[SSfp_Saulo]

Hi, everybody.
I've just arrived from Dreamhack Winter 2014 in Jönköping and would like to share with you my experience, both the joy of being there as well as the planning needed to attend it if one is coming from abroad.

After going to Dreamhack Stockholm 2014, I definitely had to do it again in Winter for the finals. This one is a big lan party, and I mean it, there were at least 10000 PCs in there. People make the Elmia Center their house for a few days, they bring their computers, food, drinks and sleeping gear to not miss a minute of action.

Gamers of all ages and genders setup their parties and play everything imaginable, LoL, SC2, WoW, Diablo, Hearthstone, old games, beta games. A section of consoles is also there, even old ones.

Sponsors were also showing their wares in beautiful stands: Razer, CoolerMaster, Eizo, Thermaltake, MSI, ASUS, to name a few. Independent game makers were giving away alpha keys for people to try and test their games. Partners also had big stands there, Twitch, Azubu, others that I will not remember now.

There were the ongoing tournaments finals too, such as SC2, CS:GO and Hearthstone. I will come to SC2 in a minute, but I just want to point out the massive crowd of the CS enthusiasts. It was by a lot far the biggest crowd, there were so many people shouting that while you couldn't hear the casters during a SC2 match. Hearthstone had a captive audience, like SC2. In DH Stockholm SC2 was the main event, but in Winter it was the CS.

The production of the event was impecable, with more than 25000 visitors you might expect a very professional organization, and this is what you had. Food, drinks, official clothing, it was all there.

Talking about Starcraft 2, it was very well organized as usual, with enough space for everybody to watch the matches, large screen, clear sound (while the CS crowd wasn't screaming), great interaction and a lot of fun. When it comes to the players, as you might know some of the KeSPA guys decided to not go due to conflicts with their korean agenda. CJ Hero, Innovation and Soo were replaced by Polt, Patience and Bunny, who put up a good show. I was really anxious to meet Innovation, maybe next time. The casting crew was your usual Apollo, InControl, Artosis (he was casting Hearthstone in Stockholm), Moonglade and Nathanias. Smix on stage with the players.

I won't go into details about the matches to avoid spoiling the fun from those who didn't watch the live stream. There were good surprises, I must say. I don't know if the VODs are already available in youtube, but since I have a lot of content to put online soon (will share the channel when I upload them), please be aware that my videos might contain spoilers as well as my photographs.

Even not being a CS or Hearthstone enthusiast myself, it was more than worth the trouble to go to a city that is not very easy to reach from where I live just to watch Starcraft 2. Of course I enjoyed being in the gaming environment, meeting (strange) people, seeing other people having fun, the whole atmosphere was awesome and I don't regret a single bit. There are, however, a few things I could have done differently and this is what I want to share if some of you ever plan to go there, which I totally, absolutely and happily recommend. Yes, it will cost you some, you will be tired after the trip, but this is one of those crazy things we do at least once. You will have so much history to tell later.

Ok, on to what matters. It will start with your flying ticket, possibly your biggest expense if departing from Australia/NZ. Check in advance how much it costs from your city to Stockholm during the month of November, when DH Winter will happen (they disclose the dates like 2 months before the event). Then you will have many trains to Jönköping with one stop at Nässjö. Don't try to save money going to a city that is initially cheaper to then try to get to Jönköping, it will cost you more with trains, time and food.

I took an early flight from Bergen to Oslo and then a train to Jönköping, in the hope that I would be able to sleep. My problems started there, I didn't notice I would have to change trains 6 (SIX) times, around 1h trip each part, there was an 1:30 delay between Motala and Mjölby because a large cargo train was in the same track and coming in our direction, 1km away from Mjölby. We had to return to Motala, wait for the cargo train to pass, and then we continued. I arrived at Jönköping at 19:00 after starting the trip at 5:30, so I was too tired to go to Elmia and stayed at the hotel for day 27/11, losing the first matches.

The hotel I chose was Jönköping Konferens because Scandic Elmia (1 minute walk from Elmia Center) was fully booked. The Konferens is a very good hotel with large rooms (in fact you stay at houses), but it is far from everything (6/7km from Elmia) and the restaurant closes at 21:30. If you need anything after this time you are screwed. It is possible to go walking to a bus stop for cheaper transportation because you will want to avoid taxi as much as possible, it will cost you around SEK 50 for each kilometer (here in Norway it is even more expensive). Since it is winter, and winter in Scandinavia is cold, I didn't want to venture into looking for the right bus, blablabla, and had to stick to taxis. Find a hotel/hostel as close as possible to Elmia or not far from stuff so you can use public transportation.

