MSI Memories: Week 1

 

Hey hey lovely readers, its been a while. I wanted to get that announcement out before I actually started posting like normal, so here we go with normal blogs once more! I had to take a break post MSI to decide if I actually wanted to continue working in gaming (I'm still not decided on this btw!) and also how many of my wonderful moments and memories from MSI I could share – not trying to stop myself getting a gaming job in future – and I really don’t want to look stupid in front of potential bosses in the future (always looking for the next opportunity over here as I have so many more dreams to fulfil even if my esports journalist chapter is closed – for now at least.) 

 but anyway, onto the memories all of you came here to read about! Please be warned, when I originally drafted this blog I was writing it on a plane having been crying, had a ‘omg that’s not you is it’ moment about the person in front of me (why do some people have so many doppelgangers!?!) and was thinking about my job that started the next day – so while I’ve done my best to edit how the exhaustion, it may have seeped through, please forgive me for it aha. I’m just reading my original draft and I said I'd get to Weeks 2 and 3 / 4 when I could catch a break, well here is the break so let’s get into it! MSI 2023 memories from London incominggggggggg!!!

**all images are taken / done by me unless otherwise stated - all pictures have to have my pass for the 4 weeks cut out, so images may appear distorted as a result 
 

what do we think of the new graphic attempt? i do love drawing my koalas but thought this looked cool and deserved some spotlight! 

Week 1 – 

The start of my time at MSI was not quite as glamourous as I would like to tell you, it kicked off by surprise surprise, me getting lost. What’s new honestly. I have said it before and I will say it again, I am incredibly geographically directionally challenged, and it hadn’t improved since my last visit to the Copperbox Arena since February. And unfortunately for me at least, me and Google maps really are not good friends, it tried to send me the wrong way from the overground station. I also had to play the fun game of hunt the colleague (hey Marn!) among all the fans – which really isn’t an easy task for me on a good day when the average fan is 5’11 and I’m a measly 5’4. And not in a 'I'm so tiny people don't see me' more in a 'please do not crash into me because you didn't look down first' :) 

me getting lost again? yes. always. 

One of my first memories of MSI was seeing the stage, and the Riot staff being like ‘it’s good isn’t it’ and I was stood there being like ‘I think you are looking for the description incredible.’ Although this wasn’t my first time at the Copperbox Arena, the set up on stage was every bit as incredible as it looked online – if not even better truthfully. (I’ll have to get a job as a host at some point so I can go on these stages for myself), I cannot emphaise enough how obsessed I was with that stage it was just so awesome (terrible description but it was just words cannot describe it honestly), the theme of the London Underground also looked a lot nicer than the train station I had walked from (read: got lost from). It was so special to actually have a stage themed around something from the United Kingdom, it made it so special for me and the other British journalists to have something that encapsulated the UK. For those first weeks I sat in the balcony rather than the front row on top of the stage – mostly because I wanted to avoid the cameras haha. I’ll add in a Twitter post from the time about how I managed to avoid every camera in the building for content for two weeks straight. Admittedly it did involve some ducking and diving – not my best look it must be said.

this stage!!! first time seeing it - it was breath taking and it was still incredible when I saw it for the last time

The view from the balcony didn’t do the stage justice, but it was nice to see it from a different angle, and it meant you could see the players walking around behind the scenes (before interviews) which to me at least was really cool to see. But being a journalist/content creator in general is amazing anyway because you get to go around the backstage and see how everything works – this includes ducking and diving around a lot haha. I distinctly remember feeling incredibly out of place and very much out of my depth, I was not swimming through the first day so much as flapping around a lot and realising my swimming ability was very lackluster. Unsurprisingly that feeling only intensified when interviews rolled around, day one of interviews was probably the scariest for me, though it was also my favourite teams from the minor regions, DFM, and GAM Esports just to name a few, so yes I was scared sh*tless but I also loved every second of it. 

fans queing up to meet Caps' dad - I did not get to meet him though I did meet Caps - I only saw Caps' dad when I was leaving the arena and my friend jokes that he must've heard me say 'it's Caps' dad' because no sooner had we turned round he had disappeared haha! 

