Viewing party gets Defiant fans involved, brings exposure to Toronto esports

Toronto Defiant organized merchandise, giveaways, and a viewing party for fans to watch and celebrate the organization's season debut.

Photo of the fans The Rec Room Toronto for the Toronto Defiant viewing party.
Fans of all ages are glued to the screen as they watch Toronto Defiant take on Paris Eternal to start off the Overwatch League. Sean Olegario/Toronto Observer

The staff for Toronto Defiant put their organization in the public eye by holding a viewing party for their fans to come and support them in their first series of the season.

“It was pretty exhilarating, and it was pretty fun. I was confident in our team’s abilities,” fan Kevin Zhang said afterwards.

On Feb. 8, the Overwatch League season began in New York, where Toronto Defiant took on Paris Eternal. At the Rec Room in Toronto, fans gathered to support and watch their team via livestream.

Toronto Defiant started the season strong as they defeated Paris Eternal, 3-1.

A viewing party like this gets gamers out of their houses and come together to share something they all enjoy.

“It allows people to get more involved and feel like they are a part of something. You feel like you are part of the team, you feel like you are part of something bigger,” said fan Ty Crawford. “What’s great is that you get to communicate with other people too.”

Another fan, William Adamou, said that no matter where the games are held, these parties allow people to be in an environment that feels like they are at the game.

“When they get the crowd cheering, it becomes a really enjoyable experience.” Adamou said that having parties in public places like the Rec Room helps with the exposure for esports in general.

Fans cheer on Toronto Defiant as they close out the series against Paris Eternal, 3-1.

“I think parties like this are beneficial for the esports teams because it allows the normal person to have the chance to get into esports, be involved, and enjoy stuff like this,” said Nicholas Rose, a fan. “Generally, everyone can have fun.”

Merchandise was sold to the crowd, along with free items handed out. There was also a giveaway draw, that included signed team merchandise, such as sweaters and posters.

The first map selected was Lijiang Tower. Paris Eternal came out of the gates storming, while Toronto Defiant started off slow. Paris Eternal took the first map, and went up in the series 1-0.

The second map was Eichenwalde. Toronto Defiant’s best player, Lane “Surefour” Roberts was subbed in for this map. Toronto Defiant defeated Paris Eternal and tied the series 1-1. “We started off slow, we picked it up once we had Surefour on, and had an amazing game,” Adamou said,

The third map took place in Horizon Lunar company, where Toronto Defiant took the lead. Following the final map to be played on Havana. Andreas “Logix” Berghmans’ Widowmaker took over, and sealed the victory for Toronto Defiant, finishing the series 3-1.

Toronto Defiant started off the series slow, but as the series went on, they progressively found their footing and ended the series in four games, led by strong performance by Lane “Surefour” Roberts after being subbed in.

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Posted: Feb 13 2020 9:12 pm
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