Mountain Dew Gamers Arena marks a new era for Esports in Pakistan

The finale for Esports Championship Dew Gamers Arena was held in International Expo Center, Johar Town, Lahore on 9th December. The event, made possible by Mountain Dew and ESL, marked a new chapter for Esports in Pakistan as it was the first event its kind which promoted and celebrated the rising gaming culture in Pakistan.
Dew Gamers Arena is the first event in Pakistan which complied with all the international standards of an Esports tournament. More than 800 teams battled it out in city qualifiers to reach semi-finals, out of which two teams each of CS GO and DOTA 2 were aiming to win 1 million Rupees cash prize at the finale held in Expo Center Lahore on Sunday.
Mountain Dew and ESL went big for the finale, with a huge hall dedicated to showcasing an impressive collection of gaming rigs and tech. With dedicated booths of both VR and traditional gaming equipment for attendees to test out their own skill, and also win some cool prizes while they were at it, the whole atmosphere was buzzing with excitement and enthusiasm.

The event, which ran from 2 in the noon to almost midnight, was filled with appearances from prominent celebrities like Feroz Khan, Iqra Aziz, Uzair Jawal, Mahenur Haider, Mikaal Zulfiqar, and Cybil Chaudhry. They took part in various activities and showed their enthusiasm for gaming.
The event began with the finale of DOTA 2, which was held between Prometheus Gaming and Portal Esports, with Portal Esports taking the prize home with a commanding win. Portal Esports won both of the rounds without giving any breathing space to their opponents.

The second finale was between Markhor and Portal Esports for the CS GO championship. Portal Esports took a commanding lead in this finale too, beating Markhor after only 25 rounds. The skill and pre-game planning by Esports were clearly visible when they braced through a late resurgence by Markhor to finish the game with an emphatic win.
The participants thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the event with a musical appearance by the band Xarb from Pepsi Battle of the Bands. Their rendition of Dama Dum Mast Qalandar was hugely popular with the crowd.

The event concluded with a mesmerizing performance by Strings, which left the crowd enthralled by the amazing on-stage recreation of their immensely popular songs.

Dew Gamers Arena shows that there is a huge potential for Esports in Pakistan and it is currently untapped due to lack of professional events held at such a large scale. This event will prove to be a stepping stone towards mainstreaming and popularizing Esports competitions in Pakistan.