Interviewing DFM was especially a highlight as that was my first interview with DFM Steal – I still have regrets of not getting a photo with him (hey Riot if you’re reading this, any chance of a press pass to MSI 2024 to make up for not getting a selfie? /jk, kind of). I was way too scared to ask Steal which is a shame because he was so lovely. DFM was definitely safe ground for me though as I’ve loved watching them since MSI 2022 ‘Take Notes.’ I was incredibly flustered throughout, so much so that the translator ended up holding my phone for me (thank you to her, she saved my stuttering self). To give myself some credit, this was my first ever interview in person – though I didn’t tell them that for obvious reasons – and of course MSI is one of the biggest events I could’ve ever imagined attending, never mind actually interviewing at. 

DFM on day 1!!! I was incredibly happy to meet Steal - though I still regret not getting my photo -_- 

Truth be told, I was convinced I had fluff-ed up the entire thing and really wanted to escape as fast as possible, it wasn’t my best interview but I can look back proudly on that one and say that it came out well all things considered. I’m proud I did it, I survived it, I’ve improved since then and no it isn’t one of my best, but it was a start, and everyone starts somewhere!

Now for a few slightly more memorable and indeed painful moments of day 1, the press room was originally a dance studio that had been converted for the event – or at least I assume so given the fact there was a disco ball on the ceiling – this was just basically a huge room with charging ports, desks and chairs and was also probably the quietest place in the entire building. As I discovered, even when you went to grab food or go pee, heck even in the lift, you could still hear the matches, the press room was probably one of few places you couldn’t hear it word for word from the stage itself, as we watched from the press room via livestream instead. So as the room was so quiet, the door opening and closing honestly wasn’t as frequent or common as you might expect, it also creaked like crazy so you always knew when someone was coming or going. It was also just my luck that on my first day at MSI, that Guldborg decided to come for a walk into the press room and popped his head round said loud creaky door. I was not even remotely ok when this happened, I was having something of a very visible existential crisis. 

Guldborg before he came into the press room and had me nearly falling off my chair :) not my proudest moment I can't lie and definitely not one I can forget

Obviously, this was long before the Convergence event, and I was still getting over being in the same room as minor region teams – just wait until I tell you about being in the same corridor as Faker, yes THE Faker – so anyway, Guldborg was my first experience of seeing casters and big names up close and personal, and this was not my proudest moment because I am 90% sure I looked dazed by his presence. Well done me. Poor man probably thought I was going to go into shock any moment, my most sincere heartfelt apologies Guldborg – NONE of you send this to him, I legitimately could not live down the knowledge that he knew I was that starstruck. 

A fun addition to this part of the blog is that I was practically a Minion in that press room, look guys, Riot provided us with food (much appreciated), and included in this was a fruit bowl which was overflowing with bananas. Many of which found their way to where I was sat working, so on top of being the Minion of the press room, I also almost fell off my chair at the sight of Guldborg, talking about falling head over heels, you could say I certainly made an impression on my arrival....

this was me after day 1 of MSI on the train back to my city, I did most of my transcripts on the train as it was a longggggg ride - I usually fell asleep straight after :)

Day 2 followed a fairly similar structure, I was commuting 2hrs each way to London and Google maps was still very much not on my side. Day 2 was BLG and Golden Guardians and I got an interview! Success! Back then I was happy to even have one interview, to be fair, I was amazed to even get one, so every moment was a small win for me at least. I was genuinely terrified teams would be like ‘she’s awful, worst journalist here, don’t let her interview players’ I obviously know this isn’t the case now, but thankfully the lovely people over at Riot had different plans for me and I got to meet the top lane of GAM Esports, Kiaya – I’m 90% sure I also had an interview with Ceo from R7 this day but don’t quote me on that (again didn't get a photo as I was too chicken to ask). But either way, anyone who knows me, knows I have a massive soft spot for Kiaya, he is truly the sweetest, and also the translator too. I can’t remember the translators name though if you put him in front of me I could immediately point him out, but he deserves a shoutout because I could not have done my job without him and he was so lovely too! (to the wonderful translator – if you are reading this please email / message me!!!) from the depth of my soul, these were two of the loveliest people, and two of the best people for me to meet on day 2, especially as Kiaya’s story to becoming a pro is so heartfelt and touching. 

