One of the biggest gaming festivals is coming to San Diego!

The first DreamHack festival for 2023 is coming soon and there are a lot of activities and tournaments waiting to awe the gaming world. DreamHack is making its first appearance in San Diego before going around the world to celebrate gaming globally.

The festival is going to be held at the San Diego Convention Center. It is going to last for three days from April 7 to April 9. Esports.gg is here to tell you all you need to know about DreamHack San Diego, including the schedule, activities, tournaments, and ticket pricing.

Tournaments at DreamHack San Diego

DreamHack Open ft. Fortnite

Gamers8 has recently announced three qualifiers for their upcoming Fortnite tournament in Riyadh. The first qualifier will be the DreamHack Open in San Diego, followed by DreamHack Dallas and Dreamhack Summer. Each qualifier will offer a huge amount of prize pool of $250,000 USD.

The DreamHack Open will be a Zero Build Duos and will be held for three days beginning April 17. If you are interested in joining the qualifier, you will need to buy a BYOC LAN ticket in addition to the DreamHack ticket.

Fighting Games

DreamHack will host a lot of Fighting Games tournaments with a total prize pool of $100,000 USD. You can join in the fun with an additional $1 USD per tournament. Here is the list of tournaments with their prize pool:

  • Brawlhalla (Singles and Doubles): $35,000 USD prize pool each
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Singles and Doubles): $5,000 USD and $1,000 USD prize pool respectively
  • Super Smash Bros. Melee (Singles and Doubles): $4,000 USD and $1,000 USD prize pool respectively
  • Street Fighter V: $2,000 USD prize pool
  • Tekken 7: $2,000 USD prize pool
  • Guilty Gear Strive: $5,000 USD prize pool
  • Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2: $1,500 USD prize pool
  • King of Fighters XV: $2,000 USD prize pool
  • Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3: $1,500 USD prize pool
  • Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r]: $1,500 USD prize pool
  • Skullgirls: $1,500 USD prize pool
(Image from DreamHack)
(Image from DreamHack)

RLCS Winter Major

Rocket League Championship Series is wrapping up its winter season with the Winter Major in San Diego. Sixteen top teams will be competing for a $310,000 USD prize pool and a chance to qualify for the RLCS World Championship at the end of the season.

You can watch the RLCS Winter Major by purchasing the DreamHack ticket with an additional $10 USD for guaranteed seating.

Snapdragon Pro Series Powered

The Snapdragon Pro Series Powered by Samsung Galaxy is the world’s largest multigame mobile esports competition. We will be seeing two competitive titles during the DreamHack San Diego featuring a $50,000 prize pool each. The games are Clash of Clans and Brawl Stars. Additionally, the top teams from Brawl Stars have a shot to secure a spot at the Snapdragon Mobile Masters at DreamHack Japan. 

DreamHack San Diego Activities

Arcade

DreamHack and ampm are partnering up to deliver the best arcade experience for the festival. Just imagine gaming all-day surrounded by flashing lights, chaotic game sounds, and cries of victories like a 1980s misty dream. It is free to play and all you need is the DreamHack ticket. You can find the list of arcade games available below:

  • DDR A20
  • PIU Prime 2
  • Initial D 8: Infinity
  • Crazy Taxi: High Roller
  • WACCA
  • Chunithm
  • Jubeat
  • The Bishi Bashi
  • Street Fighter 3: Third Strike
  • Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo
  • Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2
  • Tekken Tag Tournament 2
  • Donkey Kong
  • Ms. Pac-Man
  • And more!

Artist Alley

To highlight the artist community in the gaming industry, DreamHack brings the Artist Alley to life. You can go along the river of talent to find something that will catch your eye, from stickers, pins, and soap to drawings, paintings, and wall art! You can find your way in the Artist Alley with the layout provided by DreamHack down below.

(Image from DreamHack)
(Image from DreamHack)

Here are all the artists that will be available in the Artist Alley:

  • BizBazClub
  • BlushSprout
  • TimeSkip Studios
  • Moonshine Charms
  • Chunky Tomato
  • Maizilla
  • BunchaBears
  • CuteSewLuna
  • ThinkNu
  • ZEROTYPE
  • StarJelly
  • Cosplay Arts Shop
  • JonnyboiG
  • Art of Keeterz
  • Rinne Kanzaki
  • ofSkySociety
  • Twootie Tarte
  • irisjadeirises
  • eckoeckos
  • Sanji Craft
  • Maintaining Mediocrity
  • Furescent
  • Lil Fae Creations
  • N2Apparel

BYOC LAN

The BYOC LAN is a Bring Your Own Computer (or Console) area of the event. You will be provided a reserved seat with ports and power outlets for your gadgets. To join in the fun, you will need to buy a BYOC LAN ticket as the event is a restricted access and secured area. All tickets will secure your slot in the BYOC LAN with 24-hour, 3-day event access. The event will start from Friday, 10 A.M. PT to Sunday, 7 P.M. PT.

