MSI 2025 Blog: 7/8 (FLY vs BLG), 7/10-12
These four days will be combined into this one blog. Hopefully this doesn't end up being too long, but I don't think it will, ‘cause FLY didn't make it through anyway.
7/8; FLY vs BLG
This sign idea was the product of 1 brain cell a day prior at midnight
I received a ticket courtesy of FLY so I extend a huge thank you for that. The past few days I was recovering from MKOI elimination pains with a fun and refreshing family trip in Vancouver Island, so we took the 2pm ferry back to Vancouver. On the ferry, I started quickly sketching out the sign I wanted to make, which was a random idea that popped into mind the previous night - Flying on a Quest. I knew I wouldn't have much time to make a sign in advance, so I decided to draw chibis this time since I already drew the team normally before and I thought this would take less time (it did).
Then we had to drive to the venue on a strangely rainy Friday afternoon, which ended up taking longer due to traffic, so I got there 10 minutes late, around 5:11 or so. And I was also working on the sign in the car again, but it was pretty doable since we kept having long stops from traffic.
I rushed inside and there was a long winding line to get into the floor area for some reason. Mind you it was 5:15 pm by this point and the game already started. But anyway, let's say I waited another 5 minutes to get in.
As I entered, it seemed like the game was going well with Inspired nabbing a killing spree or something, so I joined the clapping and cheering. I scurried to my edge seat and I noticed Basil towards the left in the row ahead of me, the back of her jersey/jacket says Basil. After conveying my seat location, Arsh messaged that his seat was around Basil, Mihir, and Sam, with a lot of open seats around him. Then I was like, dude, you’re nearby. I looked farther left, Arsh looked back and saw me and I waved. He pointed emphatically at the empty seat next to him and I messaged to check if he wanted me to move over, which he did. That area remained unoccupied for the whole series anyway and it was nice sitting next to a friend this time.
The first game went splendidly with Inspired having an incredible Sejuani game. I got up afterward and located Misstep, a chill person who I’ve talked with a decent amount via Vulcan streams (they’re a mod). They brought custom made freebie cards of every player, and I had asked in advance about trading freebies! So I gave the Massu/Jojo stickers they wanted plus a Vulcan LTART Prestige Edition Card (that's what I started calling the gold foil cards because Socky called it that). And then I received these really cool Jojopyun, Inspired, and Vulcan cards!
Unfortunately, game 2 wasn’t as good, as once again my team locked in the winless Kalista and it continued to look... not very useful. Honestly, this is all I can remember right now and I’m sure as heck not rewatching the series.
Massu’s friends and family were sitting in the row behind us. Between games, I handed them a bunch of Massu freebies - my stickers, some LTART Prestige cards, my own Massu Kai’Sa holographic card, and lastly my own FlyQuest Summer 2024 championship poster! They really enjoyed the freebies and the sign I made.
Massu’s friends showed me the giant gift bag they had hauled into the venue. Inside was an absurdly expensive and large One Piece Labubu they were gifting to Massu. Hey, well, I’m sure Massu appreciated being able to see his friends and family here. I’d also like to give a shoutout to one of Massu’s friends, Shehriyar / shrox, who’s very friendly, great to talk with, and helped pass my stuff to the other friends & fam.
Game 3 started a little rough, but Arsh kept pouring out copium, saying that if the lead wasn't 6k by 25 minutes it would be fine. Well the lead was maybe like 4k by that time. And honestly he was right…? FLY eventually started winning teamfights and coming back, to the point they got Baron, killed some enemies and started pushing to end. But was it really an end angle…? Filled with excitement, I legit started filming, thinking we would win this game. But then, they started dying at the nexus turrets. Oh no, I’ve seen this before, countless times, the Western classic... NEXUS TURRET THROW! The enemies respawned and killed every last one of FlyQuest. Then started TP’ing bot wave which was already pushing up. Death timers were 40+ seconds. We wouldn’t respawn in time. It was over.
The cheering that had previously erupted shifted into wails of despair. How had they lost this, it was won! They should have been up 2-1 and now were down 1-2. My data wasn't even working anymore. I just scooted next to Basil and started commiserating since the others had left to do their between-games media stuff. “I’m so annoyed,” she told me. Who wouldn’t be?
