This is the Wembley stadium, opened in 2007. It can seat 90,000 people, making it the 5th
largest football stadium in the world. Its arch weighs 1700 tons, is 133 metres tall
and is used to support the roof… as well as to look pretty at night.
And next to it is the SSE Arena, where the Counter-Strike Faceit Major took place. This
is the first- and hopefully not last!- major to take place in England and I got to go along.
I was even given behind-the-scenes access, on the condition that I didn’t do something
stupid like to run about on-stage mid-match or to flip power switches off or whatever.
If you attended the major, then hopefully this video will bring back some fond memories,
as well as to reveal what went on behind the scenes. And if you didn’t go, it should
prepare and inform you for next time, so all you have to worry about is getting a ticket
before they’re sold out. Just flick to the bit of the video you want to see in the description
because there’s a lot to cover! You may have guessed it but the arena is situated
in Wembley, which is in the North-West of London. This makes it convenient for people
in England to visit… at the expense of being more difficult for the rest of Europe. The
matches for each day all started at around 4 in the afternoon and ended at 10 or 11 at
night so that people in America and those working 9-5’s would have more chance of
viewing it, which in turn would help to maximise viewing numbers on streaming services.
I was informed by some people from the continent that it was a lot colder than they were used
to- I was still in shorts and a shirt but if future events are hosted in England in
September I suggest you bring a warm, water-proof coat because England.
On the plus side, being England, you get an assortment of THE best and cheapest shops
in the world! Right next-door to the event was a Tescos, Sainsburys, Coop, Subway and
a large shopping area with all kinds of places as well as a load of restaurants and buffets
suitable for evening meals. And a Lidl and McDonald’s just down the road. I pretty
much lived off of the Tesco £3 meal deal. Just don’t expect to find any bins or seats
anywhere- seems Wembley hasn’t got around to placing any just yet.
The arena itself is rectangular, with a corridor around 3 of the edges that you can freely
explore. This is where there were several drink and food stalls… and a HyperX stand.
The queues out the front looked pretty impressive, though they kindly opened the arena earlier
on the rainy day to stop people from getting too cold and wet.
And here’s the arena itself. Although it can seat 12,500 people, the stage setup lowers
this a bit. For Thursday and Friday the top level of seats were covered with sheets and
the audience size was closer to 7,000. But for Saturday and Sunday they were opened up
again and over 9,000(!) attended the semis and final. It’s a bit different to the circular
nature of, say, the Lanxess arena in Cologne or the Spodek in Katowice. With those, the
problem is the angle that the audience is sat at relative to the stage. But here, it’s
more about the distance- those sat at the back of the arena are a very long way from
the stage! Because of this, the extra projector screens all point forwards rather than to
face off to the sides. By the time you reach the back you have 7 views of the game to choose
from. The SSE arena was originally made to house
an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Since it’s now an old, historical building, they’re
not allowed to remove it so beneath the audience, the swimming pool area is still there. The
idea of falling through into it certainly made it a lot more exciting whenever the crowd
made some noise by stomping their feet! The teams have their own sound-proof booths
to sit in. I visited these early on in the day when the arena was empty. It’s quite
an eerie feeling- like a mix between a spaceship and a greenhouse.
And I got to visit them again when the arena was full, which felt kind of like being in
a greenhouse but with 10,000 people staring at you.
‘What map do you think we should play?’ ‘Nuke?’
‘Yeah.’ ‘NOT TRAIN!’
‘Wanna play Cbble?’ ‘I can play any map!... EXCEPT NUKE’
‘Except Nuke! Yeah, Nuke would be… pretty bad.’
‘I like Mirage! :D’
The height the booths are at, coupled with the soundproofing, make it feel a little bit
less intimidating than it might otherwise. But then again, I didn’t have to deal with
the pressure of playing in there! Despite being sound-proofed, you can still
hear the audience a bit. But I don’t really think that’s a problem since as a player,
you’re wearing headphones and the audience could be making noises for all kinds of reasons.
