MEO2019-SHOWGUIDE

Welcome

The Melbourne Esports Open debuted last year as the biggest celebration of competitive gaming that this country has ever seen. With some of the best esports professionals in the country living in Melbourne, and the city’s history as Australia’s home of sport, there was no better location for us to debut Australasia’s biggest festival of esports. The crew at ESL are all passionate gamers at heart, so working on an event like the Melbourne Esports Open is a labour of love. Years ago, the thought of an esports event taking over Melbourne & Olympic Parks for two days was not just unheard of, but borderline ridiculous. Fast forward to today, and we’re able to bring together tens of thousands of esports fans to celebrate all things competitive video gaming. Whether you’re a PC gamer, prefer couch-coop or like to play on the move – with over 15 open tournaments, the Melbourne Esports Open will have something for you this year. I’ll be in the crowd cheering for our local representatives over the course of the weekend, and encourage every esports fan in Australia to attend and show their support!

TEG Live is proud to present the return of the Melbourne Esports Open. Last year’s inaugural showing connected 12,000 dedicated esports fans to the event, and we can’t wait to see the crowds back at Melbourne & Olympic Parks in 2019. This year’s event will once again be headlined by the League of Legends OPL Final (Riot Games) and the Overwatch Contenders Australia Finals (Blizzard Entertainment) in Rod Laver Arena. Following the success of the inaugural Melbourne Esports Open in 2018, the 2019 event will expand to include activities across Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne Arena and Grand Slam Oval, including an expanded JB Hi-Fi Game On Zone with an unprecedented range of ‘first to play’ in Australia game titles. In an Australian first, a North American based Overwatch League (OWL) team, Washington Justice, will be the first OWL team to play in an international event, competing at this year’s Melbourne Esports Open in a showmatch against the winning team of Overwatch Contenders Australia Season 2. With more of the best esports titles joining the event this year, there’s something for every gamer. In 2019, the event is bigger and better and we’re excited for you to check it out. TEG Live would like to thank the Victorian Government along with its tourism and major events agency, Visit Victoria, for their support, along with event partners JB Hi-Fi and Fairfax Events & Entertainment.

Nick Vanzetti SVP, Managing Director ESL Asia-Pacific Japan

Tim McGregor Managing Director TEG Live

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