The arena and tournament itself was a great experience, especially considering I have never been to a live DotA tournament before. While the prize pool was small, it still had enough to keep things interesting. The two day pass was a good value.
However, I cannot say the same about the VIP pass. Here is what I was promised:
Two-Day pass
Guaranteed 100-level seating
Goodie bag
Exclusive signing sessions
Behind the scenes tour
Dota2 Ingame item
Invite to the afterparty
Here is what I received:
Two-Day pass:
- Yep
Guaranteed 100-level seating:
- Yep
Goodie bag
- Yep (approx. $50 value):
Exclusive signing sessions:
- Only 2 teams showed up to them. I guess the rest just didn't feel like it...
Behind the scenes tour:
- NEVER HAPPENED!
Dota2 Ingame item
- Yep
Invite to the after-party
- Yes, but with a hitch. Entry was 21+ only (not announced). There were also TWO after-parties -- One for the pros/ staff, and one for the people who bought VIP tickets.
- The Former was segregated from the latter (via security), and they had an open bar. No reason for the pros to come and mingle with the fans.
- I, a fan, still had to pay for drinks (~$10-$13)
- Party was supposed to go until 3am, but the venue closed up the kitchen/ bar/ games around 1am
OVERALL: I would but the 2 day pass again, but not the VIP. Things I was promised never got fulfilled or were done so in a very poorly planned way. The after-party was an exception waste of money, and probably existed to fund the drinks of the "Pro" party. = /