This weekend, the elite female eSports world descends upon Macau for the Girl Gamer Festival 2017, a Grow uP eSports promotion. On August 31st, the esports elite players from such faraway places as Canada, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Serbia, the UK, the US, and Turkey gathered in Macau to compete in a CS: GO and League of Legends Invitational tournament. Besides such famous international teams like team Dignitas, Team Expert, RIOT Gaming and Elixir Gaming, local, championship teams from Hong Kong, China, and Macau, including DNR, Dream Force, and Grow uP Gaming’s two girls teams.
Two of the main sponsors – the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) – organized a sightseeing tour around Macau for the competing teams and the speakers from the adjoining esports conference.
The MGTO is a public entity responsible for implementing, analyzing and assisting in formulating the tourism policies of the Macao SAR to enhance its reputation as a quality destination. IPIM aims to assist both local and overseas enterprises to achieve business goals in a competitive market, obtain information, understand the current market trends and grasp business opportunities. The sightseeing tour included the Taipa Houses Museum, Ruins of St. Paul, and the oldest edifice in Macau, the A-Ma Temple.
“Last week, Macau saw the worst the world had to offer, this week the world gets to see the best the esports world has to offer battling it out in Macau,” said Frederico dos Santos Rosario, Chairman of Grow uP Esports, the festival’s producing company. “We wanted the teams to discover that Macau isn’t just about Baccarat, Sic Bo, or ringing slots; Macau embodies a spirit that rises from the beautiful cobblestone streets named after great Portuguese poets, world famous explorers, and eminent Chinese revolutionaries. There’s five hundred years of fascinating history here, beautiful architecture as far as the eye can see, world class cuisine, and a can-do spirit that will help Macau rise up after a once-in-a-generation disaster and show the world that Macau is better than it’s ever been,” added Frederico.
During the visit to the A-Ma temple, several team members got into the spirit of the places, burning incense, lighting candles, and making offerings for their descendants, or perhaps to the esports gods? The women also enjoyed visiting the former government offices in Taipa, as well as the ruins of St. Paul, all while taking in the unique beauty of Macau. Baraa Abdulla, a conference speaker hailing from Bahrain, said, “Macau has been an adventure since arriving on the ferry yesterday, I’ve been impressed to see everything back up and running smoothly after the typhoon, it still looks beautiful and it’s interesting to see the new casinos rising amidst the old culture of Macau.”
Grow uP eSports, the event’s producer, hopes events like Girl Gamer Festival 2017 will add a new chapter to Macau, the city dubbed “Asia’s entertainment destination.” Esports has events all throughout the year and Grow uP eSports plans to be a full part of the yearly competitive calendar.
“Some might think this is the worst time to come to Macau, but we believe it’s one of the best. You’ll enjoy Macau’s unique blend of cultures and everywhere around you, you’ll see the unbreakable spirit of Macau, a spirit that has been going strong for over 500 years and will have centuries more, we’re sure. We hope you can enjoy our Macanese hospitality and some, most importantly of all, some elite and world class gaming,” added Frederico.
Grow uP eSports welcomes the world to Melco Resort’s Studio City to see elite teams battling it out in both CS: GO and League of Legends, as well as to listen to some of the world’s preeminent speakers on the topic of esports and gaming starting on Friday, September 1st.