GAM Esports Kiaya, translator and me at day 2 of MSI 2023 - and yes I did nearly sob after I got this photo because that's just me T.T

I know for a lot of esports, the general opinion is that esports is ‘just a game it’s not that deep’ etc, etc. but for me at least, esports is all about the people, I love meeting new people, hearing their stories – and that goes for everyone not just the players, I loved meeting the support staff and translators, the Riot staff, the venue staff who always asked how I was doing, all of it. Esports is so much about the people, the people make it. There was no way I could’ve fully appreciated the magic of MSI, without seeing and meeting all the people whose hard work, determination and dedication makes the magic happen. 

The magic of MSI though for me also came from my morning walk to the Copperbox Arena, the arena has two overground tube stations that can access it, Stratford and Hackney Whick – I always went to the latter on account of it was a 5min walk opposed to a 15min walk, and it included walking past a school and over a canal that always had narrowboats floating on it, that was another part of the magic for me. It such a nice walk to and from the arena – even in the rain (somehow all the Riot staff avoided the rain, I never did and always walked in looking like a drowned rat), it was such a nice way to reflect on how lucky I was to be at MSI so early on into my career, to be grateful for every experience and every person I met. 

free food kept me happy throughout - that and bottles of ice coffee daily

Day 3 (?) was the day I went on a wild goose chase to find the merch stand, it is embarrassing how many times I walked around that one blasted balcony and asked so many security staff for directions – all of whom did their best to help, but my geographical challenges remained firmly in place. I did find it (eventually) and of course got to enjoy the catering, some people will tell you the food was awful, to be honest I couldn’t have cared less what was on offer, it was hot, free, and required zero thought about cooking by me. It was a huge win. 

Selfies with BB post interview at MSI 2023

Meeting Huhi backstage and getting to ask him about the LCS

According to my notes, this was the day I met Huhi and BB (yes I did go and find my notes to write this blog as it is all one heck of a blurr in my mind), let me tell you, these two can talk. I remember chatting with a girl in Razer in London about working MSI and being nervous and she told me not to worry because Western plays are harder to shut up than get talking – she was right. It made my job incredibly easy because both of them were so happy to answer every and any question I could have possibly asked. A less known fact about this day is I also met Xun from BLG but my interview wasn’t good in my opinion so I didn’t publish it, but as a consolation prize I did get a photo with him (thanks to the LPL staff who took the photo for me!). 

I cannot honestly remember when this photo was taken during day 3 - but I was very happy to meet BLG (like bouncing off the walls happy)

Something from that day that really stuck with me is how in BB’s interview, he made a point to appreciate the G2 support staff behind the scenes, it was so touching and remains one of my favourite moments from MSI, because his gratitude was so genuine and heartfelt. As a journalist you get told a lot, some heart-breaking, some tear jerking, some hilarious, some sweet, but hearing a player’s appreciation for support staff will always be one of the best things I hear. Though it’s nice hearing about peoples’ engagement plans, pets names, birthday celebrations too. And I have heard 2 of those 3 – I’ll leave it up to you to decide which ones I’ve been told before. This is also why I make a huge point to say how amazing all the staff are at MSI, because they don’t get nearly enough credit for how awesome they are. 

Another incredible thing about MSI, is how even though the days are long, everyone’s enthusiasm is infectious and it keeps spirits up even when you really want to sleep. If my memory serves me correctly, day 4 was the day my tram broke down before I'd even left my uni city to head to London. I was practically sobbing because I was so convinced I wouldn’t make it to MSI, but somehow I did – more good luck than judgment – and to this day I'm so glad I did because I had 3 in person interviews that day. I'm sure it sounds like I was out of my mind, I probably was, but I thrive on deadlines and adrenaline and those were pretty much the only things I ran for a month straight. But I stand by it, yes the burnout after sucked, but events like MSI and Worlds aren’t something I expected to happen for me, and if I get the opportunity to go again in person (Worlds 2024 in London would be lovely cough cough Riot), then I plan to make the most of it in the same way I did with MSI. 

