ESL One Hamburg 2018

In our blog, you can find everything you need to know about ESL Hamburg 2018 and a lot of interesting background stories, proudly presented by Official Logistics Partner, DHL, who handle event logistics for the ESL One Series.

Monday

The DHL EffiBOT in Dota 2

With ESL One Hamburg now done and dusted, we have yet another brilliant development to report. The DHL EffiBOT has been turned into a video game character, functioning as a courier in the Dota 2 world. How do you like our virtual EffiBOT? Let us know via the Comments section below this blog.

The #MomentsThatDeliver from Hamburg

We’ve just had three great days with plenty of absorbing Dota 2 action and a final that could hardly have been more intense. Team Secret ultimately prevailed over Vici Gaming in extra time and celebrated a much-acclaimed victory at ESL One Hamburg 2018.

As with previous tournaments, Monday is when we review the highlights from the last few days – the #MomentsThatDeliver. Enjoy watching our video:

Sunday

Team Secret wins ESL One Hamburg 2018

The final match of ESL One Hamburg 2018 set Dota 2 fans’ pulses racing and had everyone on tenterhooks right through to the end. In an extremely entertaining contest between Team Secret and Vici Gaming, the “secret favorites” ultimately prevailed.

Team Secret got off to a blistering start, taking an immediate 1:0 lead. Vici Gaming then really got into their stride and looked to be cruising to victory at 3:1. But Team Secret struck back, taking the match into extra time. The outcome of the tournament hinged on the seventh and deciding game.

ESL One Hamburg 2018 may be history now, but it will be well worthwhile to check out our blog tomorrow. In it, we will be presenting the highlights of the event, plus you can look forward to another appearance by SirActionSlacks and the DHL EffiBOT. 

Until then, it’s Good Night from Hamburg! 

Grand finale between Vici Gaming and Team Secret gets underway

It’s all or nothing at ESL Hamburg now. After a spectacular pre-show, with EDM musician TheFatRat stoking up the atmosphere in the Barclaycard Arena, the two teams are about to go head to head. 

Pre-event favorites Virtus.pro had to settle for third place – a respectable result all the same.

The final is Best of Five, i.e. the trophy goes to the first team to win three rounds. So it might turn out to be quite a long match. Here we go! 

SirActionSlacks and EffiBOT are game changers

The Dynamic Duo are back! SirActionSlacks and EffiBOT have made the impossible possible and turned reality into a game.

A new Dota 2 hero is providing serious competition for the many other seasoned warriors. See for yourself:

The DHL EffiBOT strives to deliver its valuable cargo on time to the recipient, defying the wind and weather, as well as all the perils that the Dota 2 world has to throw at it.

It copes remarkably well. The robot courier is establishing itself as an absolute fan favorite. #momentsthatdeliver

Final-Day: Timetable for Sunday

Who will win the final? That's what everyone is wondering this Sunday. The weather is good, the hall is well prepared, and the fans are once again expected to turn out in their thousands.

Today, it's all about this cup, the glittering trophy!

Yesterday, paiN Gaming surprisingly came unstuck and had to go into the Lower Bracket. The out-and-out favorites, Virus.pro, lost the first game but still booked their ticket for the mini-final against Team Secret.  

At stake are 125,000 US dollars in prize money. In the final at 16:00 CET, Vici Gaming will take on the winners of the first game.  

Saturday

An action-packed day

What a day! Saturday at the Barclaycard Arena was something else, with plenty of exciting matches, crazy Cosplay action and great moments.

Both teams in the final round, Virtus.pro and Vici Gaming ,had to contest two tough matches on the way.

The spectators in the packed arena thought it was mega and it was quite late in the evening before this exciting day finally came to its successful conclusion.

The grand finale is scheduled for tomorrow at 4.00 pm. We’re looking forward to the action and will, of course, be here for you at the Arena tomorrow. 

Cosplay-Contest

Cosplay has always been an important part of the Dota 2 community. At each event, talented and passionate artists dress up in their latest extravagant creations to parade them in public.

This year was no exception and the fans were dazzled by what they saw: crazy, colorful and of course extraordinary. First place went to rehabGnaked. Congratulations!

A delighted BoxStackerPro winner

DHL’s BoxStacker Pro on their stand in the partner area just next to the arena is proving to be the main attraction once again this year.

SirActionSlacks in person announced the name of the winner to bring the day to a close. The stacking pro goes by the really cool nickname of Sacko and managed to rack up an amazing 8,360 points.

