I don’t play CS. I don’t even really watch it.

But.

For a first CS Major - or event for that matter - there hasn’t been a much better experience I’ve ever had.

Coming to Cologne, The Cathedral of Counter-Strike, I wasn’t too sure what to expect, after all, I have less than 100 hours on the game despite owning it for around 10 years.

However, after the opening ceremony all the way through to the Playoffs, I have been hooked. The atmosphere, the design, the stories, have all been immense; and seeing the Golden Hornets and Dezorganizada Furiosa in full flow is unlike anything I’ve ever seen or heard before. Add on to that the stories of NiKo and FalleN, and it would be enough to make anyone fall in love with the game.

A highlight of the Major has to have been every expectation everyone has mentioned being proved wrong: Vitality losing in their first match, donk sh-tting the bed, and karrigan actually being good - if I wasn’t confused enough going in to it this certainly didn’t help.

It has also been amusing to me watching fans freaking out over players in and around the arena and having little to no idea who they are, trying to figure out the player I had handed a magazine to after telling the rest of the guys that he had a player badge on, having conversations with the guy who organises the entire event, and watching fans flock to kennyS whilst I’m just stood there staring trying to see what the big deal was.

Oh, and handed a magazine to TeSeS right after he got his medal for winning the event was pretty f-cking cool, too.

Cologne as a city is equally impressive: the towering Cathedral, the bustling Bierhaus’, and a surprisingly good mix of restaurants and culture, with favourite being a Vietnamese restaurant named Bonjour Saigon - the crispy fried duck is unreal. Combine all of these and throw in 33 degree heat every day, and it’s just about enough to get through the gruelling labour of handing out magazines.

Despite the heat and the back pain handing out magazines all around the arena, getting them into the hands of players, presidents of fan clubs and sponsors of the event has given me an appreciation I perhaps never thought I would have for Counter Strike, the emotion inside the LANXESS, the energy when magixx clutched with a 4k on mirage, I never thought I’d be cheering and screaming at a game I have such little experience in.

So, if I get the opportunity to attend again, either as a fan or as a part tl;dr, I would jump on it in a heartbeat.

I now see why everyone says it’s the best esport in the world, and it was an absolute honour to be a part of it.