Anyway, there isn't any time left to regret and mourn game 3, we must collectively lock in for game 4. Throughout the day, people kept starting ‘LET’S GO FLYQUEST” chants and the home crowd sure brought the energy.
During champ select the cameras came on our side and I got to show off the Flying on a Quest sign!
Game 4 went well, I recall Quad having a nice Hwei game and Inspired having a nice Trundle game, everyone played well, we got Bwipo Sett fun counterpick, botlane went Jhin Bard and ate, etc. The momentum seemed to be on our side, the venue was hyped up heading to game 5.
And then game 5… well we all know don’t we. Draft was looking… rough. The enemy team was able to draft four globals and we looked lost. R5 Zilean for Quad didn't seem to be the tech at all as he got solo killed under turret at maybe level 3 or so.
I legit spent an HOUR later that night discussing with friends what we thought could have been drafted instead. I mean no one could exactly agree on one thing, right? Drafting isn't easy, but then again, it's not our jobs either. I mean the easiest idea is banning Galio instead of Nami but then you need to have something else prepped for Rumble right? But it’s Bwipo, surely he has something else prepped?
My main take was putting Massu on a hypercarry rather than Lucian, especially after Fly was the team who banned Nami first round. Jinx, Caitlyn, Xayah were all up. Or, he could have been the one on Ashe. This could have been done as late as R5, if open to flexing Lucian mid to let Massu play a hypercarry. Quad probably wouldn't be comfortable regardless, but at least Massu would play something more useful?
Other mid lane options have been thrown out: Swain, Seraphine, Veigar, Aurelion Sol, Sylas. Would Quad be the most comfortable on any of these, probably not, but would they be better than Zilean, most likely. Mid lane was already low on options, so… Anyway, I'm sure all of us could talk for ages about how to improve draft, but at the end of the day, there's no changing what already happened.
I look behind and around me and the energy seems drained, everyone looks hopeless, the kills are 31 to 5 and what was the point of making it this far just to suffer so much? The game was depressing to watch, somehow even more so than the MKOI one, maybe because FLY had taken 2 games already and the series seemed far more winnable. Like many people have said, it felt like “we lost to ourselves”.
But they will learn from this and come back stronger, I know. In NA, no one works harder than them. And my goat Inspired had a great series and tournament, despite that bitter and crushing end. To FlyQuest, our homeland heroes, I salute you and wish you well, my beloved roster.
And I must again thank the FlyFam and the MassuFam sitting around me, for it certainly felt less lonely and at least we suffered together and not alone. And of course, I give my biggest shoutout to Basil, a real gem.
7/10 - BLG vs AL, Meeting Friends
Touching Grass
I returned to MSI after taking 7/9 to refresh myself by going around with family. I visited one of my favorite places in Vancouver, the Bloedel conservatory, and found KOI… sorry. But anyway, much recommended place for anyone who loves birds.
We briefly interrupt your regularly scheduled Lolesports to bring you Birds.
7/9 night I had free time for once, so I finally caught up on most of the MKOI videos I didn't have time to watch before and I miss them all over again. I also started sketching my ‘Pick Kha’Zix’ sign, but I didn't finish it because we were gonna be sitting in the upper section for 7/10-11 and I figured the camera wouldn't really come there.
At the start of 7/10, I met up with a group of friends at the Vancouver Aquarium. I personally love aquariums, so I had a blast. It was also my first time meeting @ttttyuc (Yuuu) and @alpacaisbest (Cindy) and they were very nice! The friends I've already met before are of course Arsh, Angie, and Socky. Let’s just say we had a dress code and Arsh did not follow it. He is also way taller than the rest of us which was funny in the photo.




We were able to see plenty of cool stuff, some of my favorites being sea lion training, reef sharks, stingrays, snakes, and sea otters eating. We saw at least one T1 jersey and one Team Liquid shirt. I think I probably enjoyed the experience the most out of everyone but what can I say? You guys see my paintings here🤷♀️So much ocean themed stuff.
