Presented by ESL Australia
DreamHack Melbourne not only sees the return of large-scale in-person gaming mega-events to Australia (after a couple of years of digital hibernation), but it also marks the debut for the world’s premiere all-things games festival known as DreamHack on our shores. It’ll play host to a massive international CS:GO tournament with local and overseas teams, the best League of Legends players in the country will go head-to-head in the LCO Finals, and Halo Infinite pros will flex their Master-full skills in a regional Halo Championship Series.

Taking place over the weekend of September 2 to September 4, 2022, at Melbourne & Olympic Parks, all of that action will take place in front of huge crowds with all the big screen, lights, cameras and action you’d expect. But DreamHack is more than a single thing, it’s a festival. It’s home to a massive BYOC (bring your own computer) 24-hour LAN party, which is awesome to see in Australia. Trust us, we know – it’s how AusGamers started! It's a place where anyone can compete to win prizes, a place to find booths and activities featuring the latest games to play and products to test, and it’s a place to discover art. It’ll be a home for tabletop games, cosplay, and for Indie creators to showcase their talent and wares.

Above all, it’s a celebration and community experience unlike any other.

It Began with a LAN - A Look at DreamHack History

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DreamHack began in the era of baggy pants, thick belts and when Friends was also a TV show you watched in addition to being the group of people you hung out with. Yeah, we’re talking about the 1990s, with the very first DreamHack being a large-scale LAN party that took place in a school cafeteria somewhere in Sweden in 1994, the same year Green Day dropped Dookie on us all. From here the event grew in popularity with the venue having to shift from its school-grounds origins to ‘a big arena’, just to fit everyone and their beige-coloured PCs through the door.

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"DreamHack Melbourne not only sees the return of large-scale in-person gaming mega-events to Australia (after a couple of years of digital hibernation), but it also marks the debut for the world’s premiere all-things games festival known as DreamHack on our shores."

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Further growth came with multiple annual gatherings (DreamHack Summer and DreamHack Winter) at the iconic Elmia exhibition centre in Jönköping, and it wasn’t long before it expanded to become more than a place to play games with thousands of like-minded gamers. It became an expo, a place to see the latest games and products and take them things for a digital spin. It became a place for competition, for local stars and artists to flex their skill and creativity. It became a place for more than just one type of game, from those that required a PC and desktop icon to double-click on, through to those that were played on a tabletop with dice, boards and detailed mini-figs.

And from there it didn’t take long for DreamHack to become the premiere destination for esports competition and games like League of Legends and CS:GO. As DreamHack grew, the games, competition, art, music and community it celebrated propelled it into the globally recognised event it is today. But, through all that change the core 1990s-style LAN Party has remained the heart of the festival. And even though the beige computers with chunky monitors were slowly replaced with RGB-lit desktops with liquid cooling and widescreen high-refresh rate displays, and the network setup became world-class and Guinness World Record breaking in terms of the amount of data it can seamlessly handle, the spirit of community and a shared passion for games remains as strong as ever.

DreamHack Melbourne represents the first time the festival will hit our shores, and with it bringing all the goodness you’d expect – it’s easily on track to become Australia’s requisite gaming event of the year – a must-attend experience if you love any of the above.

DreamHack Competition - The World Stage, Down Under

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With DreamHack Melbourne taking over Melbourne & Olympic Parks for the weekend of September 2 - 4, 2022, all the esports action is set to take place in some of Australia's most beloved and best sporting arenas backed up by cutting edge presentation across giant screens and a concert-style atmosphere. With CS:GO, League of Legends, and Halo Infinite action coming, here’s a breakdown of what to expect.

CS:GO - ESL Challenger Melbourne

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CS:GO is one of the most popular shooters played today, and with DreamHack’s history going all the way back to the very first large-scale LAN parties – having a major Counter-Strike tournament come to Australia is nothing less than awesome. The ESL Challenger tournament presents a direct path to the ESL Pro League, where the best in the world go up against qualifiers from multiple regions. ESL Challenger Melbourne will see international teams go up against local ANZ talent (in addition to qualifiers from Europe, Asia, and North America) in a DreamHack Melbourne tournament that is set to be truly epic. With all the action taking place at the iconic Rod Laver Arena over three fierce days of competition, the $100,000 USD prize pool will see rivalries form, scores settle, and no doubt a few surprise outcomes too.

