CLOUD9 EMERGE VICTORIOUS
Halo Championship Series
A look into the cutting-edge arena of esports
BY ANDREW LEYENHORST PHOTOS & RENDERS COURTESY OF WAVEFORM ENTERTAINMENT
Sitting squarely at the intersection of intense , competitive live entertainment , sophisticated AVL production value , and sleek , high-quality broadcasting , the world of professional esports is one of the most engaging and all-encompassing hybrid production mediums in the events industry today . At the forefront of this line of work are Dreamhack , the company organizing and facilitating these events alongside game developers and publishers , and Waveform Entertainment , a full-service production company focused specifically on esports events .
“ Dreamhack is a video game festival with different aspects , one of which is esports – where pro players come to compete for a big amount of money , over $ 100,000 per tournament , sometimes ,” explains Simon Marin , CEO of Dreamhack Canada . “ In North America , in the past we ’ ve usually had four festivals per year , one each in Dallas , Atlanta , Anaheim , and Montreal , and we have several festivals in Europe , too . One of the other parts of our festival is the community aspect , where attendees can bring their consoles or computers and enjoy more casual competition over the weekend . We also have all our partners displaying new products , new games , and so on .” This February in Anaheim , CA , Dreamhack hosted the North American Regional Finals of the Halo Championship Series ( HCS ), the premiere competitive circuit for the beloved first-person shooter franchise , Halo – specifically , its latest entry , Halo : Infinite – which launched in the fall of 2021 . Sixteen teams competed in the event , which was won by the team Cloud9 .
Typically , these events are put on as hybrids , both with a live audience and for broadcast on Twitch , but COVID restrictions at the time dictated that this edition of the HCS couldn ’ t have a live audience – however , it was still the first in-person production for both entities in quite some time . Even with the lack of audience , Waveform CEO
Michael Sciortino ’ s recounting of the event just goes to show how engaging the typical esports show is .
“ You ’ re used to hearing the crowd , for any sport , really – traditional or esports . You know , having someone cheer on a big play or a cool moment , it adds a lot . So , it was a relatively eerie silence when you ’ re standing in front of [ the stage ] and they ’ re playing for a big prize in a North American qualifier , but you don ’ t hear the roars or chants .” Without an audience present , however , it provided an opportunity for the teams to go all-in on a sleeker , “ studio show ” approach to the broadcast , according to Sciortino .
In terms of the design of the show itself , Waveform Senior Production Designer Thomas Gentilhomme explains : “ Esports is very specific ; we have elements that are always there , like the gaming stations , usually a program feed or LED screens with team cards , and a broadcast desk for the [ commentators ] in front of the stage or backstage .
28 | Spring 2022