The Games
Angie had to leave early for a lunch with another friend. The rest of us took an Uber to the venue together and got there around 4pm. At the front of the venue, as part of tailgate, a black ‘graffiti wall’ filled with colorful marker drawings and text greeted us. Apparently fans could grab a marker from the nearby table and put whatever they want on the wall. People actually seemed to keep it all appropriate throughout the three days, thankfully. Of course, when deciding what to draw, it really was a no-brainer. I have to draw Jojopyun, who is probably also the one pro player I can draw the best without referencing anything. Maybe I could draw him eyes closed (maybe I should try that someday).
wait, i voted for flash on D but i forgot to vote for “ARAM only”
I also learned that the security apparently started allowing empty bottles in a few days ago which… BRO?? I’VE BEEN GETTING SCAMMED HELLO I was actually buying those darn $5 CAD water bottles all the other days.
Then Socky and I lined up at the packed Riot Merch line because she heard you could get a bag here if you buy something. After looking through the catalogue I said I was down to buy a scuttlecrab. Unfortunately after waiting 40 minutes in line, the last scuttlecrab sold out before my very eyes, just one row of people in front of me.
Due to the 40 minute wait, sunk-cost fallacy kicked in plus Socky had already exited the line. After confirming with the staff lady that they have no more scuttlecrabs, I swear I stood there debating what to buy for a whole minute with the overworked staff lady’s eyes boring into my skull. Finally I pointed at the Baron Nashor plushie. Reasoning:
He is purple.
I kinda don't like Teemo that much.
A poro by itself is a bit plain.
The Ahri fox is great and cute but it's not that recognizable for what it is.
However, this reasoning did not stop me from questioning myself afterwards. Like: oh maybe I should have got Teemo or the Fox, because they relate to Jojo and/or Vulcan in some ways? But now looking back, I can at least say my Baron has grown on me a lot. He is a cutie patootie. It looks like he’s making the 😮face.
Furthermore, the bags were NOT free, they were a whole five dollars so I opted not to buy it because I wasn't sure if Socky wanted to spend five dollars on a bag. Turns out she didn't, so it was fine. Anyway, it was already like 4:45 and time for the preshow. We returned to our seats and were ready to watch the games.
After the first game, which I think was a stomp (idk I can't remember anything from the series besides it being a stomp of a series), I went out to find some people who wanted stickers. When I came back, the guy who was sitting two seats to the right of Socky (that was an edge seat, and there was no one sitting in the second seat) soon also returned with two large cups of Sprite. He handed one to Socky, who was confused. Then he was trying to say something, but his English didn't seem the best. So I leaned over and tried to gauge whether this person was Chinese or not. But he seemed to realize as well, looking at me and saying, “Can you understand Chinese?” in Chinese. (From here on out, the Chinese parts will be differentiated with italics.)
“A little bit,” I said sheepishly.
“Can you tell her I’m just treating her to that drink? Don’t worry.” Based on the vibe check, he seemed to be genuine, not weird or anything, so I conveyed this to Socky and clarified with her that she wasn't a Sprite hater.
The dude started striking up some more conversation with a mixture of Chinese and broken English, while I was also replying with a mixture of Chinese and English. We never even got his name or anything. But he asked if we played League of Legends. I tried to communicate that I only play ARAM, but he seemed to not understand what that was, so eventually I pulled up a photo of Howling Abyss and then he got it. This is lowkey how a lot of the League related convos went with the guy. For example, we tried to ask him for his rank, and he didn't understand until Socky found a picture of all the ranks. (He’s Emerald.)
It also turns out he flew in from China, or well actually from China to Japan to Canada is what he said. And it turns out he was rooting for AL over BLG because quote “They can beat Korean teams.”
But don't get me wrong, we really didn't talk that much, and he was pretty chill. It was just… unexpected? Surprising, maybe? Deep in the back of your head, you're always thinking, “are there gonna be worse intentions here?” But there weren't, so it was ultimately just… wholesome, I suppose, thankfully? He got me a Sprite too, after asking if I like it. Actually Sprite is my favorite soda alongside Fanta, so yay! But uh, guys, don't learn from us, maybe be careful accepting drinks from random strangers or at least go to the concession line with them if you’ll do so…. It was completely fine this time though! Haha… Make sure your vibes radar is ON POINT, girlies.
