Pataka E-sports Festival Surrey set for City Hall
Pataka E-sports Festival Surrey is coming to City Hall for a two-day gaming takeover in January. On January 17 and 18, Galint Gaming will turn council chambers, also known as Centre Stage, into a theatre-style venue for live e-sports competition. The event mixes South Asian culture, competitive play and community programming, with food and activities on site.
Organizers expect more than 300 players and fans from across North America. They say this is one of the first times a municipal city hall anywhere has hosted a full-scale e-sports tournament, which underlines how seriously Surrey is starting to treat gaming and youth culture.
Fighting games, culture and community
Pataka E-sports Festival Surrey will focus on fighting titles such as Super Smash Bros., Street Fighter, TEKKEN, Rivals of Aether and Riot Games’ 2XKO. Competitors and spectators can register through start.gg/pataka, where Sport Surrey and Discover Surrey appear as presenters, and ticket prices start at $25. Final matches will stream live on Galint Gaming’s YouTube and Twitch channels, so fans who cannot attend can still follow the action.
Although Pataka E-sports Festival Surrey carries a South Asian theme through its food, décor and side events, the competition is open to everyone. People can drop in to watch high-level matches, test out games, or simply soak up the atmosphere without entering a bracket. The festival aims to welcome pros, casual players and anyone curious about gaming culture.
Building on Pataka’s Diwali roots
The first Pataka event took place at Crown Palace Banquet Hall in Newton during October 2024 as part of Diwali celebrations. That debut festival framed Pataka as “for everyone,” and the move to Surrey City Hall continues that message on a bigger civic stage. The name “Pataka,” which means “firework” in Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu, reflects both the visual energy of the event and its South Asian roots.
Galint Gaming is already known for Battle of BC, a flagship fighting-game tournament that brings more than 2,000 attendees from 20 countries to Vancouver Convention Centre each year. Pataka E-sports Festival Surrey extends that track record into the civic arena, this time with a specific focus on Surrey’s fast-growing, gaming-savvy South Asian community.
‘Surrey is ready to lead Canada in e-sports’
Festival founder and Galint Gaming CEO Kevin Dhir says Pataka E-sports Festival Surrey is about more than just prize pools and brackets. In his words, the event is a statement that Surrey is ready to lead Canada in e-sports, culture and youth engagement. By staging Pataka inside City Hall, he hopes to signal that gaming belongs in mainstream spaces, not just convention halls and hotel ballrooms.
For Surrey, hosting Pataka E-sports Festival at City Hall also sends a message to local youth who rarely see their culture reflected in big events. The weekend promises a space where South Asian identity, competitive gaming and community pride share the same spotlight—right in the centre of the city.
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