The Dew Gamers Arena finale just proved that gaming fever is on the rise

This weekend Lahore was host to what you can most certainly call gaming heaven.

The grand finale of the e-sport championship, Dew Gamers Arena 2018, spun some serious gaming action in the air.

I walked into the venue to find a wide variety of gaming options; there were video-game consoles ready to deliver your dose of FIFA with regular favourites like mini golf.

A large screen displayed all moves of the two competing teams giving off a great cinematic experience peppered with the most animated of all commentaries I've ever witnessed.

The event served as the last battle ground for the gaming wars of DOTA 2 and CS:GO that Dew has been hosting for a while now.

Portal Esports, one of the leading gaming organisations in the country, had two of its teams make it to the finale. The organisation managed to bag the grand trophy and prize money worth Rs1 million for both DOTA 2 and CS:GO.

PepsiCo’s Marketing Director Salman Butt handed over the grand prizes during the ceremony.

“You don’t know whether you will win or not, but the moment you win is the most beautiful moment of your life, you forget about the world!” exclaimed Musavir, also known as Ghost Khan, while talking about his team winning the DOTA 2 final.

A million is a big cheque to cash in, but most players knew they would be getting a new gaming machine with the money long before they started competing for the win.

You can gauge how serious the players are by how much they have given up to be here. “I took a gap year to play this game and win Rs1 million,” said Mohammad Ahmed who is also known as 7EVEN.

This event is proof that Pakistan has moved beyond stereotypes when it comes to the gaming industry, and our industry is growing in a positive direction. Mountain Dew and ESL have made a great contribution by providing the teams with this platform.

Sandwiched in between all the chaos on the screens was a performance by Xarb, and that wasn’t even the highlight.

The event ended with a great performance by the band Strings. As the crowd went crazy swooning over their tunes, one couldn’t help but wonder if this was the beginning of events holding such grandeur in Pakistan.

I'd say Pakistani teams have done the hard work and sacrificed quite a bit to get to where they are today.

Looking at such enthusiasm and talent, one would hope to see them competing on international levels too.

This content is produced in paid partnership with Mountain Dew Pakistan.