ANYWAY! It was a fast 3-0, and the guy instantly left when the game ended, who knows where? Didn't even say goodbye, just left, what a chiller.
Well I also had to go to the bathroom, but then Socky also came along and I left one of my bags at the seats because I figured well it's under my seat and I’ll come back for it (and the Sprite) anyway. But then I delayed a bit more by trying to recreate the Massio selfie again with Socky in better lighting... erm maybe it still flopped a bit but. Wait I forgot to mention that huh… we were trying to recreate the selfie but uh… let me just give you the best attempt out of the ten attempts.
we legit felt so embarrassed doing this but when you put it this way it isn’t too bad
But when we came back five minutes later, the tote bag I left was genuinely gone, I scoured under all the seats for it but was confused at its absence.
We located the lost and found desk and I asked if they had any bags. They clarified with me 1) what type of bag and 2) what was inside, and thankfully they did have it. “A good samaritan came by with this,” they told me. Well, nice to know that irl League fans are still wholesome!!
LESSON 2: don't leave your bag unattended at the end of the event, even if you're coming back in five minutes!! Or just don't leave it unattended in general if you don't have someone there watching it. Yeah, that's a good rule of thumb, woops.
Outside the venue, while waiting for Arsh to finish the press conference, a random girl called out to me- “ATEEZ! I love your Jjongbear!” I grinned, turning to her and held up my Jjongbear, a lil plushie bear who represents my bias Jongho in the kpop group ATEEZ. She held up her smol Bbyongming that was attached to her bag as well. While I tried to take a quick photo, her friend showed off a cute ot8 Aniteez arm tattoo and then her Wooyonyang head, plus Angie joined us with her PuppyM, which isn’t an Ateez plushie it’s a Stray Kids plushie, but hey, Angie is an Atiny (for way longer than me too). Anyway, it was just a really cute and wholesome little moment I have to note down for the memories.
The aquarium squad headed to dinner together along with Retro. Arsh found an Indian food place for us and was ready to introduce ball to us noobs. He ordered in Hindi which was pretty dope.
waaaaaa
Arsh gave us a tutorial on how to eat the food properly- using the naan to scoop up the various dishes at the table and eat it all together. I think I understood it, but either way it tasted good. I also concluded that ‘butter chicken’ is my goat.
And after that, a long, fun day of lolesports and hanging out was over.
7/11 - T1 vs AL
GAMER TOUCHING WATER
Today, I held a poll for what jersey to wear and Vulcan was winning it at the time that I had to head out, so I wore his jersey, but later Inspired actually won the poll… I set the ending too late sorry. Ahead of the series, I didn't have plans with friends. So I went to Lynn Canyon park with my family and chillaxed a bit. It's free and there's a smaller scale suspension bridge, and you can find this river area where you can sit on rocks and touch water. It's omega hot outside, but by the river it’s so nice and cool you’d forget.
Then we got lunch and headed for the venue. Today, I’m rooting for AL because I like their story and my mom told me to root for LPL because my aunt’s students like LPL. But I don't have major stakes in the game. I also don't mind it going later today.
All I remember about the first game is that it had multiple pauses. Look, please give me a break, all my teams are gone already and I’m just here for vibes and friends at this point. I mean, I had fun with these series, but do I remember the individual games well… not really. Anyway, Ruii arrived somewhere during the second game, I think. She had the edge seat next to Socky.
with sockyruii <3
Someone wanted a photo with me and Arsh and Angie, so we coordinated a meetup between games 3 and 4.
I started craving the nachos I had the first week so I grabbed a tray before heading back to my seat. At that point I started hoping we would see a game 5 because they had given me a LOT of nachos and I didn't think I could finish them within one game. Thankfully, we got to have a game 5.
When I saw AL lock in the winless Twisted Fate in champ select of game 5, I knew it was lost for them. I am a certified TF hater this tournament (and in general probably, champ is kinda boring), and yes I’m still salty MKOI played it. Unfortunately, game 5 was a giga stomp, which was not too exciting but also not too surprising.