Back with R7 from LLA and this time around I made sure to get my selfie!!!

backstage with GAM's midlaner Kati - I was most likely surviving on iced coffee at this point

Day 4 saw me interview more players from GAM and R7, in my notes I said how badly I wanted to meet Levi – I have now done that, and have an unpublished interview – should I post it? (spoiler alert - I'm going to on here hehe) The one thing about this day in particular that sticks out is that someone agreed to allow me to interview LOUD, I’m still not sure who thought this was a good idea because I was in very hyper overexcitable puppy mode when I found out – nearly screamed on a train I was that excited. I first came across LOUD at the same time as DFM, back in 2022 and had been a fan ever since, true to their name the LOUD fans were incredibly loud but their enthusiasm was infectious and I loved seeing their excitement. It’s no joke when the branding is ‘follow the noise’ because if you couldn’t see the sea of green, you could certainly hear it, locating LOUD fans was probably the easiest thing to do at MSI haha. 

I'm still obsessed with the LOUD membership fan club varsity jacket, still haven’t been able to get my hands on one but I do love it. To this day I still want one. It’s only now I realise I was sat with half the LOUD support staff on those first few days and could probably have asked how I could get one. A missed opportunity for sure right there. A part of being a journalist I was rapidly acquainted with is that you don’t always know what are you walking into – which considering I'm very clumsy does not bode well – it is a running joke among my friends that I am ‘smol’ hence all of my personal branding but this could not have been truer than at MSI. 

nothing like feeling tiny next to a pro player you've watched for several years

So while I was getting increasingly used to being shorter than most pro players, the one that had me feeling the smallest was by far Robo, that man is TALL (see picture) and I hadn’t quite accounted for how tall when I walked into that booth and went ‘oh crap.’ Another fun fact though is that if you think the LOUD fans are loud, wait till you see the players, on one of my interview tapes I remember some very loud happy shouting in Portuguese being heard in the background – no clue which player it was but let me tell you it was loud. On brand really. This was another interview where I loved both the player and translator, both were lovely and sweet and having done GCSE Spanish, I could understand some of the Portuguese which was really nice. 

final interview of week 1 and I have no idea how I was still functioning at this point XD

To round out week 1 I only met one more player, Ubao from PSG Talon, I could not even with how sweet Ubao was, he was so freaking nice. Though to be fair, all the players I met were adorably lovely. I took a few days off after that but still went down to the arena most days and that’s where one of my final core week 1 memories come from. It’s from when GAM were eliminated, some of GAM were crying on stage but backstage they were sobbing even harder, I remember looking at Kiaya especially, seeing him just staring impassively into the distance and trying to get a small smile out of him which I did manage. I wish I could go back to that moment and hug him like I badly wanted to, I don’t think I'd ever felt so powerless than in that moment, he was crying and needed comfort but because it would be construed as the wrong message, I wasn’t allowed to hug him. 

this picture was taken by LoL Esports Twitter - but was also when I was backstage, to this day I wish I'd hugged Kiaya here T.T

In my opinion, being in esports isn’t just about ‘caring’ caring isn’t enough, giving a sh*t isn’t enough, you have to really care about the pros and not just a little but a whole. In my mind esports is about more than chasing the story and turning up where necessary. I remember holding back tears before going into a GAM final interview, I was so sad for them and maybe some of you think that is pathetic, but I was devastated for them and I would much rather care about each player I meet as much as I do than not care at all. If I had to go through my regrets then not getting a selfie with Steal and Ceo are up there, but even higher is not comforting Kiaya and hugging him. Kiaya is barely older than I am, we are very close in age and I truly loved interviewing him and I wish I had done more in that moment. 

"a hug is a hug in any language and compassion knows no language"

A hug is a hug in any language, and compassion knows no language. If I got my chance to do in person events again and Riot were fine with it, I would hug crying pro players, I hate to see them sad and I treat them how I would treat anyone in that situation, with care and affection. 

So there you have it, week 1 of MSI memories finally completed and published. Better late than never. I hope to get round to weeks 2 and 3 in the near future – possibly while sat on a train commuting to London once more just not for esports. 

Also did anyone notice the design on my blue hoodie? I'll give you a hint - it's another Riot game but it isn't LoL ;) 

But anyway until then, thanks for reading and see you on the next blog! 

Byeeeeeeee