DreamHack Summer event 2022 (Image from DreamHack)
DreamHack Summer event 2022 (Image from DreamHack)

There are three levels of tickets you can purchase:

  • Regular BYOC LAN - $109USD
  • Premium BYOC LAN - $269 USD
  • BYOC LAN Founders - $599 USD

During the BYOC LAN, the attendees can also join a ton of tournaments. Here is the list of tournaments available:

  • DreamHack Open ft. Fortnite: $2,500 000 USD prize pool
  • Rocket League: $10,000 USD prize pool
  • Overwatch 2: $10,000 USD prize pool
  • VALORANT: $5,000 USD prize pool
  • Counter-Strike: Global Offensive: $5,000 USD prize pool
  • Teamfight Tactics: $2,500 USD prize pool
  • Marvel Snap: $2,500 USD prize pool
  • Starcraft II : $2,500 USD prize pool
  • Fall Guys (daily tournament): $500 USD prize pool for each day

Cosplay

DreamHack Atlanta 2022 Cosplay Competition (Image from DreamHack)
DreamHack Atlanta 2022 Cosplay Competition (Image from DreamHack)

There will be a Cosplay Competition with a $3,000 prize pool and three categories: expert, artisan, and novice. The finals of the Cosplay Competition will be on the Main Stage on Saturday at 7 P.M PT.

There will also be cosplay creators attending as guests during the DreamHack San Diego:

  • Lovebunny
  • IvySprings
  • DinoGraveyard
  • Stella Chuu
  • Mariah Marsalla
  • Daniel R. Lyon III

The Creator Gauntlet

In this newly introduced activity, we will see familiar faces engaging in challenges to provide Grade A entertainment. They will fight for a $25,000 USD prize pool that will be donated to the Autism Society San Diego. The content creators are appointed as team captains and they have to recruit their team members on-site at DreamHack San Diego. They will compete in the challenges stated below:

  • Mario Kart
  • Mario Trivia
  • Pictionary
  • Sajam: Will It Kill?
  • Blind Folded Tekken 7 matches
  • RPS (Rock Paper Scissors) Battle Royale
  • MattVsAll (Chess)
  • Resident Evil 4 activation
  • Easter Egg Final

All content will be live on DreamHack's official channels and the team captains' own channels. Here are the captains which will bring all the hype to the Creator Gauntlet:

  • Fuslie
  • NDJ
  • Ellen
  • nOthing
  • Jon Sandman
  • JWong
  • Brittanni (host)
  • YipeS (host)
  • Alex Be (host)

Creator Hub

The Creator Hub will be a place for all the faces of the streaming industry. They will be provided a place where they can do live streaming, create content, and engage with their community. You can check out who's going to be available in DreamHack San Diego over here.

Ludwig during DreamHack Atlanta 2022 (Image from DreamHack)
Ludwig during DreamHack Atlanta 2022 (Image from DreamHack)

DreamHack Party

The after-hours party will bring together gamers who like to let loose and enjoy music and the festivities. The party will be on April 7 and will last until 1:30 A.M. that evening. You can get the tickets for $20 USD over here. Further details on the event have not yet been announced.

DreamHack Winter 2022 featuring ALTÉGO (Image from DreamHack)
DreamHack Winter 2022 featuring ALTÉGO (Image from DreamHack)

DreamHack Talks

We are going to be served by people in the scene talking about the things we are all very passionate about - the gaming industry. There will be a lot of interviews and a lot of topics to be covered. DreamHack has just announced two special guests who are going to be hosting the DreamHack Talks, which are Jake Lucky and HUN2R.

Expo

A gaming expo will also be one of the attractions of the DreamHack festival. As of now, no details have been released on the participants of the expo. The expo will be running throughout the festivals with the following schedule:

  • Friday: 10 AM - 7 PM
  • Saturday: 10 AM - 7 PM
  • Sunday: 10 AM - 5 PM

Freeplay

You can also come to enjoy the Freeplay area where you can game all day. There are a ton of games you can play, such as:

  • Fortnite
  • League of Legends
  • FIFA 23
  • Minecraft
  • VALORANT
  • Call of Duty Warzone 2.0
  • NBA 2K23
  • Overwatch 2
  • Apex Legends
  • Rocket League
  • Super Smash Bros

You can check out the full list of DreamHack Freeplay games over here:

Magic: The Gathering

The Magic community will gather in DreamHack San Diego to witness the culmination of the United States Magic: The Gathering Regional Championship Round 2. There will also be casual tournaments and community activities to be enjoyed by the Magic community. For more information on the event, you can check out the details over here.

DreamHack Atlanta Magic event in 2022 (Image from DreamHack)
DreamHack Atlanta Magic event in 2022 (Image from DreamHack)

DreamHack San Diego Tickets Price

You can purchase the tickets over here. Here are all the types of tickets available for the DreamHack San Diego:

1-Day Pass

  • Price: $39 USD (Friday), $42 USD (Saturday and Sunday)

1-Day Family Pass

  • Price: $39 - $125 USD (Friday), $49 - $129 USD (Saturday and Sunday)
  • Children must be under 13.
  • Free tickets for children under 5.

3-Day Pass

  • Price: $89 USD
  • Festival access 24/7

3-Day Premium Pass

  • Price: $179 USD
  • Festival access 24/7
  • Premium registration line
  • Voucher code for DreamHack store

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