And like I said, because of the height you can’t see the audience too well when sat
down either. And now for the fun bit: going backstage.
This is behind the main screen. It’s super creepy here with the ominous background bass
they play while the crowd’s getting seated. What you can see here are lots and lots of
LED panels, all perfectly joined together. Hundreds of them, stretching out in every
direction. It’s an impressive sight. And everywhere you look are cables. They’ve
done their best to cover them, but it’s dark back there and I had to look where I
was going: I could imagine tripping over one and the whole thing cutting out! And as solid
as the stage looks from the front, from behind there are many gaps and holes that you can
peer through, to the audience beyond. I guess that’s why the back is kept so dark. The
stairs either side here lead to where the teams play.
The layout of these booths led to an unexpected problem: after a match, the teams couldn’t
just walk over and shake hands, like they do on most stages. Instead, they have to exit
around the back, head down these steps and THEN get herded out of the door in the middle
to shake hands in front of the audience, before disappearing back behind the scenes again.
I was curious to see how Faceit dealt with it, but it turned out okay. I don’t think
many viewers would even have noticed it was something to worry about!
Further back behind the stage is a large, dark room with curtains everywhere. This is
where the magic happens. Standing back here I’d see technicians, casters and pro players
walking about. I did my best to look as though I knew what I was doing, but in reality, I
was just back there running about filming everything because it was AWESOME.
This bit in particular. Here is where the observing gets done, as well as countless
other things like preparing replays of the best bits, broadcasting out to different streams
and other stuff that this video won’t even begin to do justice to. Thank you to Jason
(of the Argonauts) for giving me a tour that I did my best to remember for this video!
I got to meet Sliggy, the main observer. He chooses the camera angles during the matches!
No pressure. He spends his time glancing between the minimap and the view he’s chosen in-game,
using various keyboard shortcuts to jump to the player or angle that he thinks will show
the action the best. Of course, there’s a lot more to it than
that. He talked me through the various challenges this entails. How some matches, like Liquid
VS Hellraisers, are a nightmare to observe because the players are everywhere at once.
This is in contrast to matches like Astralis V Faze, where the attacks are more orderly,
making it easier to choose a camera angle in advance that shows the action best.
It’s possible to have a delay between the action and what’s shown to viewers, normally
of about 5 seconds. This effectively lets observers timetravel. They know what’s about
to happen, and so can choose better camera angles than if they weren’t on a delay.
BUT… For this event, he wasn’t on a delay. This made it risky to show top-down views
of places that were about to be attacked. He likes using these kinds of views since
it shows a good overview of what’s happening. But no delay means that he could miss an unexpected
kill, particularly through smokes. He proudly showed me some of his favourite moments from
the major, like where he successfully showed a 4-man on Inferno or where he transitioned
between different views to show a rush in an understandable manner. It was like viewing
a skill video, observer-style.
‘Rain makes me look good, man!’
Thank you to Sliggy for taking the time to talk to me. He uses a lovely RGB keyboard
from which dangerous buttons like the console have been removed, and the Windows key disabled-
pressing these could spell disaster amidst a crucial round. Though strangely he still
has F10. I guess he likes a little excitement in his life
Next to him are the replay people, piecing clips together for every round to tell a story
in the replay segments. Here’s the software. Unlike Sliggy, the second observer IS on a
delay of about 5 seconds, so is able to get footage that we may not have seen at the time.
If Sliggy starts swearing then they know he’s missed a crucial play and can immediately
get to work capturing and piecing it together to show at the end of the round. They also
have access to the player booth cameras (Complete with sound!), and occasionally splice footage
from them into what they do. Take a look at these complicated, scary looking
screens. Aside from the match itself, a lot of information and content is shown on and
around the main screen. I don’t think I’d do a good job of explaining these bits, so
instead, I filmed the screens so that you can make sense of it yourself.
Next up are these, which are the biggest, most impressive looking displays in the room.
