Singapore’s TI4 pubstomps: photos, people, and passion

The International 4 (TI4) may have had one of the most boring grand finals ever, but that didn’t stop Dota 2 fans all over the region from hunkering down in their respective pubstomps.

Check out what happened at these Singapore pubstomps!

Dota 2 Singapore’s pubstomp

Held over July 21 and 22, new community-run group Dota 2 Singapore’s pubstomp was located in the Ground Theatre at SCAPE* mall. 650 tickets were given out for entrance to the 800 capacity hall, with about 470 excited Dota 2 fans turning up on the first day. Dota 2 Singapore handed out Steelseries freebies as well as TI4 swag straight from Valve, and even held 1v1 Dota 2 challenges on swanky Aftershock PC laptops. These challenges featured the players Wolfsbanee, PMS Asterisk’s MsJovial*, Ysaera, and Meracle.

(See: Singaporeans don’t attend local gaming events and we’re suffering for it)

Raph Yee, speaking for Dota 2 Singapore, shared that the group encountered some technical difficulties with the stream resolution, since it was only able to enter the venue on day one. Approximately ten people were on the organizing team, and supporting partner Singapore’s Cybersports and Online Gaming Association provided a video crew.

The second day saw far less spectators, perhaps about 200 of them when we arrived at midnight, but Dota 2 Singapore said that that could have been due to it being the start of the work week. We have to concur, though: what’s up with putting the grand finals on a Monday, Valve? However, the dip in attendance saw Dota 2 Singapore opening the event’s doors to the general public. Kudos to them!

Check out photos of the extremely packed first day here:

Colosseum’s pubstomp

Held over four days—July 18 to 21—at Colosseum’s Bugis+ and Tampines West Community Centre (TWCC) outlets, this pubstomp saw a total of about 650 attendees. Its central Bugis+ outlet was completely sold out for all four days of the pubstomp.

Donald Yeo, speaking for Colosseum, shared that the entertainment company allowed people who simply wanted to spectate to walk in for free. The only reason Colosseum didn’t publicize this was because it didn’t have the capacity for too many people. Its Bugis+ outlet has 51 computers, while its TWCC outlet has 40.

(See: I don’t play Dota 2 but I finally understand why people love it)

A total of 15 people were responsible for running the action-packed pubstomp at both Bugis+ and TWCC. Unlike Dota 2 Singapore, Colosseum only opened its secret shop on the last day of its pubstomp, but will be selling what Dota 2 merchandise is left until stocks run out. Simply drop them a message on Facebook to enquire.

Check out photos of Colosseum’s pubstomp here:

Did you go to either of these pubstomps? What did or didn’t you like about them?