I definitely felt bad for AL, because I thought they were a pretty fun team with a cool story, and I thought they definitely had the ability to win this series on a good day, a good draft, idk. Well, best wishes to them.
Due to the five game series, it was a bit too late to get dinner somewhere with a large group of people. The others determined they would eat bar food, while Socky and I decided it’d be better for us to just head home and rest up so we could be ready to arrive early the next day.
7/12 - T1 vs GENG Finals
We knew we had to line up early if we wanted to make it into the Caedrel meet & greet. Socky arrived and lined up around 11:50 AM. I came about 10 minutes later and ran to where she was. And she started waving something at me and upon closer inspection it was… A KOI PLUSHIE?? (I am still accepting naming suggestions for this cutie and will probably make a poll later with whichever four options I like the most.) “Koi oi oi,” she started singing to the tune of Danza Kuduro as I stood next to her. “This is for you!” Apparently she got it from the Dr Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden’s gift shop as she went there with family earlier.
KOI OI OI
We killed time by yapping about random stuff with Yanni who was standing in front of us in line. And I thought about what I should do. It's not like I’m the biggest Caedrel viewer, mainly cuz he doesn't costream NA much and I kiinda only watch NA, but dude, it's Caedrel, who doesn’t watch him sometimes? I just figured I could at least give him the MKOI freebies and ask for some dumb pose.
It straight up took us until 1:20 PM to see him, but it was definitely correct to line up that early because the fans after us would have a harder time making it into the meet & greet and still have to wait that long. Socky went first, telling Caedrel it’s her first international event, to which he said oh it's a good choice! They did a few poses and then it was my turn.
We fist bumped and I said “nice to meet you, I like watching you” and started setting my gifts on the table to the left. He started grabbing the marker like he was getting ready to sign the poster, so I quickly clarified it's a gift, and he was like, oh really?? Seeming kind of surprised, he set the poster and sticker bag to the other side of the table.
I requested a picture with holding the Koi and one with the Absolute Cinema pose. But then the staff was suddenly like ‘Okay last one!’ And we had less than a second to do a third pose which I had not thought of, and Caedrel just instantly defaulted to the classic thumbs up. So having seen Yuuu’s photo earlier, I thought it would be funny to do the pose where I hold a hand heart to his thumbs up. I think I’m looking at the wrong camera bro but ignore me.
Collectively Socky and I only took less than 30 seconds each at the meet & greet, which was solid. Then I was determined to not leave Canada without trying Tim Hortons at least one time yknow, for the culture (sorry if this offends any of you). So we walked around 12 minutes to the nearest one. Thankfully there was a self order kiosk. I scrolled through the options and chose a chicken wrap, a peach juice that came with a bottle I could bring into the venue later (cuz I forgot my water like a dummy), and of course Timbits, the donut holes. According to every Canadian I know, Tim Hortons is mid overall but Timbits are pretty good. I guess I’ll have to agree but it’s like, appropriately mid you know, I wouldn’t have expected much better.
We got two of each Timbits flavor they had and tried one of each. My ranking of the flavors is in the pic above.
I actually liked the chicken wrap a lot to be honest, it reminded me of when McDonalds used to have chicken wraps but then got rid of them and me and my brother were sad about that as kids. And well afterwards Arsh told me that apparently the wraps are one of the better foods you can get here so it was a good choice.
While at Tim Hortons, a lot of other lolesports fans came in for food. You could just tell by what people are wearing. Teemo hats, team merch, League merch galore. One girl approached us and asked if we could watch her stuff while she used the washroom. We explained the washroom door was locked and the employees had told us to wait for someone to unlock it, but we had been waiting quite a while. So the girl sat next to us and we just started chatting while waiting.
Turns out she was from the Toronto area and more of an LEC than an LCS fan. Apparently she was once a huge Fnatic fan, but in recent years has kinda fallen out of that with the direction the org has gone in, and now isn't quite a fan of any team. I managed to ask her if she had anyone she liked from MKOI, showing that I had made stickers.
“Oh! This is really like a Kpop concert,” she remarked. “Like, the amount of people around outside the venue too, it reminded me of that.”
