I tried to reserve seats for like 30 minutes and it kept giving me an error.
EPT
