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ESL One Hamburg, this weekend’s Dota 2 tournament, is big in a few ways: the event is held by the biggest esports company in the world, and it’s the first Major in the Dota Pro Circuit, with a big $1 million at stake.
The tournament organizers wanted to give the players an equally big welcome—or at least, a warm one, before the pressure of the weekend finally settled in.
It appears everyone participating in the event, from players to talent, received a gift package of sorts. Paul “ReDeYe” Chaloner shared his, a literal bag of goodies:
The usual top notch welcome pack from @ESLDota2 - Thanks for all the goodies! <3 pic.twitter.com/5Tl0eAetKv
— Redeye (@PaulChaloner) October 24, 2017
From there, things got a little more personal. Each of the teams and the talent received a personal letter, outlining their journey to the event. Newbee graciously shared theirs on Twitter:
Thanks for the welcoming words #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/xD31jG8xlS
— Newbee Dota2 (@NewbeeDota) October 25, 2017
The tournament director later shared all of the letters online for all to see in a gallery.
Players also shared a tasty treat from one of their more famous sponsors, Pringles:
— KuroKy (@LiquidKuroKy) October 24, 2017
Every player from each team received a customized can of Pringles, with their handle and team logo printed onto the package.
Newbee x Pringles. Not too shabby #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/uIFVJaW9yO
— Newbee Dota2 (@NewbeeDota) October 24, 2017
— Roman Kushnarev (@ramzesdoto) October 24, 2017
If it seems a bit underwhelming to the fancier fans out there, no worries—ESL got some real drive for this event.
A few months ago, Mercedes-Benz announced their sponsorship for ESL One Hamburg, to the cautiously-optimistic surprise of many fans. They then announced that the fan- and talent-voted MVP of the event would receive a ride of their own.
But it didn’t stop there. When teams stepped out for media day, they were greeted with custom-skinned cars for each team.
Riding to #ESLOne Hamburg in style with the customized @MercedesBenz team cars! pic.twitter.com/p4Aycq52wf
— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) October 25, 2017
Honk honk pic.twitter.com/jzQbWjH202
— Matthew Bailey (@Cyborgmatt) October 25, 2017
And, of course, Matthew “CyborgMatt” couldn’t help but crack a joke about American pub star Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao:
There was a Fnatic car until Jacky crashed it into a tree.
— Matthew Bailey (@Cyborgmatt) October 25, 2017
thats why pie is driving lul pic.twitter.com/0gImNpkZ4L
— Eric Khor (ReiNNNN) (@ReiNNNN) October 25, 2017
It was a joke, of course; all’s good in Fnatic, unless you count them getting stomped against Newbee today.
Unfortunately, it seems only the MVP will get their own car. It may be for the better, as with the busy Pro Circuit season, there may not be much time to appreciate the free ride.
ESL One Hamburg continues until the weekend; be sure to plan your weekend with our full schedule of the event.