If there's an event, you know we'll be there! E-sports Festival Hong Kong 2019 took place from August 23rd to the 26th at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, and Saiga NAK went to the fifth iteration of this event to report!
The convention center also saw the opening of the Hong Kong Computer & Communications Festival during the same time, which saw both events packed with gamers and gadget lovers from far and wide. We've got a lot to cover, so let's get started!
Gaming Booths as far as the eye can see!
Entering the venue, acer's Predator booth is here to welcome us!
Next to acer comes brands that any gamer will recognize: Razer and ROG.
ROG even had Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition available to play at their booth, with plenty of gamers lined up to compete against each other.
Logitech, which has gotten into the gaming hardware world with their Logitech G brand, also shoed up to the event.
Logtech was pushing their new G913 and G813 keyboards at the event as well, which are the same ones that our team reviewed!
With mobile eSports gaming becoming more popular over the years, ASUS's ROG brand showed off their ROG Phone II at the event. ROG booths were spotted across the event floor, with each catered to show off their gaming device.
With smart phones becoming one of the most popular gaming platforms, there were even elementary school students joining in on the fun!
Monster Energy Booth
Monster has made many appearances at eSports events in Hong Kong, and we even saw the EMFHK2019 event last month. Energy drinks have definitely made their way as almost a staple into the eSports world.
Monster brought their new Mango flavor drink to the event, and even the Monster Girls (?) had their faced painted to match the occasion! Monster wanted to make sure the even-goers never lost energy with their all-you-can-drink Monster.
Monster even sponsored a... hair cutting booth? Well, there's a first time for everything at these gaming events, I suppose.
Monster made sure to bring even more flavors to the event to satisfy everyone!
The Monster girls were working hard at the Monster energy booth, making it monstrously successful.
ROG Event on the Mini-Stage
ROG threw a great event, even throwing a surprise event, allowing the champion to battle one of the ROG girls.
The winner received a nice mousepad as a prize!
Street Fighter V Arcade Edition on the Main Stage
The Street Fighter V Arcade Edition took place on the main event stage. While the event was originally supposed to be part of the Capcom Pro Tour, but had been suddenly canceled, possible due to the protests going on in Hong Kong. But, even with the sudden change, the event sponsors managed to change the event, deciding to present the winner of the event with HKD 20,000 in prize money. Although CPT had been cancelled, many players wound up showing up to the event.
The Waiting Room
Upon entering the waiting room, famous eSports players Human Bomb and GamerBee were there, making the atmosphere even more intense!
We also met Human Bomb during our visit to EMHK2019 last month, so it was good to see him!
The young prodigy Denesis was also there! It was our first time meeting him, but by the way he played, we could tell he's going to be one of the best someday.
Tournament Start!
Now, we get ready for the competition to start!
There were tons of people in the audience, even with the cancellation of CPT.
We're ready to see these players go at it!
The commentator seats were set a bit apart from the stage, and they really gave off the feeling of traditional sports commentators. Many people claim that eSports aren't sports, but in Hong Kong, a place with limited land resources, eSports seems to be making the most impact in the country.
Pre-Finals Break Time
There was a break before the finals, so we decided to cool off by walking around and taking a look at some booths. Here we have Nexstgo's Avita booth. Nexstgo is a company from Hong Kong the provides order made with your own custom logo, and has gained popularity with their Avita line of laptops
It seems the Avita Girls' promotion power is working! The company is doing sales at the convention and there are customers here and there buying laptops.
Now, we come to OMEN by HP booth. We at funglr love HP so much that all of our PCs at the office are from made by HP! (Hoping for some sort of offer... someday...)
As it seems, the girls are promoting the OMEN Club which is club where you can get points through your HP purchases to buy OMEN products! Seems like a great deal!
Just a little longer before the finals...
Before the finals, a small quiz event was held for the audience!
Guests were invited to answer the questions presented on the screen.
Guests were able to give input through their phone's web browser, and as a result of that, there were essentially no restrictions. No matter what kind of phone you had, you are able to access, so those with BlackBerry OS or WIndows 10 Mobile can even join in on the fun.
It was a great addition to the event, and it allowed not just the tournament participants to have fun, but also brought the audience in. We definitely think it's the little things that make these esports events bring the community together more. Even the CEO of CGA decided to take part in the fun!
Those with the most correct answers were presented with products from Logitech G! The audience had a great time and it brightened up the mood, getting everyone pumped for the final match.
Final: HotDog29 vs. GamerBee
The final match saw HotDog29 from Hong Kong, and GamerBee from Taiwan.
GamerBee heads into the battle with Necally, and HotDog29 does with his specialty, M. Bison!
But... in the middle of the match...
HotDog29 changed his fighter! He chooses E. Honda, which shocks everyone! Honda was brought in during the fourth season to Street Fighter V, only two weeks before the this event.
Honda wasn't included in the CPT roster, and it's also not HotDog29's usual character, and it's also a NEW character in the game... Wow. The audience went wild. It had a bit of a fanservice feel to it, and we know HotDog29 enjoyed giving it to the audience.
GamerBee Takes The Win!
GamerBee recieved HKD 20,000 (about USD 2,500) in prize money. Even with the cancellation of CPT, the audience and players went all out at E-Sports Festival HK 2019.
With this only being the fifth year of the event, it just keeps getting bigger. We're excited for next year!