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Melbourne is set to host a major live esports event across some of the city's biggest sporting arenas, as the Victorian government pushes to solidify the state's place as Australia's home of video games.
The Melbourne Esports Open will take place in September, during a bye week ahead of the AFL finals. Taking place at Melbourne & Olympic Park, the weekend-long event is being produced in conjunction with TEG Live and international esports juggernaut ESL. The Andrews government says the esports event will be the biggest in the country, attracting talent and fans from around the world. It expects 10,000 people to attend each day.
Esports fans are set to fill Melbourne's stadiums in September, although the games they'll be watching are yet to be announced.
Photo: AP"The Melbourne Esports Open is a massive scalp for Victoria, tapping into one of the world’s most popular sectors of the sports and entertainment industry," said Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren in a release announcing the event.
"We’re turning Melbourne Park into every gamers dream; giant screens, the best talent and latest technology."
Currently Australia's biggest annual esports event is IEM Sydney, which fills Qudos Bank Arena and has at its centre a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament with a $310,000 prize pool. Next month Sydney will host its first international esports tournament as League of Legends teams from Southeast Asia and Japan visit the city to take on Australia’s best in the second instalment of Rift Rivals.