As a kpoppie, I totally agreed with that sentiment- the fanmade freebie culture around kpop concerts is beautiful and I’m trying to recreate some of that energy for the NA (and I suppose EU) fan side. In terms of freebies, you're much more likely to find freebies of LCK and LPL teams/players than LCS or LEC. They're all fanmade, so it's really just up to the fans of each region.
“Do you have their ADC?” she asked.
“Yeah!” I said.
“Supaaa!” Socky exclaimed, and I repeated after her.
“Based,” I said, handing her the two Supa stickers.
She immediately started putting the stickers on her phone case, which was an empty case with no stickers on it already. So I was very touched by that. I think it has been hard for me to really find LEC fans and not just Jojo fans here. But then again, I am bad at talking to people if they don't talk to me first. We never got her name or social media, which I regret a little, but I am glad we got the chance to talk a bit. Apparently she has twitter, so if there's ever a chance she sees this, I hope she says hello.
We headed back to the tailgate and decided to line up for Riftbound because honestly, they’re allegedly giving out Riftbound pins if you play the game and I’m just trying to obtain a pin for some friends. Arsh had joined the virtual queue for us earlier, but the ‘virtual queue’ was basically a lie because upon asking one of the staff, she told me that it's not based on number and that our best bet for playing Riftbound is to just wait in the standby line. So we went to the standby line, but it was out in the burning sun with no cover or shade. Then because that was miserable Cassie and Cindy didn't really wanna wait, and I was down to just go alone. But we ended up waiting for quite a while, and then Angie came by to say hi and check on us. We explained the situation and she said she’d go ask the staff if they have pins. Well, apparently they had already run out. So why did we do all that waiting out in the heat?? I felt annoyed at that point, but thankfully, I did at least acquire one pin through other means.
It was now almost 3:30 PM, so we went toward the line to get into the venue, but I swear it was WINDING all the way around multiple buildings and back. Thankfully we were saved because it just so happened that some of Ruii’s friends were waiting in the middle of the line so we joined them. And then once the line started moving it kept on moving fast, so it wasn't actually as long of a wait as I feared.
We’re getting 5 game fearless and my champ still isn’t played can they please make him pro-viable please
The merch line however was way too long it seemed, so I gave up on my dreams of acquiring the scuttlecrab at this event and decided to just go sit down with Socky. We had an hour to spare so I figured I probably did have time to complete my Pick Kha’Zix sign. I worked on that for almost the whole hour while listening to the preshow.
Then it was time for the opening ceremony. Legit everyone in the audience started standing up. It was a cascading effect because if the person in front of you stands up, you also have to stand up in order to see. It was lowkey annoying if you’re short but also felt like a kpop concert so I’m used to it.
Every game was lowkey a stomp. At the start of game 4, I bought nachos again figuring maybe it was about that time and was once again hoping the series would extend so I could have more time to eat said nachos. GENG was down two losses and had one win, so it was on them to win game 4 for my nacho agenda.
And we in fact wound up in another five game banger, another silver scrapes. I didn’t move much today. I wasn't tired, in fact my energy was good, but I think I just didn't have much to do. Ruii on the other hand, was consistently yawning and telling me that she was extremely sleepy.
Throughout and after the game, the band of GENG fans sitting in front of me (plenty of Chovy jerseys) kept screaming their heads off and hugging and shaking each others’ hands, which was honestly wholesome. I’m happy for them, and I’m happy for the players. It would have for sure sucked to lose finals after not dropping a single series, so it was nice to see them go all the way.
As for T1, I think there's not much to complain about, I think they already came way farther than people would have expected a few weeks ago. I’m telling you, if NA or EU made it to top 2, people would be celebrating in the streets, but if it’s T1, somehow people think 2nd place is bad. I understand that the players will always want to win it all, but to the fans, it's not like they got 6th place, they got SECOND and took the finals to 5 games, which I’m pretty sure most other teams would still feel proud of as a result.
Anyway, Ruler and Duro got interviewed and then Chovy joined them later in honor of his Finals MVP award. There was massive cheering for all of them but especially I remember that everyone who was left in the crowd started chanting “RULER! RULER!” at one point. After the interviews, Ruii told us she had to leave with her friends because they were all very tired, so we hugged her one last time and said goodbye. Then Socky and I decided we should just head to our lodgings because she had an early flight and I also felt like it was getting too late to really go somewhere, it was already 10pm or so. So Angie also thought it'd be better to just go ‘home.’
