For the first time live in front of an audience: the Digitec Playground Vol. 8 finale at Herofest in Bern

For the fifth time, the Herofest will take place in Bern. From 14 to 16 October, the halls of Bernexpo will be transformed into the ultimate destination for gaming, cosplay and fantasy fans. We will be live on site for the first time this year. Find out what to expect at the big Digitec Playground Finale and at the Digitec stand on the exhibition grounds here.

Digitec Playground Vol. 8: "Rocket League" on the big stage

For the first time, a Digitec Playground final will take place in front of an audience. The best "Rocket League" players in Switzerland will compete against each other in the Pro Final on the main stage of Herofest on Sunday from 12:30 pm. At Digitec Playground, however, not only pros will get their chance at fame and glory - the final of the Grümpi tournament for casual players will also take place on the main stage before the Pro final at 11:00 am.

The Grand Final of the Pro Tournament

Qualified for the Pro Final in the first qualifier are "mYinsanity" and in the second qualifier "Les Carbes Germanophones".

For "mYinsanity", these crazy players take to the virtual car football battlefield:

• Kevin "Keever" Eggenberger (Grand Champion III, Division I - global rank: 2,479 - top 0.1%)
• Lukas "meeloox" Nüesch (Grand Champion III, Division II - global rank: 2'322 - top 0.1%)
• Alessandro "Squixxl" Laumanns (Grand Champion I, Division III - global rank: 23,897 - top 0.7%)

The following players will compete for "Les Carbes Germanophones":

• Sam Mihno (Grand Champion II, Division IV - global rank: 4'249 - top 0.2%)
• Jonathan "Karma" Ferreira Santos (Grand Champion II, Division III - global rank: 6'069 - top 0.2%)
• Genovese Kenzo (Grand Champion II, Division III - global rank: 5'734 - top 0.2%)

As you can see from the player rankings, you can expect matches at the very highest level in the Digitec Playground Vol. 8 Final "Rocket League". The following prizes, each in triplicate, are up for grabs for the finalists. They are sponsored by Logitech G and AOC.

• Place 1

F

Monitor

235.80

AOC C27G2AE/BK

1920 x 1080 pixels, 27"

96

Mouse

Logitech G G502 X Plus

Wireless

Gaming headset

183.–

Astro Gaming A30

3

• Place 2

Mouse

Logitech G G502 X Plus

Wireless

Mousepad

109.–

Logitech G Powerplay

L

411

The grand final of the Grümpi tournament

Qualified for the Grümpi final in the first qualifier were the "Rocketeers" and in the second qualifier the "Humble Eagles". The highest allowed ranking of the participants for the Grümpi was Platinum III, taking into account the current season as well as the Peak Ranking of the past two seasons.

For the "Rocketeers", the following players will start their rocket engines at the finals:

• Timo "LYSS3R" Lysser (Diamond I, Division II)
• Timo "Toxi" Dill (Platinum II, Division II)
• Lukas "DrSwissRespect" Hänzi (Gold I, Division IV)

For the "Humble Eagles", these players spread their wings on the Mainstage:

• Rico "Ric0la13" Viva (Platinum III, Division III)
• Jannik "Desty22" Helmich (Silver II, Division II)
• Simon "Avatar" Rohrbach (Gold III, Division II)

There are also great prizes to be won at the Grümpi finals, each in triplicate. They are sponsored by Logitech G and AOC.

• Place 1

F

Monitor

235.80

AOC C27G2AE/BK

1920 x 1080 pixels, 27"

96

Keyboard

84.–

Logitech G G512

CH, Cable

140

Mouse

Logitech G G502 X Plus

Wireless

• Place 2

Mouse

Logitech G G502 X Plus

Wireless

The Pro and Grümpi finals will both be played in "best of five" mode. The spectacle will be commented by our casters Stephan "Strobey" Schneider and Jens "Syntax" Hoffmann, who also accompanied the two qualifier streams. Reto "Rizource" Canova is hosting the action on stage.

You can't be there on site? Then watch the final live on Twitch or Youtube. During the live stream on Twitch, you'll have a chance to win nine "Xbox PC Game Pass" vouchers and an Xbox Series S. For more info on the stream, competition and Digitec Playground, visit our Discord channel.

Play with us at the Digitec stand

. At the Digitec stand on the exhibition grounds, you can either play games with us, test your skills against professional players in various "Beat the Pro" challenges or beat the best times in racing games with a racing rig. Our booth is sponsored with hardware from Logitech G, Asus and Microsoft.