League of Legends and the LCO

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The LCO – Delivered By Menulog, is the place Oceania’s top League of Legends teams go head-to-head. And with the LCO Split 2 Grand Final coming to DreamHack Melbourne, the best LoL players in Australia will go head-to-head in front of a live audience. The final will take place on Sunday, September 4th, and as of writing, eight of Australia’s top teams are currently battling out to be able to showcase their talent on the mainstage. With The Chiefs dominating, it’ll be interesting to see how it shapes up for the Dire Wolves, Pentanet.GG, Peace, ORDER (the reigning champs), Mammoth, Kanga Esports and Gravitas before the big day.

Halo Infinite and the Halo Championship Series

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DreamHack Melbourne is set to be the home for Halo Championship Series (HCS ANZ) Regional Finals, where the 4v4 action will see local teams battle it out for top honours and the chance to earn a spot at HCS Orlando. With all of the action taking place at Margaret Court Arena, an Open Elimination Bracket and Pool Play will lead up to the Grand Final where the two best teams will take their Spartans onto the field and battle it out in an epic Best of 7 showdown.

DreamHack Melbourne is a Festival For Everyone

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As a celebration of all-things games, DreamHack Melbourne will also feature an Expo Hall, which is open all day Saturday and Sunday, that will be housed in the brand-new cutting edge and stylish CENTREPIECE venue at Melbourne Park. And it’s here where you can expect to find booths covering all sides of gaming – from demos for the latest releases through to tech, gadgets, and all the gear you might need to put together the ultimate setup. There’ll be competitions, give-aways, events, and free-play sections to discover, in addition to art, cosplay and music. And for fans of competition, the ESL Shop is also making its long-awaited return to Australia, making DreamHack Australia the place for a massive range of esports and gaming merch. And as it’s the first DreamHack to hit Australia, there’ll be some very cool custom goodies too.

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"DreamHack Melbourne will also be home to interactive panels, so if you’re interested in what it means to become a professional gamer, break into the industry at large, or learn about a particular game or how to jump into the tabletop scene, there’ll be something for you."

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DreamHack Melbourne will also be home to interactive panels, so if you’re interested in what it means to become a professional gamer, break into the industry at large, or learn about a particular game or how to jump into the tabletop scene, there’ll be something for you. Best of all they’ll also be community-driven, so if you’ve got a panel idea you’d love to make happen then be sure to fill out the application form here. But be quick, submissions close at the end of June.

It’s a New School Old School LAN Party!

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There’s nothing quite like a large-scale LAN party. A BYOC event where rows of computers all light-up and play home to some of the most intense and even casual social gaming you’re likely to experience. Trust us, at AusGamers we’re known for having played a part in the local LAN scene for decades, and DreamHack Melbourne is set to bring some of that OG DreamHack feel in its first year. Bringing a big ol’ LAN Party to a major event is, yeah, awesome.

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"There’s nothing quite like a large-scale LAN party. A BYOC event where rows of computers all light-up and play home to some of the most intense and even casual social gaming you’re likely to experience."

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LANs have always been about more than jumping into a few rounds of Counter-Strike or a MOBA, it’s about catching up with friends, watching the competition unfold together, and connecting with a group of people with a shared love of all things gaming. The DreamHack Melbourne team is looking to make the first LAN Party an intimate and memorable event – and you can head here to grab your BYOC Festival Pass. With a LAN ticket (which also doubles as a festival pass) you’ll join many other like-minded Aussies, lugging your PCs into a state-of-the-art LAN venue where you’ll get your own space, power, network connection, and even a comfy chair to game in over the course of 24-hours.

Plus, a LAN in 2022 means the chance to show off that PC build you’ve been fine-tuning with water-blocks and cable management and all manner of detail. Or to just connect with people again, and we think everyone can agree opportunities like this have been long missing from our gaming and events calendars.

See you there!

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DreamHack Melbourne 2022 kicks off Sep 2 – Sep 4, 2022 at Melbourne & Olympic Parks.
Head Here For All Tickets. Head Here For All the Event and Activity Info.