After gracing international stages from Anaheim to Valencia, Rotterdam to Atlanta, the world’s largest immersive gaming, lifestyle, and esports festival DreamHack, found its home at Melbourne & Olympic Parks this September.  

Arriving in Australia for the first time, the festival saw 21,000 gaming fans descend on the precinct for three action-packed days of immersive gaming experiences.  

Spread across Melbourne & Olympic Parks’s Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and CENTREPIECE venues, the precinct played host to the world’s most well-known LAN party, as well as esports matches, cosplay competitions, live music, gaming screenings and an expo.  

Taking out a world record for the fastest internet speed at the 2018 Jönköping event, DreamHack’s technology capabilities have proven to be nothing short of colossal.

M&OP and DreamHack expert technicians worked together to create tech magic at last month’s event — establishing a stable network infrastructure to support thousands of computers — transforming the venue into a high-tech gaming ground.  

The ESL Challenger Melbourne Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament was a highlight of DreamHack Melbourne, with a total prize pool of $100,000USD, and featuring eight international & local teams.

On the live stream, a peak of over 116,000 fans tuned in to watch Brazilian teams Imperial and Entropic face off in the first Semi-Final of the tournament, while social media posts for the tournament generated over 16 million impressions.                

In the arenas graced by the world’s best sportspeople and performers, competitors at DreamHack fought for glory throughout the weekend’s event — pushing the boundaries of both their own and the venues’ capabilities. 

“It was a huge feat and privilege to host the Southern Hemisphere’s first iteration of DreamHack at Melbourne & Olympic Parks this year. Working with ESL events, our teams were able to successfully harness the capabilities of our venues and showcase what the precinct can do,” said Melbourne & Olympic Parks Director of Venues, Danielle Bleazby.

DreamHack saw CENTREPIECE also host its first public-ticketed event, with the events and conference space transformed into an exhibition hall, showcasing over 20 booths featuring the latest and greatest technology, gaming products, and food and beverage.