![]() ![]() Sam Rodriguez said they will keep practicing and aim to win regional competitions with the goal of getting invited to higher-profile tournaments. He’s on a team with his cousins, Sam Rodriguez, 22, and Andrew Beck, 15, who traveled with him to Aspen. Rodriguez estimated he’s played “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” for more than 400 hours. That becomes clear in a quarterfinal match when the well-coordinated Ninjas in Pyjamas team from Sweden crush Kabum from Brazil, 16-3. Individual skills are important, but winners are coordinated as a team. The pros also impress him with their ability to coordinate their team play, he said. He is particularly impressed by the angles some of the players take to shoot a foe. The players in the competition are so far above his level that he enjoys watching the masters, he said. They didn’t hesitate to dish out the $100 to buy a ticket to watch three days of gaming. Rodriguez, 28, and two cousins traveled from Riverside, California, specifically to watch the Major League Gaming. His skills are immense,” the announcer screams.Īudience member Ricardo Rodriguez gently shakes his head when Nitro or some other player pulls a good move. “Are you kidding, Nitro? This guy’s absolutely ridiculous. The TV announcer goes nuts when a player named Nitro mows down a couple of opponents. They play as many as 30 rounds of no more than a couple minutes each. The action goes fast and can be confusing for the uninitiated. Others prevail in a shootout when they spray the landscape with an automatic weapon. The on-screen warriors stalk each other, hugging walls and hiding behind obstacles, waiting for an opportune shot. Many of them could mix with the crowd and athletes that the outdoor sports attract at Winter X Games.Īs the players stare at their computer screens in their separate, soundproof booths, the spectator TV screens rapidly flip back and forth to display different players’ perspectives. All the players are young men, ranging in age from late teens to mid-20s. On stage, Team Liquid, of North America, struggled against Team LDLC, of Sweden. She acknowledged that her team won’t get rich pursuing their passion, but that’s not why they do it. “The Swedish girls, for us, are arch-enemies,” Harvey said. While there is camaraderie in gaming, there’s also competition. Harvey estimated they spend 40 hours per week gaming roughly 25 hours per week as a team and 15 hours individually. Participants and spectators mingle in the tent.Īlthough Harvey and her colleagues are spread across the country, they regularly get together online to engage in competition. Members of several of the men’s teams regularly greet Harvey and her colleagues during breaks between matches. They are one of the few all-female teams. Gaming is very much male-dominated, she said. Harvey and her four friends compete in gaming events as the UBINITED team. “You learn from watching all the time,” Harvey said. They wanted to check out the eight teams at the X Games to pick up some pointers. They came from across the country, from Maine to Los Angeles and Dallas to Denver. The women are gamers themselves and are competing next weekend in a tournament in Denver. An estimated 71 million people participated in or watched tournaments around the world. Major League Gaming said 2014 was a breakout year for the eSport. Two five-member teams were perched in soundproof booths, transfixed on their screens and oblivious to the small crowd watching in the audience and throngs watching on MLG.tv, the Major League Gaming network. While thousands of fans slowly gathered at the base of Buttermilk for the men’s ski slopestyle finals in the morning and the women’s event in early afternoon, about 125 spectators gathered in the dark of a gaming tent to witness “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.” Eight teams - three from North America, four from Europe and one from Brazil - were invited to wage war for a $50,000 purse. Crowds cheered feats of athleticism and groaned when their favorite players missed golden opportunities to crush a foe. There was mayhem at a first-year Winter X Games event Saturday. ![]() This will year's competition will be in Xbox's Halo 5:Guardians. Eight teams competed in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. ![]() Spectators watched one of two large screens of action last year during the inaugural esport competition at the Winter X Games in Aspen. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |