DreamHack Atlanta Closes with More Than 40,000 in Total Attendance

DreamHack Atlanta Offered Ultimate Weekend Experience of Everything Gaming Under One Roof

ATLANTA — DreamHack Atlanta, the three-day, immersive gaming lifestyle festival, has concluded with more than 40,000 in total attendance, December 15-17, 2023, at the Georgia World Congress Center. DreamHack, an ESL FACEIT Group brand, offered the ultimate weekend experience as the culmination of Games Week Georgia featuring everything gaming under one roof. Festival-goers admiring cosplay costumes, participating in tournaments, watching pros compete, learning to stream, tested technology at the Expo, attended panels, played laser tag with T-Pain and Nappy Boy Gaming, and much more. 

• PHOTOS: DreamHack Atlanta photos can be found HERE.  ESL photos can be found HERE.
• VIDEOS: Day 1 video HERE.  Day 2 video HERE.  Day 3 video to come.

ESPORTS RESULTS

DreamHack Atlanta hosted several international esports tournaments with more than $1.2 million in collective prizing, including the Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship, ESL Challenger Atlanta, ESL StarCraft II Masters Winter Finals, DreamHack Fighters, and more. 

Guests also participated in a range of local tournaments from the event’s BYOC LAN area, with over $40,000 up for grabs across 10 titles. 

• Virtus.pro Earns ESL Challenger Title at Dreamhack Atlanta

ESL Challenger, part of the ESL Pro Tour for Counter-Strike 2, brought one of the circuit’s most prestigious North American competitions to DreamHack Atlanta. Virtus.pro hoisted the ESL Challenger Atlanta trophy after besting Apeks in a dominant series. The win earns Virtus.pro a spot in the ESL Pro League Season 19 and the lion’s share of the $100,000 prize pool.

• Top Mobile Esports Squads Faced Off in Snapdragon Pro Series’ $1 Million Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship 

Sixteen of the world’s best teams rallied at DreamHack Atlanta for the Snapdragon Pro Series Powered by Samsung’s Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship. In the finals, Wolves’ 4-2 victory over GodLike earned them the title of World Champion and the majority of the $1 million prize pool.

• Clem Claims ESL StarCraft II Masters Winter Finals Title
  Clem, the 21-year-old Team Liquid allstar, made a dominant run through the ESL SC2 Masters Winter Finals, earning him the title and the lion’s share of the $75,000 prize pool. A standing-room-only crowd watched as he secured a 4-1 victory over fellow finalist Dark to hoist the trophy.
• DreamHack Fighters Turns Atlanta Into Fighting Game Hotspot

DreamHack Fighters attracted competitors from around the country to compete in nine marquee tournaments, including:

• Street Fighter 6 (won by JB)
• Guilty Gear Strive (won by MFCR)
• Super Smash Bros. Melee Singles (won by Hax$)
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Singles (won by Peabnut)
• Super Smash Bros. Melee Doubles (won by Panda / Krudo)
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Doubles (won by Peabnut / lolyoshi)
• Mortal Kombat 1 (won by Grr)
• Tekken 7 (won by Spero Jin)
• Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (won by SenpaiSpyder)
• Several Atlanta Natives were included in the Top 8’s, including: 
  • Colbol (3rd place, Super Smash Bros. Melee)
  • Skull_Duggers (4th place, Guilty Gear Strive)
  • Sami (3rd place, Street Fighter 6)
  • Genghis D0N (3rd place, Tekken 7)
  • Pokchop (5th place, Tekken 7).

ADDITIONAL EVENTS TO NOTE

• T-Pain and Nappy Boy Gaming 
  • Musician, entrepreneur, and gamer T-Pain and Nappy Boy Gaming celebrated DreamHack throughout the weekend — from rolling dice in a Dungeons & Dragons one-shot on the Main Stage, to leading a panel on the state of gaming. The Atlanta native also connected with fans and fellow creators at the event through meet & greets, competitions, laser tag, and more.
  • T-Pain and Nappy Boy Gaming distributed toys alongside Toys for Tots Marines to low-income families and foster families on site. Marines and creators helped wrap the presents beforehand at the Creator Hub.
• Tyler 1

Streaming giant Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp made a triumphant return to DreamHack, where he once again challenged fans in a range of activities on the Main Stage. Guests faced off against the streamer in video games, chess, and weightlifting, as well as live stream sessions over the weekend. Tyler1 also collaborated with other creators in attendance, including T-Pain and Nappy Boy Gaming.

• Dream BIG

Dream BIG, DreamHack’s tentpole charity initiative, made a splash across Metro Atlanta by donating more than $530,000 in free DreamHack tickets to students from Title I schools. The festival also collaborated in the DreamHack x Toys for Tots campaign to collect and donate toys to kids in need this holiday season. Bins were all over Metro Atlanta, as well as throughout the festival floor for donations all weekend long.  In addition, Dream BIG also hosted a charity corner, which raised more than $7k for all the charities on site as part of the charity corner (such as AbleGamers, 1000 Dreams Fund, and more).

• Tabletop Gaming

DreamHack Atlanta hosted the culmination of the United States Magic: The Gathering Regional Championship, Round 4. Of the 1,306 players competing for $130,000 in cash, the champion was Daniel Weiser. 

The winner of DreamHack’s inaugural Flesh and Blood PTI was @brodiespurlock. 

Community members of all types played Magic with friends throughout the weekend. Additional Tabletop activities included a library of 100+ games for attendees to choose from throughout the Festival. 

• Cosplay

Expert Winners:

1. Animauul (spent 300 hours on their cosplay outfit and won the $1000 grand prize)
2. Novice Cosplay
3. Sunlight of Astoria
4. Mythic Mikaela

Artisan Winners:

1. Snow
2. Sinistra Cosplay
3. Twilla Pop
4. Bridoof

Novice Winners

1. Jace Beleran
2. Jai_Kaye
3. Ginger Jedi Jessi
4. Rengekko

Judges Choice: 

• Dabboy