World Esports Championships

First published in GRIND III, pages 204–206.

WORLD

ESPORTS

CHAMPIONSHIPS

From 24 August to 3 September, Iași was a genuine international capital of gaming. It was 10 days of spectacle, literally and figuratively. I'm not a football supporter and I'd never been to a match in a stadium before, but after a CS:GO game on the Main Stage, with the team representing Romania playing, I felt what it's like to get goosebumps when your favourites win and everyone around you shouts 'Come on, Romania!'

From the opening night until the closing concert, the city had an extraordinary atmosphere, and the Palas area was like one great big gaming arena. Iași proved that gaming is an international phenomenon with no borders.

It's almost impossible today to find anyone who hasn't heard of Counter-Strike, Dota, FIFA or League of Legends. I'd even go so far as to say that, at least among the younger generations, it's almost impossible to find someone who hasn't played one of the titles above. Video games, especially competitive multiplayer ones, are no longer a taboo subject in Romania in 2023. I say that with joy, and the World eSports Championship in Iași confirmed it emphatically! 20 years ago, things weren't nearly as rosy. Video games were popular among young people, only our 'championships' were organised in internet cafés, not in the Palas gardens. One thing is certain: the passion for games, especially for Counter-Strike, was just as intense as that of the players at the World Championship.

It's funny now, remembering how my parents scolded me for playing too much on the PC (and they were right, up to a point), telling me there was no future in it and that it was a waste of time. And fair enough, I don't judge them — video games can easily be dismissed as a cheap form of entertainment, even if their true worth now sits at the level of art. Let's not forget that the gaming industry has outgrown the film industry. My dad, at least, held out on judging games until one evening when he refused to be beaten, not letting up until he'd finished the classic shooter Wolfenstein 3D on an Intel 486 (our first PC).

I don't want this article ending up in the magazine's 'Retro' section, so I'll stop the childhood stories here and carry on with the details of the World eSports Championship experience at Digital Throne.

I'll start with the audience: not only was it a big one (probably over 20,000 people), it was also very diverse. Over the two days I was there I saw everything from 4-5 year olds to 50+ adults, all watching the matches on the two big stages with interest and curiosity. On which note, the Main Stage was perhaps the biggest stage I've ever seen live. I loved the layout and the way the CS:GO matches were streamed. Aesthetically and organisationally, everything was impeccable.

Some schedule slips may have annoyed fans of the teams who sometimes had to wait for matches to start, but we're still talking about over 700 players and dozens, even hundreds of matches a day, so some slippage is normal — especially when the weather isn't on your side and you're responsible for technical equipment worth millions of euros.

Rain or shine, heat or cold, people stayed out there religiously and watched the matches late into the evening.

I forgot to mention the secondary stage at the Palas amphitheatre, where the MOBA titles were played. The stage setup was as carefully put together as the Main Stage, and the sound was perfect. Although I don't usually watch esports on Twitch or other platforms, it was a pleasure to watch the Dota 2 match between Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan. It's a completely different experience watching the game live. It's the difference between a film watched on a laptop in standard quality and a 3D film in a cinema.

We also enjoyed the presence of the best-known players from the homegrown esports scene. I had the pleasure of chatting backstage with Jaxi, Wery and Antonia Nuckle. We all shared the same emotion and joy for the event.

It was a really lovely energy that you can't describe, you have to live it on your own skin to understand it.

My only regret about the World eSports Championship and Digital Throne is that I didn't manage to be there for the opening ceremony, which was wow! At least from the footage friends sent me, the drone show was 'the goods' (as DOSboi Aidan would say).

If I think about it properly, I could add two more, smaller regrets: the Comic Con at the Palace of Culture and the Retro Gaming gazebo run by Digital Crusade. Both happened before I arrived at the event, while I was on holiday. I'd have liked to see what was new at Comic Con and have a bash on the arcade cabinets set up in the gazebo in the Palas garden.

Over my two days there I came away charged with positive energy (the fact that I'd just got back from holiday probably helped), which gave me the strength to start work on GRIND 3 magazine. A confirmation that being a gamer today is normal. And that regardless of where you are geographically, a gaming event on this scale can be organised and received successfully by the public anywhere. I'll admit it, I was proud to be from Iași, and glad that the coolest gaming event in Romania happened in my home town.

The closing ceremony at the weekend was 'next level' too (to use gaming terms), with an organisation so exemplary it would do credit to any music festival in 2023. I stand corrected — in fact the whole event was superbly well organised, proof that gamers know how to do an excellent job.

I wouldn't want to end the article without thanking Bogdan 'Boogie' Carp and Cristian Nistor for the invitation to the event and especially to the 'Road to Iași 2023' podcast, the moment that motivated me to start GRIND III magazine with Vlad.

Esports Summit Shortly before WEC Iași, the Esports Summit Iași took place: a conference with and about the esports industry.

I didn't know what to expect from this conference, but by the time I left I felt I'd gained new knowledge and a fresh perspective on the field. The event took place at the Palace of Culture, and I could hardly believe that Romania had come so far in 34 years that Iași would host the most important esports conference and event in the country.

After a brief introduction from the Deputy Mayor of Iași and the President of the Esports Summit, the event kicked off in force with a discussion about the national legislative framework for esports and the video game industry.

The guests and speakers included both international experts and people holding important positions in the Romanian Parliament and Government. They described where we stand at the moment and the effort being made to adopt amendments to Law 69/2000 (the Physical Education and Sport Law), in the hope of bringing Romania into line with the rest of the European countries. There was also talk of how the development of current talent can be facilitated, such as in Iași, and of preparing the future generations who will go on to a career in esports.

Of course, there was also a panel about WEC and the importance of the event both locally and nationally. That panel also covered the desire to turn Iași into Romania's gaming capital. There was talk of the desire to bring studios to Iași, both to create games and to develop institutions specialising in the esports field. For example, the European Esports Federation could move to Iași from 2024.

The most interesting panel, though, was the one about academia, which showed itself open to esports and to this industry in constant motion. There was talk of the need for special programmes at university level, such as bachelor's and master's degrees in video game development or in esports team management, and the launch of 2 master's degrees in game development was announced. The branding panel discussed the opportunities opening up in esports and, more recently, in gaming — collaborations with brands, which bring new opportunities and challenges in both marketing and business, for growing the value of products.

The experience itself was a pleasant one, one I'd go back to and warmly recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about the industry and see what goes on behind the screens and the competitions.

Leo Luția Tudor-Codrin “Cody” Enea