I think I can explain these. There are a lot of cameras around the arena, collecting potential
footage to be shown. This is where the best views are chosen from! They all start off
as small previews at the bottom of the screen. From these, one is chosen. But BEFORE IT GOES
LIVE IN FRONT OF EVERYONE, it’s first shown here in high-res to check that it’s appropriate.
And then it goes here once it’s been given the all-clear.
If you’re chosen to be shown on the big screen, you might think you’re only being
watched before and while you’re shown on camera. But no! These guys get to see your
grinning face AFTER your moment of glory. I enjoyed watching audience members, who may
have been playing it cool for the camera, suddenly breaking out into laughter and nodding
to their mates in the moments after they had been seen on the big screen.
All of these different views and angles are then coordinated by a director, who ultimately
calls the shots and chooses how the stream should play out.
I was given a demonstration of how the booth cameras were controlled, using joysticks,
foot-pedals and sliders to adjust the position, angle and focus. The end result is super smooth
and very professional. And here’s a job that I almost guarantee
you wouldn’t know existed- players sit at different positions and distances from their
screens, and use different in-game colour settings, so need to have their facecams adjusted
so that they appear similar to the rest. Crowd reactions also need to be spliced into
replays- this is where they’re chosen from. To make things more complicated, different
streams require different content, sponsors and ads- these monitors all show different
renditions. Sam showed me these, though at this particular moment I don’t believe there
were any differences to be seen. All this broadcasting requires some pretty
hefty equipment, which you can see here. And this equipment here gets so hot under
use that it’s officially recommended to have a fan sat in front of it, keeping it
cool. And in front of this impressive array of displays,
a guy gets to sit and watch the final stream. It was fascinating to discover what everybody
did back here- and they all had such passion for it! I was shown a fancy 360-degree camera,
which turns out wasn’t even an official part of the event. It was just something fun
that he had brought along because he enjoys playing with this kind of technology.
And, over on the other side, all alone in this area is the sound guy. Thank you for
what you do, sound man! I’ve been given behind-the-scenes tours
before, but never the freedom to go and film whatever I like. I have really appreciated
this opportunity and hope I’ve covered everything that you would want to know about the behind-the-scenes
workings of a CS:GO major. All of this goes on, so that we can sit back
and enjoy watching the matches. The Faceit Major raged on at the SSE Arena for 4 days,
with 2 games a day. We got to see the greatest teams battle it out across our favourite maps!
But sadly, most of these were very one-sided 2-0’s. I couldn’t help but feel somewhat
disappointed. Nobody’s to blame for boring, predictable matches (apart from the losing
team!) but when an event like this has been hosted, it feels like a wasted opportunity
if the matches fail to deliver. And the success of such an event is certainly dictated by
the quality of the games played. There was the odd map that was fun to watch, but I can
understand watchers of the stream being disappointed. The people at the event? Not so much. Still
a disappointment, but when you’re at an arena, the games being played are just one
element of it. You still get the arena atmosphere. The feeling of being close to so many people
you’ve followed closely online. And to be a part of a crowd that’s all passionate
about the same thing. When the audience begins to chant, or lights their phones in unison,
or does a successful wave, there’s no way to describe what it’s like to be there,
as part of it as it’s happening. Indeed, some things went down really well in front
of the audience, like the chicken choosing the winner of each match.
WOOOOOOOAAHAHHHHAH YAYYYYYYYY
I was honestly surprised when I read online that people didn’t think it fitted the event,
when being there in person it was such a crowd-pleaser. A highlight for me was the showmatch, hosted
on the final day before the grand final. Team Rain faced off against Team Smooya. Pros,
casters and even Sliggy the Observer took part in one of the most enjoyable matches
that I’ve ever seen. It started off light-heartedly, with knife and zeus kills and regular jabs
at Bardolph’s score. And then got increasingly competitive and as rivalries developed! Several
times it was paused for quick interviews with those involved and I couldn’t help but laugh
at the top-gear humour and high-level banter. At Spunj’s unwavering confidence in his
strategies and high-impact frags, or how it was all nicely rounded off by a brief utterance
from Zywoo. And being part of the crowd as it all took place live, my respect grew for
the individuals involved and the community that has developed around Counter Strike.