Beat the Pro in "Age of Empires," "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive," "FIFA 23" and "Rocket League"

. On Saturday, between 10:00 and 13:30, you have the chance to play against a Swiss professional player in either 1vs1, 2vs1 or even 3vs1 in "Age of Empires 2" or "Age of Empires 4". In Age of Empires 2 you can play against Bullets and in Age of Empires 4 you can play against Niroxs or Bullets. To win a keyboard and mouse from Logitech G:

Keyboard

85.90

Logitech G G413 SE Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - Black (Nordic)

DK

Mouse

54.–

Logitech G G502 X

Cable

26

You'd rather shoot than build? Then you can play against the Hero League semi-finalist LyNeX in "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" on Sunday between 10:00 and 14:00. You play either 1vs1, 2vs1 or 3vs1 against the professional player. Apart from showing off to your friends by winning, you have a chance to win a gaming mouse from Logitech G:

Mouse

118.–

Logitech G G502 X Plus

Wireless

95

You've seen the Pro Final of Digitec Playground Vol. 8 in "Rocket League"and you're thinking "what they can do, I've been able to do for a long time"? Then on Sunday afternoon between 14:30 and 18:00 you have the opportunity to compete against the two pro players NUKES and Zaphare in 2vs2. In this video you can see how the two pros did in the real-life "Rocket League" duel with Phil and Simon. If you can beat the pros, you'll have a chance to win an Astro Gaming headset:

Gaming headset

183.–

Astro Gaming A30

3

If you're more at home on a virtual lawn without cars, you can take on a "FIFA 23"pro in 1vs1 on Sunday. To give you a chance, the pro will play you with a handicap, such as an inferior team.

Speedruns, timeraces and other challenges

. You can put the pedal to the metal with the Logitech Racing Rig at the Digitec stand. On Friday between 14:00 and 20:00 and on Sunday between 10:00 and 14:00, you'll have the opportunity to break best times in "Gran Turismo 7". On Saturday between 10:00 and 19:30 you can race in "Forza Horizon 5". The prize is a racing wheel from Logitech G:

Game controllers

–6%

222.–was 236.–

Logitech G G29 Driving Force (PlayStation, PC)

PC, PS5, PS3, PS4

928

In the cosy console corner, you can try your hand at the home run contest in "Super Smash Bros Ultimate" on Nintendo Switch on Friday from 14:00 to 20:00. On Saturday from 14:00 to 19:00, you can compete with up to four other players in various cups in "Mario Kart 8". On your marks, get set, go!

At the PC gaming stations you can speedrun your way to the first boss of the game in "Path of Exile" on Friday between 16:30 and 18:00. Who will manage to destroy "Brutus" the fastest? There are Digitec vouchers worth 100 Swiss francs and 50 Swiss francs to be won. Alternatively, you can try your hand at a "Chess.com" Puzzle Rush at the PC stations between 18:00 and 20:00. Channel your inner Magnus Carlsen and try to solve as many chess puzzles as possible in five minutes .

Cosy gaming and crafting with Phil, Luca, Ramon and me

. All those beat-the-pro and high-score challenges sound too stressful for you? Then you can just come and play, tinker and chat with us at the Digitec stand . On Friday, Phil, Luca and I will be playing and streaming the oldschool beat'em'up "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge". Watch us as we take down heaps of baddies with the mutated reptiles. Depending on your mood, we'll also venture into other local multiplayer games like "Heave Ho", "Gang Beasts", "Cuphead" or "You Suck at Parking". If you have any other suggestions for our streams, post them in the comments.

On Saturday you have the chance to compete against Luca and me in "FIFA 23". Luca is a passionate "FIFA" player and can take on the best. You can see how he did against the real players of the real FC Winterthur in this video. I used to be a passionate "FIFA" player and now belong to the mediocre at best. To keep up with Luca and you guys, I'm going to practice a few more rounds in silence.

Ramon brought the new "The Mighty Bowser" Lego set for our stand. Not only does it look pretty cool, but it's also quite a complex project to build, with 2807 parts in total. That's why we need your help - come along and join us in bringing the ultimate Bowser set to life .

Whichever activity you choose, we look forward to seeing you at the Digitec stand or at the Digitec Playground Vol. 8 finale. Tickets for Herofest and the parallel SwitzerLAN and more information about the events can be found at herofest.ch.