Vanguards Tournament for St. Jude
This past weekend, between June 22nd and 24th, the Vanguards tournament was held in the esports arena at the Luxor in Las Vegas, marking the official entry of Destiny 2 into the esports scene. Not only was history made with this monumental movement but it was for a great cause, donations nearly reaching $2K in total for St. Jude. The lofty goal of $50K wasn’t met but we all know that every dollar that is raised can make a difference, as the spammed hashtag said countless times it was #ForTheKids.
This weekend was rather long since not only was I competing but also helping in the back end, including social media and chat moderating. So little sleep, such quick eating of random junk food, such loud conversations in busy restaurants, but I'd do it all again. Let's cut the fluff and get right on into it.
Saturday - Duos
This was the day the event actually kicked off, and boy did it ever. TokenSully and FalloutPlays did a phenomenal job of shoutcasting, both of them fulfilling their dreams of being esports commentators. The synergy between the two was outstanding, escalating the hype of the chat and never allowing a dull moment. I hope they pursue a career in it, the esports scene would definitely be more colorful with their vibrant personalities.
As a competitor it was absolutely amazing to sit on stage under the lights and fog, the screen alight with Destiny 2, and the crowd ready to see the throwdown. Although my partner, SentinelGray, and I were completely smashed by Antagonize and Panduh of Destined I wouldn't trade that thrashing for anything. It was incredible to see first hand what players can do in-game, locking down lanes and experiencing the killing efficiency of thousands of hours of practice with a mouse and keyboard.
The rest of the matches were even more intense, the duos fighting tooth and nail for the top spot, using everything readily available that was allowed. The stream itself was over 6 hours long with 835 viewers at it's peak which was the finals, over thirty of those viewers being well known Destiny streamers and Twitch partners. In the end, Antagonize and Panduh brought it home winning the Duos.
As someone who was on the receiving end of their strategy I'm confident in saying that Antagonize lives up to his name with a sniper rifle, don't go into a staring contest with him. Panduh knows the ways of the Tractor Cannon all too well, he's actually the reason the exotic was banned going into Sunday. That, and it was a staff decision at dinner, but it was mostly Panduh.
"The games were fun and it was all for a good cause which made it even better. Panduh and I had an incredible flawless run and we plan on putting Destined on the map and proving ourselves out to be a top contender for the throne." - Antagonize, Founder of Destined
Sunday - Teams
With four months of planning and awareness only three teams were actually formed to compete and they brought one hell of a show. Since there were just three teams us staff, as team Vuvuzala, came in to challenge BSK, but we were merely dolls they threw around for three matches. I'm not even mad, it was absolute fun and worth it for the cause. If you think for a second I'm not going to mention the Countdown bomb defuse for a single round win I secured as Last Guardian Standing, you're wrong. That was the most intense second and a half of button holding I've ever experienced.
Final bracket was BSK vs Destined and it could not have been more exhilarating. It was set to the best of 4 out of 7, Destined winning the first three with their merciless gameplay and buckets of sweat. BSK came back and managed to take two rounds, getting into their stride and giving Destined a run for their money. As staff, this is all we could have hoped for to give the audience, both in the arena and at home, a show to remember.
How many were in attendance to witness these matches? A solid 1275 viewers with a chat moving faster than Antagonize with an active Dawnblade. We were especially excited to see Cozmo had been in silent attendance for the duration, along with so many other big names.
It came down to Control on Burnout for the last round, Destined bringing it back with an intensity that couldn't be beat. Both Antagonize and Panduh took trophies home for duos and teams.
"The games against BSK were a lot of fun, all the players are great guys and they are very talented. I think the biggest advantage we had over them was our synergy and knowledge of the game. Talent can only get you so far, it's teamwork and intelligence that wins championships. Also a huge shout out to the production staff and everyone that contributed to the St. Jude charity fund! It was awesome to help contribute to a good cause and we look forward to the future tournaments." - Antagonize, Founder of Destined
Why am I not giving a play by play for every round? Because you just need to watch the vods, seriously, once you get past the ones I was involved with there's some crispy snipes and jaw dropping plays to behold. Go watch the vods, seriously.
The Take Aways
After having a day to look back on the weekend and reflect on all that happened I'm impressed by all that was accomplished even though Friday was an utter disaster. The production staff at the arena was on point, the volunteer staff was so loud with hype on the arena floor you can actually hear uson stream, and the shoutcasters were absolutely entertaining.
The rules for the next tournament will have to be revamped since it will have be after Forsaken launches, although there was plenty of variety in this event. We saw quite a bit of variety in the loadouts, including Dire Promise and even a Mida Multi-Tool. But, all that goes out the window and will have to be redone.
Everything, and I mean everything will be conducted in writing and solidified in contract to avoid another fiasco. Although, the companies that are already onboard for the next one are quite reputable.
Oh, I didn't tell you? We have [redacted] that came out to talk to us about the next tournament, which will be on all three platforms. Plus, [redacted] and [redacted] are on board as well. Why won't I say the names? They're called NDAs.
And now for a word from one of the co-directors, Jake Parker:
“This event was life-changing for myself and the entire Destiny community. We have paved the way forward and I will not stop until the Destiny World Championships become a reality.”
The Players
I wanted to give a shout out to all the players that came out on their own dime to support this event and participate, I had the pleasure of meeting each one and they're all stellar.
Olmanmakowski - Twitch - Olmanmakowski - Twitter
Antagonizetv - Twitch - @Antagonize - Twitter
BigNige - Twitch - @nivelnebrida - Twitter
LuckyLeonTV - Twitch - @LLuckyLeon - Twitter
TheEdgeWalker - Twitch - @V9EdgeWalker - Twitter
There were more but they didn't email me in time.
Next Year
All three platforms will be involved so get your practice in now because there's going to be some stiff competition. The venue and dates are still be decided upon.
"The Destiny 2 competitive scene is ever-evolving. It's always fun to see players pumped up about competing with each other, and pulling off hype plays for an audience. I hope this event leads to more opportunities where Destiny players can find themselves up on the big stage competing, and also more opportunities where we can all come together to support a great cause like St. Jude.” - FalloutPlays
“Let the record show that we, the Vanguards staff, have officially placed Destiny 2 in the eSports spotlight. We came, we did, we succeeded.” - KingStrixx / Josh Parker, Co-Director
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