Team Dignitas Smite in the City of Goodwill - PAX Prime 2013 recap

This will be my first Team Dignitas blog. I will go over my personal and our team's experience during PAX Prime as well as a small history of how we came about to get where we are now.

 

The build up and preparation

Since the $10k Smite Invitational at PAX East, the players in Team Dignitas were not originally in the same team. Everyone knew there would be another tournament of similar or larger proportion for PAX Prime but no one knew the details until much later (which seems to be a general theme when it comes to Hi-Rez Studios announcing events).

After the weeks and months go by of PAX East, members shuffle from team to team until finally we have our set core cohesive unit that we have today. Along the way there was laughter, there were tears and there was drama. There were many talented players that came and went as we tried to find that right perfect synergy to work as one entity. Two weeks prior to the RTX 2013 showcase match vs. COG (formerly known as SNIPE back then), we finally found our core group. Everyone brings their own uniqueness to the team that fits in all the right places.

Leading up to PAX Prime, about two or three weeks before, we decided we would do secret scrims and not stream them against a team that would not participate at the event, Last Resort. The practices were really great as this team is filled with very talented players and they beat us in practices on numerous occasions as we try out many new things. It’s a shame that this team formed rather late in the Smite community and didn’t get invited by Hi-Rez, or even a chance to qualify for this event.

Shaking hands and kissing babies

It’s an amazing experience getting a chance to meet so many new people. From the fans, cosplayers, the other teams, youtube/eSports people, HiRez, Team Dignitas management and others, there are just so many people to meet in the span of one event. So many people that I cannot remember the names of more than half of the people I met. I remember a lot of faces, but not names unfortunately. Definitely a trait I wish to improve on.

The most memorable interaction for me during the whole weekend wasn’t meeting Odee, our League team, MystikGunn (who beat me and Zapman in R.P.S), Craig Levine, DJWheat, SirScoots or any other prominent eSports players/figures, but rather someone far more interesting. I got a chance to meet the father of one of the casters of the World of Tanks tournament during the Twitch party. After speaking with this man for almost half an hour and seeing how proud he was of his son, it made me wish my parents were as supportive of me and my craft as this man was to his son.

Confidence vs. Cockiness

Being on such a prestigious organization as Team Dignitas comes with a lot of spoken and unspoken responsibilities and obligations from us as players. We must uphold the utmost professional game play, courtesy and standards as we don’t just represent ourselves, but a bigger brand. As soon as the jerseys and/or hoodies are on, a new person manifests and it’s time to chew bubble gum and kick ass and we’re all out of bubble gum.

Coming into the PAX Prime tournament, our series record was 27-2 with one of the series loss being due to a disconnect issue less than midway through the game. We felt extremely confident that we wouldn’t drop a single game during Prime based on our previous results and I made sure to constantly remind all of us (almost to the point of drilling it into our brains or hypnosis) that we wouldn’t.

However, that doesn’t mean we were cocky or that we didn’t prepare for the teams in front of us. We all did our required homework to study and understand the other players and team’s tendencies to look for some opening to exploit. All the teams have very talented players and if anyone takes them lightly then they will capitalize on it and make you pay.

Work hard, Play hard

The saying “work hard, play hard” is funny to me because when it comes to eSports, working is playing and playing is working. It’s as if I’m in a never ending state of both playing and working and I love it. The only tiny downside is the travel back and forth to and from the events but even then it’s worth it and I would walk 500 miles.

After each day ended, Hi-Rez took us and the other teams out to fancy restaurants. It’s always refreshing to have something other than ramen once in a while. If anyone hasn’t had the privilege of enjoying the company of Erez (CEO of Hi-Rez), a big chunk is missing in one’s life. I can honestly say that if I die today, my life is complete after the entertainment he graced us with after only half a glass of wine.

The night before our grand finals was the Twitch party where the who’s who of our industry comes out to just relax and have a good time. I usually dislike the night life and bars because of the general stereotypical “douchebags” or “skanks” roaming about. However, the Twitch party had different kinds of people, my kind of people, nerds. Talking about games, streaming, competitiveness, tournaments, eSports, etc. was my kind of forte. After the night ended and I puked in my hotel room toilet cuddling with it like a teddy bear, I was ready for the grand finale the next day.

Despite all the fun I had during the nights of PAX Prime, nothing can compare to when we won the very last game and the dust had settled. As the game ended and I took off my headset getting ready to say good game to Denial NA, a sudden rush of exhilaration overcame me as I heard all the clapping and cheering all around us. This feeling was the ultimate goal that we strived very hard for and it was the greatest feeling of my life.

Now that I’m finally nestled back home, it’s time to go back to the grind. My tea, chess and hookah awaits me.