If you don't have winter clothes and don't want to buy just for this trip, get some from a friend. Don't go there thinking that stacking summer clothes will equal winter clothing, it won't. If you are not used to cold, go prepared for -2 to 3 degrees Celsius and wind (makes things worse).

Average expenses you want to know: a meal at McDonalds will be between SEK 80 to 110, restaurants are always expensive (over SEK 150), a hotdog or pizza slice at Elmia ran for around SEK 40, kebabs too, the bus from Stockholm airport to the Central Station (where you take the trains) will be SEK 110 and takes around 1h to arrive (the express train costs more and takes like 20 minutes). If you have a bottle, don't bother buying water (will cost you like SEK 30) because you can just go to a tap and get cold drinkable water there.

The Starcraft 2 matches normally happen between 12:00 and 22:00, and the last day the finals starts at 22:00 and can go over midnight. Consider this if you are taking a taxi back to the hotel, EVERYBODY will be doing the same except those who sleep there. After the finals I could get a taxi only after 2:00, having to sleep and be at the train station at 10:00. And don't you even think of saving 1 night of hotel trying to go to the station and take a train to Stockholm, there won't be any until 6:00.

As you can see, if on a tight budget and coming from abroad it is better to share everything with some friends. Except for the flight/train tickets, expenses such as hotel and transportation can be shared and will save you a lot. Try to stay as close to the event as possible, avoid taxis and restaurants and you should be fine.

This is one great experience and if you feel like a hitchhiker, then by all means save and do it. Of course you will not go through this trouble just for 3 days of DH, you can actually stay a few more in Stockholm and visit the city, it is very large, beautiful, historical, great boat rides, and you can stay for example at Skanstulls hostel. I stayed there for DH Stockholm, got a room with bathroom and all was fine, they also have rooms for like 4 people which helps save even more. It is well located, easy transportation with subway (around SEK 45 if I'm not wrong, check online), no breakfast but they offer some well spoken pasta at night.

I hope this quick guide can help if you are considering the trip. Of course I will attend the events as my time permits and bring you new content. Some of my videos will be a series "From the crowd, for the crowd", to make the watcher feel a bit of the energy and experience what it is to be there. You have one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V1HeHPqVXo
More to come. The summarized content will be published at my homepage: http://saulosilvaphoto.com/esports.html

See you, guys.

MOD Edit: Added more spaces between paragraph for clearer reading.

[Eddie]

Would love to go to a dreamhack one day...

Can't wait to see your pictures!

[syfIce]

Im actual jealous as would of loved to be there got to get to one some day

[Philosopher]

If I had the money, I would take you all to Dreamhack...









Meaning I would go, with my girlfriend and a Camera...and Live stream Dreamhack for you losers.

you all.

[SSfp_Saulo]

Guys, I've just uploaded some photographs of the event and they are available here: http://saulosilvaphoto.com/esports.html
There is a link if you want to see more pictures and in larger size with description.
Please be aware that there are SPOILERS such as who won against who and who was the champion.
There is a lot more to add, so please check the page once in a while. I will add some more pics and videos in the next days. Once they are up in youtube, I share the links here. Have fun and feel free to ask questions and send comments.
Soon I will add a blog page to make it more dynamic and easier to interact with the community.

[SSfp_Saulo]

Good evening, guys. I have just uploaded an APM compilation to youtube.
Check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzifUspaaUk
More content for the next days. Time is a bit short during the week but I will do what I can. Have fun.

[SSfp_Saulo]

One more video up, this time my arrival at Jönköping and Elmia Center, including a quick footage of the train trip.
Check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuzeRmCvQOo
Have fun, more to come.

[SSfp_Saulo]

Dudes and dudettes, one more video of the series "from the crowd for the crowd" is up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EStZ_-JLXk

Walking around the event at Elmia Center in Dreamhack Winter. 720p available.
Have fun.

[SSfp_Saulo]

One more video available. This one is from DH Stockholm, the final match between Solar and Soo, introduction, final moments and ceremony. 720p available.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v5W_RhZA2U

[SSfp_Saulo]

Guys, one more video is up. This one is of the finals, with stage intro, game intro, some game action, the award ceremony and the champagne.
It was great to be in this historic moment when a SC1 champion was also crowned SC2 champion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUZ5kub9_V8

Have fun