No one else in the competition was able to get near Sacko’s fabulous score, so he won a voucher for the ESL shop, and of course, gets to pick the items he fancies.

Backstage impressions from Hamburg

We promised to bring you exclusive backstage impressions, and here we are. 

The doors of ESL One in Hamburg opened some time ago, and the first game is underway. The two teams made their entry to a loud fanfare, a laser show and massive applause from the fans.

When you see the set on stage, it’s clear that a huge logistics operation and a lot of organization has gone into the show, thanks in no small measure to the efforts of DHL. Every player requires a seat, a computer and (not forgetting) a mouse pad. Absolutely everything has been taken care of. 

Among the photos here are views of the press conference room, which would normally be off limits, but they made an exception for us.

Directly behind the stage are the referees who make sure that each game is played according to the rules and that no cheating has taken place. In the hall itself, the fans get to see a perfectly coordinated live show on the big screens. The producers are working in the backstage area, cutting between scenes in real time, which is obviously an important and stressful job. The producers have to anticipate action from the game to switch between the monitors of the players, so that the audience miss nothing.

SirActionSlacks is omnipresent. Every now and again, he conducts interviews in the Players’ Lounge. As you can see, there is a lot of team work going on in the background to create the perfect live experience for the fans.

Welcome to Day 2 of the playoffs!

Day 2 with the playoffs will get underway in a few moments. The semi-finals are on today’s agenda and there’s also an exciting Cosplay contest to look forward to.

Virtus.pro and Vici Gaming will go head-to-head in the upper bracket finale followed by Team Aster versus paiNGaming. Today should be really thrilling, as the two top favorites will have to pull out all the stops!

The Cosplay contest, which we know you really want to see, is at 7:15 pm, so don’t miss it!

There will also be a chance to meet your favorites and collect autographs. Information about times is here:

Hamburg is ready for the second day of the playoffs, and everything in the arena has been prepared for the crowds of fans expected. Let the games begin!

Friday

#MomentsThatDeliver from Hamburg

What a spectacular Day 1 at the Barclaycard Arena! We now know what the semi-final pairings for the ESL One Event in Hamburg will be. After three exciting matches, Virtus.pro and Vici Gaming go up against each other in the Upper Bracket Final. Meanwhile, Team Aster will be taking on paiNGaming in the Lower Bracket. The top favorites have so far revealed absolutely no vulnerabilities, so it will be fascinating to see which of them progress to the grand finale on Sunday. 

There will also be an exciting cosplay contest tomorrow. At 19:15 CEST, the contestants will be dressing up and trying to surprise the audience with the extravagance of their outfits. You can watch today’s #MomentsThatDeliver again in this video:

Come and visit us at the DHL booth!

As usual, DHL is represented in Hamburg with its own booth, which has various hands-on activities for visitors. 

For example, our DHL BoxStacker Pro – a very special attraction that you may already be familiar with from previous ESL One events.

No matter whether young or old, everyone is welcome to play our VR game. 

How does it work? It’s quite simple: the player puts on a pair of VR glasses and then uses two controllers to try and sort as many packages as possible. At the beginning of the game, everything goes at a reasonably slow pace, but after the first thirty seconds at the latest, we can guarantee that you will be really sweating.

And of course, at the end of an exciting game, you get a reward! The eager DHL robot Sawyer personally presents you with a pair of yellow-framed DHL sunglasses.

In case you haven't heard of the DHL robot Sawyer before, it is used in the diverse world of DHL. By swapping attachments, the operator can make it perform a range of different tasks.

Discover the new Dota-2 sorting facility in Hamburg

SirActionSlacks is back and is onto something big! For the last six months, the former Dota 2 Pro has been the sole operative in a top-secret Dota 2 sorting facility in Hamburg.

Watch our video to see what goes on there and who leaps into action as SirActionSlacks’ assistant:

Calm before the storm

The Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg is still quiet at the moment but will soon be full of fans and e-gamers.

The first match of the day is at 12:00 noon. The next game should be at 3:50 pm unless teams decide to have an extra round per map.

Today’s last game is scheduled for 7:40 pm, after which teams will head off for a good night’s sleep in order to be totally refreshed for tomorrow.

Welcome from Hamburg!

Today’s the day when things finally get underway with several rounds in the contest to be decided. The program will kick off with the pre-show at 11:25 am to get fans warmed up.

