Organize your own high quality Esport tournament
From game to sport
The year 1972 saw the birth of the first arcade video game. The well-known game "Pong", developed by Atari, is still deeply rooted in pop culture today.
From the beginning, these games proposed to see two players play against each other. It is this constant search for the best player and the "Highscore" culture that will inexorably lead to the birth of video game competitions.
This led to the organization of the first tournaments such as the Space Invaders Tournament in 1980 and the Nintendo World Championships in 1990. However, it was not until the end of the 1990s, with the development of ADSL Internet lines, that the e-sport sector experienced its first major expansion!
The early 2000s saw the development of several major competitions and international meetings such as the Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC).
The emergence of streaming or rebroadcasting platforms such as Youtube or Twitch in 2011 will extend the influence of e-sport on the Internet.
The latest development in the world of e-sport is the birth of professional leagues, each representing a city and a franchise in the same way as NBA, NFL or football teams in Europe.
At present, e-sport represents nearly 200 video games in official competitions, more than 450 million spectators and above all an estimated revenue of 1.1 billion dollars in 2019, driven by an annual growth of more than 25%.
The organization of an e-sport tournament
As with traditional sports competitions, qualifications for major international e-sports tournaments often involve the organization of regional and national competitions.
The organization of such events cannot be improvised, it will be essential to go through a rigorous planning process that can be detailed in 5 key steps:
1. Choice of games and platform
The game chosen will have an influence not only on the duration of the competition as a whole but also on the rotation speed of the matches. The choice of platform (PC, Playstation, X-box, Nintendo) will also be of great importance as it will influence the material to be provided by the organization and by the participants themselves. The popularity of a game on a specific platform will also influence the number of participants and spectators your event can attract.
2. Choice of the venue
When booking your room, do not forget to allow for a long assembly and disassembly time as the installation of the equipment in a network competition (furniture, audio-visual, decoration, catering,...) takes a lot of time. The notoriety of the selected game will allow you to estimate the number of spectators expected.
Use an online registration form to more accurately estimate the number and stay in touch with your audience.
3. Technical equipment and assistance
Due to its digital nature, the organization of an e-sport competition requires important audio-visual equipment. Some games will require a personal monitor for each player while others can be played with several players on a single large screen.
Whether your competition is held on a local area network (LAN) or online, the stability of your network will be crucial to allow participants to compete in good conditions. Especially if you want to broadcast the competition live on a streaming platform. Finally, audio-visual equipment will be a major expense for your event, so it is important to clearly define its needs in advance so that you can budget for it and avoid unforeseen spendings. A good solution to reduce the cost is to ask participants to come with their own equipment (controllers, keyboards,...), which is also often preferred by gamers.
Make sure you have professional assistance on site that can be provided at any time to avoid unfortunate technical problems during the event.
4. Food and refreshments
Depending on the duration of the competition, you will also need to plan catering breaks for your participants and spectators. This can be offered by the organization but can also be available at the expense of players and guests “on consumption” via food stations or even foodtrucks. In this context, it will also be necessary to provide sufficient relaxation and refreshment areas for the public and competitors.
5. Security and infrastructure
Choose a place that has an air conditioning system to cool the room and prevent the equipment from overheating. Also check that the site has a preventive evacuation plan in case of any incidents.
Are you organizing online e-sport tournaments or "LAN parties" and you are looking for a venue?
The BluePoint venues in Antwerp, Brussels and Liège are ideal for hosting this type of event.
BluePoint offers a full service (technical equipment and assistance, catering, cleaning,...) and above all air-conditioned rooms fully equipped with high definition audiovisual equipment. Feel free to contact our organization experts to plan a visit to our rooms and find the formula that suits you.
Contact us to visit the rooms in Antwerp, Brussels or Liege via marketing@bluepoint.be or +32 2 706 88 00.