We went outside to wait for our respective rides. Lots of fans were gathered just waiting for rides. I managed to see and say goodbye to Yuuu and Cindy one last time. And after yapping with Socky in my car and hugging her one last time, it was all truly over.
ABSOLUTE CINEMA!!
FINAL SHOUTOUTS
It has been a crazy two weeks, and definitely the best trip of my life! To those I spent the most time with this MSI and got my tickets together with, I have already thanked you but I will shout you out again as I reflect on the whole MSI:
Daysie- Thank you for being the #1 emotional support and helping me feel more comfy and safe here! Thanks to us walking together the first week, I was able to lead others around more comfortably in the second week! I feel honored I got to spend your birthday with you and my favorite memories definitely happened while you were around 🥹I didn't know any other friends who were coming week one so I am so grateful you were down to get seats together when I asked you very last second about it <3 it would have been a very difficult week 1 without you but wound up being so fun and fulfilling!!
Arsh - Thank you for everything, you already know what! I would have most definitely had a tougher time without you around. Thanks for instilling more confidence in me and please know the effort you put into all this is so appreciated.
Socky- I’m so glad you could make it and I love you always!! Thanks for being by my side and making the last 3 days of MSI more fun <3 Thanks for planning things out with me these past few months even if we didn't actually plan out that much, we were so excited about this trip for the longest time and I hope it lived up to what you anticipated.
Angie - I’m glad we were able to see each other!! I wish we could have spent more time but the time we spent was lovely <3 I hope you could feel included here. Hope you were able to feel refreshed and have a nice break time during this trip.
Ruii- My eepy friend, we were seatmates, but not for long enough. I wish we could spend more time together but it was great to see you again!! Even though it was short, I hope you enjoyed it TT
To my friends who couldn't make it to MSI- thank you for hyping me up and I hope we can meet someday!!
And to all my fellow fans I met here- Thank you to each and every one of you, even the ones who won't ever read this because we met fleetingly and they don’t have Twitter. To every fan who took a sticker, complimented a sign, expressed support for a team I like, and so on. You all make the live event experience so much better and remind me about all the positive sides of esports, which isn’t always easy to think about when I’m online. I’m really shy and I’m bad at speaking to people unless they speak to me first, so I really appreciate when people speak to me first. And I hope I’ll continue to overcome my social anxiety in the future.
Tips for Attending International Lolesports Events
These are my final pointers for anyone who is looking to attend internationals in the future but has no experience with it. (And also good reminders for myself in the future.)
Know your phone data plan especially if traveling out of your country. If you have a limit for high-speed, conserve it well.
Know the venue & event rules. (Max size for signs, water bottle policy, bag policy etc)
Bring a portable charger and remember to charge it every day.
Know the weather, especially if you’re gonna be outside for a long time, especially in lines when you can’t really move around. If it gets really hot… try to have a fan (an actual or electric fan) with you, the right clothes for the weather, etc.
Remember water, snacks, and sunscreen (if you’re gonna be outdoors for a long time). You never know whether the series will go 3, 4, or 5 games, so you have to be prepared to suddenly become hungry in the middle of a game (snacks are nice for that).
If you want RIOT MERCH you have to line up early.
Bathrooms might have lines right after a game ends, especially at the more popular days (toward the end of the event). So if you’re trying to avoid that, go during a game if you don’t care, or toward the end of the break, or during champ select. (Same thing goes for food lines- they’ll be practically nonexistent during games.)
Have a marker with you to get autographs from people you want (such as casters / analysts / talent who are easy to meet). Always be prepared (half joking). You never know if your favorite player is gonna show up, retired or not. If you like making signs between games, it’s also nice to have your own markers, but they always provide markers and papers too.
Come early if you’re interested in meet and greets with popular people.
Ask your local friends about stuff to do and places to eat.
Be flexible. Don't panic if you can't do something you wanted or you forgot something or you didn’t have time to plan enough… things will work out. There’ll always be some pleasant surprises you didn’t expect too <3