ACL Melbourne: together in Electric Dreams

Two dozen lings stream across the creep, surrounding the small squad of hapless marines; the Terran infantry quickly fall victim to the swarm. The Zerg player takes a moment to scratch his nose – a brief moment of respite in an otherwise intense game.

Nick Vanzetti opens the event.

ACL Melbourne has just wrapped up at LaTrobe University, Bundoora – despite the fact that this is the 14^th ACL event, starting in 2009, it is my first. Upon finding the building, the tournament space opened before me like Eldorado, replete with plenty of gold, platinum and diamonds (a few masters and grandmasters as well). This was ACL’s biggest event thus far, and the first to cater for League Of Legends, as well as Starcraft and Call Of Duty. “We want to be as big as MLG or ESL.” Nick Vanzetti is the director of ACL, and has put a lot of his own money into ensuring its success; far from being a silent investor however, any attendee to his events will see him manning desks, troubleshooting issues and coordinating volunteers - individuals he is very thankful for, “We are one-hundred per cent reliant on volunteers… we have 30-40, but it’s still not enough.” This struck me as a theme throughout my time at ACL; although dogged by technical issues, short bump-in times and unforgiving timetables, the ACL crew (assisted in no small part by the players themselves) put on a great show; but I can’t help but wonder how much bigger it could have been with just a few more hands to help lighten the load. In the meantime, Vanzetti continues to strive toward his vision, “Our number one goal is to be the most competitive event; to ensure that the best and fairest wins every time.”

Starcraft players moving through
the open bracket

The players seemed to have a lot of praise for the event as well; when asked of its importance, Australian pro-gamer and ACL attendee Andrew “Moonglade” Pender said, “[They’re] keeping eSports alive in Australia… it’s an amazing event, especially this one – the internet [connection] is phenomenal.” Sydney-based Terran Ethan "iaguz" Zugai, who ended taking out the final match, also had nothing but praise for the tournament “I’ve been to every ACL; they’re really good.”

The next ACL event is the national finals, to be held in Sydney in late September/early October. If you’ve not been to a live eSports event, I can now sincerely endorse them – I’ve loved every moment I’ve streamed from overseas events, but the tangible intimacy of being with the players as they reach the highs and lows of their tournament destiny needs to be experienced in person. You also learn more about your local scene – Maynarde is a much more solid unit in the flesh than his casting camera gives him credit for; iaguz really lives up to his Gimli moniker; and Moonglade’s hair, well, all I can say is that the streams don’t do it justice. You also have the opportunity to chat with others who share your passion. If you’re really keen, why not volunteer to help with the next event?

iaguz embraces his defeated opponent,
Petraeus, after winning ACL Melbourne

If you can’t make it to the ACL finals, help to spread the word and support those who support it. Events like these can only subsist so long as sponsors remain interested, and sponsors listen to us; send Gamecom, ASUS, Frag Labs and Tt Esports  an email thanking them for their involvement; heck, if you’re looking, why not buy one of their products and let them know why! If eSports is to prosper in Australia, it can only do so as long as we help to sew fertile ground.