Memory Lane: ESWC 2005

This new semi-regular feature explores some of my personal favourite memories from the history of esports. We begin with one of the greatest matches that Warcraft III ever saw: FoV vs Grubby at ESWC 2005. ESWC has had its troubles over the years, but it still holds a special place despite all the screw-ups and this game is a big part of that.

What better place to start that at the beginning - my first ever international LAN tournament. They say you never forget your first, and for me it is still one of the best:

Back in Summer 2005, Warcraft III was just starting to leave its infancy. The favourites were known, champions were made and expectations were high. I had been writing for GotFrag for a little over 18 months but had only been covering WC3 for about six months. GotFrag had already taken me to a tournament in the UK – the ACON5 qualifier, to be precise – but I had yet to taste foreign esports directly. So, when Midway asked me if I wanted to go to Paris for ESWC that year, I nearly broke my keyboard by typing “too hard in reply.

Read the whole feature right here.