DreamHack Winter has concluded at the Elmia Congress Center in Jönköping, Sweden, with 45,000+ people attending, and record-breaking Saturday attendance figures.
Here’s our recap looking at the DreamHack Winter 2023 esports winners, action and more, across multiple games.
ESL R1 Crowns Its Champion Of The Fall Season
After eight rounds and a two-day championship at DreamHack Winter, the ESL R1 Fall Major has drawn to close, crowning Australian racer Joshua Rogers of Porsche Coanda the winner.
The top 24 drivers were narrowed down to the top 12, as they raced across an intense set of races.
Finalist Mode saw British racer Sebastian ‘Sebi’ Job of G2 and Ireland’s Dáire McCormack of Mercedes-AMG Williams come in second and third place respectively, but it was Joshua Rogers from Porsche Coanda who took home the biggest share of the $225,000 prize pool to join the DreamHack Winter 2023 esports winners.
Other Brits K. Ellis Jr (seventh) and L. Bennett (ninth) also featured.
Pinq and MrSavage win the DreamHack Open Featuring Fortnite
Following Heats 1 and 2, the DreamHack Open Featuring Fortnite returned for day two of DreamHack Winter, as duos worked together to emerge victorious.
Available to all BYOC ticket holders, the three-day competition provided an opportunity for attendees of all skill levels to try their talents for 125,000 SEK (over $10,000) in prize money.
Heats 3 and 4 took place yesterday, with 50 duos progressing to the finals, where Pinq (UK/Palestine) and MrSavage (Norway) won as DreamHack Winter 2023 esports winners.
The news comes after the former Guild Esports player Anas and Pinq ended up finishing second at DreamHack Summer 2023.
UK talent witness Monte win ESL Challenger, Sweden’s first CS2 tournament
The ESL Challenger tournament brought its Counter-Strike 2 championship to Sweden for the very first time.
UK broadcast talent were on board, including Allan Hender as desk host, and James Bardolph, Hawka and Trav as casters, and YouM3 as an analyst.
With a prize pool of $100,000 up for grabs, Monte, Virtus Pro, Eternal Fire and MIBR secured a placement in the playoffs.
Monte beat Eternal Fire 2-0 in the grand final to secure $50,000 and a spot in the ESL Pro League Season 19 as CS DreamHack Winter 2023 esports winners.
The only UK player in the tournament, Volt, was knocked out in the group stage with GamerLegion.
Zeta Division crowned DreamHack Winter 2023 esports winners in Brawl Stars World Finals
With a $750,000 prize pool up for grabs, there was everything to play for in the Brawl Stars World Finals.
Zeta Division beat STMN Esports 3-1 in the final to claim the $250,000 top spot.
The only UK player in the tournament, Drage, unfortunately failed to get out of the group stage with FUT Esports.
However, the finals featured UK broadcast talent including host Frankie Ward and casters Ark and TravTalks.
USA win eFIBA Season 2 World Finals
In the NBA 2K eFIBA Season 2 Grand Finals, the USA secured the title, clinching victories of 55-50 (Game 1) and 65-35 (Game 2) against the French team.
With the biggest share of the €50,000 prize pool and the title of World Champions on the line, the USA took the game to France and claimed the trophy in spectacular fashion. Mason ‘Johhnyred’ Bracken was crowned MVP, and Yacine ‘Waarnocks’ Jemel took the title of Defensive Player of the Year, earning both players an additional €2,500 each in prize money.
DreamHack Cosplay Championship winners
There were other champions outside of the DreamHack Winter 2023 esports winners. A whole host of characters took the stage in Hall B for DreamHack Summer’s Cosplay Championship in hopes to take home a share of the 25,000 SEK prize pool.
Judged by professional cosplayers Amenoo, Mistvein and Sophie Riis, winners included:
- Novice Winner: CosSiz Flos (Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon 2)
- Artisan Winner: 8Z Cosplay (Buster Oak Thump from Oh no! Kobolds!)
- Expert Winner: Cat’s Cosplay Kingdom (Senua from Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice)
- Judge’s Choice: Triptrap (Ignuin, Witch Hat Atelier), Sting (Lysithea from Fire Emblem: Three Houses) and TIny Tina (as Tiny Tina, Borderlands 3)
DreamHack Reveals New Festival In Stockholm
DreamHack has announced a new event to take place in 2024 in Stockholm, the gaming capital of Scandinavia.
The festival, which originated in Sweden back in 1994, welcomes gamers from all over the world to Stockholmsmässan on November 22nd to 24th 2024.
“Bringing DreamHack to Stockholm is not just another expansion, it’s a personal mission. Gaming simply belongs here. We’re weaving a new thread in the city’s cultural tapestry, celebrating the unique spirit that makes gaming in Stockholm so special. From content creators and talented cosplayers to the newest games & hardware and best esports, we’re creating an arena for everyone to celebrate their community,” said Shahin Zarrabi, Vice President of Festivals at ESL Faceit Group.
The city, known for its status as one of the highest video game-exporting hubs per capita, has played a role in birthing titles such as Minecraft, Battlefield and Candy Crush. And the venue, Stockholmsmässan, is the largest exhibition facility in the Nordic region.
Stockholm will be the second festival stop for DreamHack in Sweden, whilst Jönköping will continue to serve as the backdrop for DreamHack Summer on June 14th to 16th in 2024.
Tickets for DreamHack Stockholm are set to go on sale at March 26th 2024, and can be purchased via dreamhack.com/stockholm.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
