At the Red Bull LAN...

Now That's a LAN

If we disregard, for a moment - the Formula 1 next to Tyler, the catering, the massage therapists in the screening room - this event encapsulated the roots of esports: a few nerds under one roof, enjoying the games and the company of friends. The venue is a tad bigger, but the air there was not unlike those grade-school lan parties I used to frequent. Sure, these are all the top professionals and gaming pays their bills, but when it gets down to it, they're just here for the love of the game.
Training for StarCraft is serious business

Despite attending as White-Ra's guest, my only interaction with Mr Special Tactic was a gift from Europe and a quick trip to the training table. Unlike what many assumed in the TL thread, the Pros did took every advantage of the training opportunity from 1 till 11. Besides dinner and snacks, the Pros spent almost all their time either at their training station or crowded around another's practice. Despite being surrounded by pros, other guests and I rarely had a chance to chat with them. That's a good thing.
Halo Pros are different folks

Photo: Red Bull

Even for an uninitiated like me, I could tell that the Halo pros were playing with the same intensity as if it was the MLG finals. On the other hand, the StarCraft pros were there to learn. They crowd around Bomber to watch how his games unfold; qxc would tell Minigun to cheese him left, right, and center so his macro game can be tested properly; White-Ra would refuse to play on stream unless Day9 gives him a specific match-up. I am not too sure which method is better or worse, for the pros and for the audience, but it certainly points to differences in mentality behind these two eSports.

Oh, another cultural difference - I was there for most of Sunday, but I never seen a StarCraft Pro that utilized the massage table, yet the Halo Pros would line up for "the Russian one." Go figures~
Working for Red Bull is awesome

Every employee I met there reiterated this, and I don't think it's forced. While it was Sunday, quite a few employees were lounging around the offices, and they weren't there to work. If my office resembles a skate park, or my cubicle sits next to a Formula 1, or I can walk a few steps and watch White-Ra play, I'd hang around too. Lucky bastards.
Red Bull is serious about eSports

Sam, Red Bull's gaming guy, is high Masters and talks about StarCraft with the same intensity and enthusiasm as any TeamLiquid veteran. Red Bull didn't just haphazardly added StarCraft to their boot camp line-up - they wanted to get involved and planned for a long time. Probably the best news of all, Red Bull will get more involved in StarCraft very soon. Sam was quite excited, but all he was willing to say was,
Big things are coming!

It was fun and I look forward to what Sam has planned for us.

Real Photography from Red Bull
+ Show Spoiler [Pictures] +

Socke

White-Ra

Pokebunny

Tyler

SLush

Destiny

Day9 lecturing qxc

Last edit: 2011-10-04 15:11:14

Thank God and gunrun.

decafchicken United States. October 04 2011 14:49. Posts 15176

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Unreal awesome. Thanks for the pics/blog.

how reasonable is it to eat off wood instead of your tummy?

Skuller United States. October 04 2011 14:50. Posts 197

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Just count the number of TL members there. Redbull + Team liquid mayyyybe?

Sandro October 04 2011 14:52. Posts 897

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Redbull is gonna sponsor their own team I bet ^^

Emporio United States. October 04 2011 14:57. Posts 2663

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Just wondering, are you just a really active fan or are you involved wit something somewhere? I keep seeing all your picture blogs of like everything and it's really impressive. Keep up the good work regardless!

How does it feel knowing you wasted another 3 seconds of your life reading this again?

LuckyFool United States. October 04 2011 15:01. Posts 8290

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On October 04 2011 14:46 Primadog wrote:
Now hangover from energy drink binges had mostly passed, here are some thoughts from one of the lucky fools that attend Red Bull LAN.

I see what you did there; ^_^

great pics and writeup, looked like a pretty sweet event.

@LuckyFool88

Primadog United States. October 04 2011 15:05. Posts 4395

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On October 04 2011 14:57 Emporio wrote:
Just wondering, are you just a really active fan or are you involved wit something somewhere? I keep seeing all your picture blogs of like everything and it's really impressive. Keep up the good work regardless!

Ultimately, I am just a active / lucky fan. A few months back I made it into the writing staff for TL, before that NASL sign me up as a chat mod, and more recently I got involved in BarCraft quite heavily.

That's one really nice thing about our community - if you want to help and put in the time, the community appreciate and reward you for it.

Last edit: 2011-10-04 15:06:31

Thank God and gunrun.

Synwave United States. October 04 2011 15:07. Posts 2738

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Sweet pics and thanks for the insight.

♞Nerdrage is the cause of global warming♞

Dingobloo Australia. October 04 2011 15:12. Posts 1837

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On October 04 2011 14:50 Skuller wrote:
Just count the number of TL members there. Redbull + Team liquid mayyyybe?

Most likely an MLG + Redbull thing, which puts the jersey redesign and other happenings like SOTG stuff in a different light. If Redbull was looking to be a headline MLG sponsor but had competing brands like Monster that sponsors EG.

But that's neither here nor there, I thought the event was a really great watch and totally unique for an eSports event and Day9 is definitely the guy to host it with his great analysis.

Hoping Tyler really improved his endurance with white-ra cracking the whip if only selfishly so his streaming sessions will last a bit longer, Great pics as well.

Last edit: 2011-10-04 15:15:49

fuzzayy United States. October 04 2011 15:25. Posts 99

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Wow those were great pictures :D
hope redbull will really get involved with the sc2 scene

Torte de Lini Canada. October 04 2011 15:36. Posts 27075

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Sick, sick sick pictures. My God, I hear nothing but good things working at Red Bull or Google.

https://twitter.com/#!/TorteDeLini (@TorteDeLini)

integrity United States. October 04 2011 15:37. Posts 1008

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destiny you look very handsome when your dressed up

bkrow Australia. October 04 2011 15:50. Posts 8386

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Awesome blog man - some sick pics! Red bull looks pretty baller

i think i spotted a Pokebunny!

Great pics!

In The Rear With The Gear .. *giggle* /////////// cobra-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!!!!

Yamulo United States. October 04 2011 15:52. Posts 1871

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Nice, sounded fing awesome. Clarification, I know it was fing awesome because I watched almost every minute of it. Loved it and I hope to see more. Sweet pics btw ^^!

~~~Liquid Fighting~~~

Dubzex United States. October 04 2011 15:58. Posts 3387

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Lol@ destiny getting all dressed up. He looks so goofy with everyone else wearing casual clothing/team uniforms. Nice pictures btw.

Juliette United States. October 04 2011 16:00. Posts 4944

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fuck yeah, pro halo and pro sc2 together :D

http://mycliquehardmycupcold.tumblr.com/

AnxiousHippo Australia. October 04 2011 16:43. Posts 1445

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Woah that looks awesome. Never seen PokeBunny or Destiny before, they weren't quite what I expected.

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