According to Nick Vanzetti, senior vice president of ESL Asia-Pacific Japan, there’s a lot riding on winning – more than the traditional money some other tournaments throw around.

“There's very limited prizes, but they certainly don't want to lose,” Vanzetti says. “Last year the captain of the losing team got pie bombed; he got doused in cream pies in front of the audience of five thousand people. So, very embarrassing. Pride is on the line.”

For former professional player and current commentator Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill, the desire to play comes not just from winning, but national pride.

“I think that The Caches rallies the Australian crowd,” Burchill says. "For me it's a dream to play in front of the packed-out arena with my ex-teamates and hopefully players who are the future of Australian Counter-Strike. Makes me extremely proud to be an Aussie.”

There is some debate within the esports community about whether esports should be trying to be more a part of the wider sports world, and participate in things like the Olympics. That’s one of the reasons why it’s interesting to see a competition like The Caches mimic a rivalry from traditional sports.

For Vanzetti, though, The Caches is a no-brainer. “I think there's a lot that esports can learn from traditional sports,” he says. “Yes, we don't always need to be bundled in the same package but there's a lot of great things that sports have been doing over the last two hundred years that are easy for us to adopt and then really craft in our own way for esports.”

As serious as they are, The Caches are just one of the many side events at IEM, peripheral to the main CS:GO competition that boasts a $US250,000 prize pool.

Vanzetti thinks Aussie Team Renegades are in with a shot “I think we're all rooting again for the Renegades, to not only make the arena but I'm going to predict that they're going to pull off some wild upset and an Australian team, either Renegades or Greyhounds, might make the semi-finals,” he says. “That might be a bit wild but I think that there'll be a lot of upsets in the tournament”

Burchill is a little less optimistic about his former team’s chances and tips Australis from Denmark to win, if they make the trip, or Brazil’s MIBR or America’s FaZe Clan in their absence.

Tickets to watch IEM Sydney in person at Qudos Bank Arena are on sale now, starting at $45 for single day and going up to $1299 for Global Elite premium weekend passes.