You should follow me on Twitter

My IGN Pro League experience in Vegas

April 8th, 2012 - 8:24 pm | No Comments | Barcraft, eSports


Saying that the Vegas trip to the IPL4 and GSTL finals hosted at the super-glam Cosmopolitan was a success would be a huge understatement. I finally got to put faces to the hundreds of people I chat with on a daily basis, met new friends and potential business partners.

Some highlights

  • The marble floored group entrance area at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas – welcome to luxury!
  • Getting double-takes from a well-known SC2 player I had dinner with in Toronto only a week earlier
  • Having breakfast with a few Barcraft organizers and David Ting, founder of the IPL and eSports GM at IGN
  • Seeing the games with thousands of others around me and feeling the passion that was once only reserved for people watching ‘real’ sports
  • Watching a friend almost peg one of the Korean commentators in the back of the head during a match with the cork from an ill-aimed bottle of booze
  • Chatting it up with IPL, GSL, Blizzard Ent., RIOT, AMD staff, team owners, documentary makers, and members of the press. We’re all in it together!
  • Being the straw that broke the camel’s back between a group of friends to convince one of them to put all the cash in his wallet on a single high-rollers roulette table spin, and subsequently watching him lose it all. I then tried making the group feel better by ponying up my own cash at the normal tables, they chose the simple game of ‘War’. Ended $60 up, whoops :(
  • Watching the photographers from TeamLiquid sort and qualify thousands of potential shots at blistering speeds and then running back out loaded with tons of gear to get more shots.
  • Giving one of my casino credit stubs to a bare-footed editor that was tirelessly working throughout the entire event. Hopefully he gets more personal time next time!
  • Solidifying my opinion that gin & tonic is delicious, Citadel is almost as good as Hendricks. Yum
  • Bumping into Brett Sperry, co-founder of Westwood Studios, while hunting for art galleries. Although he’s retired from the video-gaming industry he runs a lovely art gallery, if you’re going to Vegas and love art – do go check it out!
  • Sending a much longer business oriented 50+ point update to my co-founders after returning, all from memory

Here’s a clip I took during the open bracket showcasing high actions per minute (APM)

And this is why you go exploring off the main strip…

Can’t wait for the NASL season 3 finals in Toronto, and upcoming MLG and IPL events – THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING FOR US.

↑ Post a Comment

Leave a Reply

You can safely stop scrolling now.