Oculus 2022 – Fun Events

IPL Auction

The player is sold in 3..2… The IPL auction event took place on the 26th and 27th of March under the banner of Oculus. A blockbuster event with a thrilling atmosphere and a fusion of the game of cricket and the auction process. The event being held on college premises unlike the last year added to the excitement and helped in capturing the essence of a real-life auction. So the question arises, If someone had no prior experience of being in an auction atmosphere, could they have participated in the event? The answer is an absolute yes! So let’s understand the rules and the overall aesthetics of the event.

Every participating team was given a fixed amount of 90 crores to buy a team from the pool of teams that have traditionally been part of the IPL and a set of 11 players for their respective teams. The participating teams were divided into slots over the two-day event. After all the auction proceedings, a total of 120 players went under the hammer. Each player was given a single overall score which was calculated based on the player’s performance in three stages of the game-powerplay, middle overs and death overs. There were some legendary players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Kapil Dev etc included in the pool, for teams to have them in their overall 11 and boost their team score. The Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar, for example, was the highest-the rated player in the pool with astonishing 96 points.

As we know, any good game played is incomplete without its twists and turns, and the organizers of the event keep this in mind with power-ups for the teams to grab: The POWER CARD, GODS EYE and the most exciting one-the YORKER card. For example, if a team had a Yorker card and was the second-highest bidder in the line, it could block the player from going to the highest bidding team and include the player in their team. Every slot came with a different story, In some cases, there was nail-biting competition with teams separated by single-digit points only, whereas in others a single squad dominated other teams with considerable differences in points.

Throughout the event, the organizing committee played a crucial role in micromanaging different slots with the same enthusiasm while maintaining the decorum of the entire event. Rules were regularly shared with the participating teams through the course of the event to avoid confusion and last-minute hassles. Auctioneers were the heart of the auction process and worked in great capacity with the participating teams, boosting their morals and making the entire process easy-going and interesting to be part of.

Each participating team, irrespective of winning and losing came out of the room filled with adrenaline and a sense of happiness, supporting the testimony: this was an event not to be missed.

-A report by Sankalp

E-Sports

This year’s Oculus eSports event was 3 days of fun and thrill, featuring adrenaline-fuelled games like Valorant, and FIFA along with the game of wit and wisdom: Chess to name a few. The event was well appreciated, with colossal participation in all the games.
The initial matches for Valorant were conducted online, with two moderators spectating each match to ensure fair play. A professional streamer was contacted to stream and moderate, the matches for the finals. There were a total of 18 teams who battled their squads to clinch victory. The winners, Team Shuriken, and the runners-up, Team Knoobs, bagged cash prizes of Rs 5000 and 3000, respectively. Along with this, Chess was conducted in online mode as well. It was a league-style tournament hosted over the popular online chess platform, Lichess. The games were all played in the Blitz format. It was indeed a battle of the brains between the 22 bright-minded participants. Finally, Samyak Patodi outsmarted his opponent Aditya Potdar to win the tournament in the finals. The winner and runners-up received exciting cash prizes.

Although the aforementioned games were both a thrill to watch, the event’s spotlight was the fun gaming station set up in Room 305, with consoles and various games. Players could come and chill with their buddies for an hour at minimal costs and enjoy the console gaming experience. It featured fun games such as FIFA and WWE. This initiative got a great response from the crowd, and it was enjoyed a lot by
the participants. Moreover, the participants received vouchers worth Rs 1000 for NoEscape.

-A report by Vedang