Melbourne’s biggest esports event is happening this weekend at Melbourne Park (Rod Laver, Margaret Court Arena and the general precinct). You would be easily excused for not having recognised just how big this is going to be, as the organisers have constantly worked to keep adding events as the weeks have gone on.
Tickets are still available, starting at $24 for a ground pass, but here are some of the reasons that you should be heading down to witness history this weekend.
THE SCHEDULE IS JAM PACKED
Seriously, looking at the schedule, I can’t believe just how much is happening across Melbourne Park this weekend. If you want to play games, you can check out several unreleased games at the JB HiFI Game On Zone. Overwatch fans can check out the Contenders Semifinals at Rod Laver, there’s a bunch of Fortnite related activities happening and more casual tournaments such as the NBA 2k18 free-play tournaments.
JB HI-FI’S GAME ZONE HAS A BUNCH OF UNRELEASED GAMES
Yep, you can literally play a bunch of unreleased games from 9:00am-5:00pm on both days. It’s literally the closest we’ll get to an E3 or Gamescom (outside of PAX which is happening later in the year).
These include:
- Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
- Dragonball FighterZ (Switch)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man
- Ori and the Will Of The Wisps
- Soul Calibur VI
- Spyro Reignited Trilogy
- Starlink: Battle For Atlas
- Team Sonic racing
- Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
IT WILL BE FORTNITE GALORE
It’s only natural that any gaming event will have Fortnite present, but the Melbourne Esports Open is ensuring that Fortnite fans won’t leave disappointed.
You’ll be able to find a dedicated Fortnite Stage in Margaret Court Arena on both Saturday and Sunday. There will also be a “Fortnite Free-Play Field” in the JB Hi-FI Game On Zone, just in case you can’t live without playing Fortnite for a few hours.
If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a dance competition happening in Margaret Court Arena where you’ll be able to win prizes.
OVERWATCH FANS ARE IN FOR A TREAT
The Overwatch Contenders Semi Finals will be taking place in Rod Laver on Saturday. This is where the top four Australian teams (Sydney Drop Bears, Kanga Esports, ORDER, Dark Sided) will be fighting for a prize pool of $67,000. It’s your best chance to see the highest quality Overwatch matches in Australia, so definitely show your support.
THE RACING SECTION SOUNDS RAD
Supercars has announced that they’ll be revealing the second season of the Boost Mobile Supercars ESeries. In addition, some of the best Supercar drivers in Australia will be taking racing in Forza Motorsport, which should definitely be a good sight to see.