It was an hour of entertainment that would have impressed and entertained anybody sat
there in the audience. My experience of this event was a bit different
to most people’s. I’m used to being recognised… but never before like this, here in London.
For the first time it felt as though my ‘fame’ had reached a critical mass of sorts. Like,
the moment I was spotted in the corridors, people would begin to crowd around me faster
than I could meet them and I’d only be free to move again once the next match began. I
was meant to do a signing session at some point, but ultimately it wasn’t needed since
I felt I was doing one every time I left my seat. Of course, I loved it, and wanted to
spend time with everybody who wanted to meet me. But I did have to start strategically
planning my toilet breaks and trips to the subway down the road. This typically involved
missing the beginning or ends of the matches being played. I don’t think there’s a
word in the English language that describes what it’s like to be recognised by multiple
people in a public toilet. If the games are only part of the arena experience,
the arena experience is only part of a CS:GO event like this. Come the evening, everybody
spills out of the event and many go on to nearby restaurants and pubs. When you have
so many thousands of people concentrated in such a small area, something special happens.
I haven’t yet had a dull night out at a Counter-Strike event. Individuals and groups
begin to stick together into larger ones and everybody ends up having a good time, whatever
happens. Unfortunately, Wembley does its best to be
boring. You’d think that a famous part of London, of all places, would have places open
late. But no! On the Friday night, everywhere closed at midnight! Normally this would be
a disaster- and indeed our quest to find an open pub proved unsuccessful. But we all still
had a good time, firstly before they all closed, and then later when walking about searching
for that elusive place that eventually turned out not to exist. At one point we stopped
on a bridge to take pictures of distant buildings. Which was a surprisingly beautiful and profound
moment of my visit to London, even if it had nothing to do with Counter Strike at all!
A Smooya chant took over at one point -of course it did- but we all respectfully went
quiet as we passed through a sleeping residential area. This made me proud of the Counter Strike
community. The second night, there was a large boxing
match on and everywhere was open late- We all had a great time though I think you had
to be there to appreciate it! And the third night there was a super-secret after-party
that felt like somewhere from James Bond. It was decorated like the cache map and the
security guards and bar staff were all dressed as Counter-Strike characters. I can’t reveal
much more about it than that- though I will say that some of the pro players have some
fancy dance moves! If Faceit were to host a tournament in Wembley
again I’d like for them to create some kind of afterparty for everybody, where shuttle
buses pick people up from the event and transport them all to a place where they can all hang
out and talk to each other. This is something that ESL One Cologne has already, and I feel
it really helps to extend the event beyond the arena, giving fans of the game a nice
place to meet and to have a good time with likeminded people. It’s an experience very
different to the loud arena we spent the days at.
In conclusion, I am happy to have attended the first major hosted in England. I think
it was a success, though the games were a disappointment and I think Faceit would have
done some things differently with hindsight. But it’s a solid foundation to build upon
and I hope it leads to more Faceit events AND more English tournaments. I would certainly
want to attend them. Every time I go to a tournament I remember why I love the game
and community so much. And by the end of it the trip has developed its own little routines
and highlights and I leave with a fondness and familiarity of the area around the arena.
Of the people I met, many of you said that it was the first event like this that you
had attended, stating it being in England as the reason. I hope you all had a good time,
please share your thoughts about it in the comments section, I’m sure that Faceit would
like to see them and will take them onboard when planning future events.
And what’s your strat going to be?
‘Um, my strat’s going to be find DDK, find Shazam cos he didn’t do that well in
front of a crowd so I’m going to go for him, and avoid Zywoo and the others.’
That’s a sound strat.
‘Yeah. Maybe knife kills! Maybe.’
GOOD LUCK