The best-of-three matches will follow at 12:00 noon, and teams will need two wins to progress further in the competition.

Candy store for eSports fans

Apart from the gaming action, there will again be plenty of other things happening in the arena. eSports fans should be sure to visit the official DHL partner stand. SirActionSlacks will be round and about with DHL’s EffiBOT, handing out presents to fans. There’s also our exciting DHL BoxStacker Pro game to try. Everyone should have a go at this to see who can get the top score in our innovative virtual reality game.

Thursday

It all starts tomorrow

One more sleep until the playoffs begin. The Barclaycard Arena has been made ready and now awaits the arrival of the fans. Doors open at 9.30am.

The group stage has now been played out, and the twelve teams in the two qualifying groups have fought hard to get through to the next round.

We will, of course, be live at the arena for you tomorrow, where we will be covering all the action.

Hamburg becomes a shrine to Dota 2 

Hamburg is again the center of the Dota 2 Community this year, and several top teams are fighting for the title.

One surprise qualifier was Powerhouse Alliance, a Swedish team who recruited German pro qojqva to their line-up in June 2018.

And it’s a similar picture with Ninja, a mainly Swedish outfit with German professional Fata in the squad. 

The arena becomes a place of pilgrimage for gamers 

Thousands of fans are expected to pack the arena. Music for the occasion is being provided by EDM musician TheFatRat (real name, Christian Friedrich Johannes Büttner) who delivered the most recent Dota 2 music packs for the community. 

Play the future: Win a DHL #SurpriseBox! 

For the event in Hamburg, we have once again put together a colorful #SurpriseBox for you, one that will set the pulse of every true gamer racing.

What is the DHL #SurpriseBox? Well, obviously we can’t reveal that, but because DHL stands for innovation, eSports fans can rest assured that the box has something to offer in this regard.

How to play: To win the coveted box, we ask you to give us nothing less than full commitment. What does that mean? Choose from these three innovations – Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Robotics – and cast your vote. 

You can find all other relevant details about the competition here: https://www.dhl-in-motion.com/en/esports/voting/

Good luck!

Review: Dota 2 in 2018

Dota 2 is back! After the major Counter-Strike tournaments in Cologne and New York, Dota 2 has fought its way back onto the schedule. For the second time, the Hanseatic city of Hamburg will be hosting the event. Before the tournament found a new home in Hamburg, it was staged in Frankfurt.

Virtuos.pro were the delighted and deserving winners in Birmingham where more than 10,000 fans gathered in the arena to watch the action live. At ESL One Hamburg 2018, Virtuos.pro must once again be considered the top contenders.

#MomentsThatDeliver

#MomentsThatDeliver sums up the spirit of the tournament, and emotional moments are best conveyed via the medium of moving images, so take a look at this video:

SirActionSlacks compered the event with frenetic interviews. Always by his side was EffiBOT, almost like father and son.

The Dota 2 community was thrilled, and I don’t think I’m giving too much away when I say that it’s not the last you have seen of this particular double act.

The dream team will be back in Hamburg, bringing you fascinating backstage insights, which will of course appear exclusively in this blog.

Hamburg, WE’RE BACK! ESL One Hamburg 2018

For the second time in a row, Hamburg is hosting ESL One and is ready to welcome players and fans for a weekend full of Dota 2 action.

 From the 26th to the 28th of October, Barclaycard Arena will be the center of the Dota World, becoming a real hot spot for gamers and the 12 teams from all over the world battling it out for the 300,000 euros prize pot.

 Friday will mark the start of the action with the quarter-finals followed by the semis on Saturday and Sunday’s grand finale. The format will be slightly different this time. There will be a top division, in which the two best teams from the group will battle it out and a lower section, made up of the teams, who finished third and fourth in the group stages.

 This change means that each team will have ten games in all before the playoffs and eight teams will get the amazing chance to show off their game play and delight fans in this huge arena.

 As Official Logistics Partner, DHL is responsible for ensuring that all the equipment needed arrives safe and sound at the venue and on time. The company takes care of absolutely everything from setup to dealing with customs regulations, and everything is carefully considered and dealt with.

And we too have also got plenty of real special things for you to enliven this second meeting in Hamburg! In our blog, we will update you regularly on the current state of play in the tournament while filling in the background for you with DHL Momentsthatdeliver and PlayersMoments highlights. We will bring you the Cosplay Contest on Saturday which we know you’re all dying to hear about, plus other exciting background stories and much, much more.