Simon De Cesare, CEO of the Eden Leisure Group, believes “with full confidence” that e-sports has the potential to be a success story in Malta.
Eden Leisure recently acquired a 70 per cent stake in Quickfire, Malta’s leading e-sports organisation, which has been based here since 2014.
E-sports is a form of competition using video games. Most commonly, e-sports take the form of organised, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players.
“E-sports is a billion dollar industry that is growing rapidly all over the world and in this day and age there is no reason why Malta should be an exception. This industry fits firmly within the ethos of the Eden Leisure Group as it fun, exciting and appeals to a wide range of young people,” Mr De Cesare tells The Sunday Times of Malta.
He says there are multiple facets to the potential of e-sports in Malta such as the local gaming scene “which is small but has the potential to grow as seen by our very own FIFA world cup challenger”.
“We are offering e-sports services through the E-sports Centre at the Super Bowl and the multiple LAN events [gatherings of people with computers or compatible game consoles] we put on in the Arena,” he says.
Other areas that offer potential are online games, event organisation and game developers, he explains.
He adds: “Most of these games are played online and through our Hot Shots Series we are offering prize money of 15k for top teams around the world to play against each other.
“As well as the financial incentive there is also a social scene where people go out and watch top teams perform live on stage. This is another area we are looking at. One event we went to in Cologne filled up a 15,000 seat auditorium three days in a row.
Research shows that e-sports engagement in higher age groups is growing at a rapid pace
“There are also game developers, international teams and other organisations involved in e-sports that can be lured to Malta due to its distinct corporate advantages.”
Why did Eden Leisure decide to venture into e-sports?
“It started with a sales pitch by a couple of young guys who owned Quickfire. One was the techie and the other the creative sales guy. We were quickly sold as to the potential and with the great fit and synergy we could offer it through our hotels, media arm and our link with the local youth market as well as our financial backing and staying power which was something else we could offer. This is an area which requires significant capital outlay over a long period of time until the business can become profitable.”
Mr De Cesare says that all over the world international arenas of more than 45,000 people are selling out overnight; e-sports betting has outpaced betting for tennis and golf; and top sports teams are even starting up their own e-sports teams – including the likes of Manchester City and PSG; they are talking about e-sports as an Olympic sport; and top universities are offering degrees and diplomas in e-sports.
Last year the League of Legends World Final drew over 43 million online viewers – compared to a mere 23 million who watch the recent Royal Wedding. With facts like these, he points out, who wouldn’t want to venture into this exciting industry.
Mr De Cesare says that to date the company has set up its own E-sports Centre at the Eden Super Bowl where regular tournaments are hosted, including Fortnite, CG-GO, Dota 2 and FIFA. Three local LAN events have also been hosted the art InterContinental Arena Conference Centre where over 500 local competitors were brought in for three days to participate in a number of tournaments with over €13,500 in prize money given out to date.
International tournaments have also started to be hosted on the Faceit platform which are broadcast on Twitch and Facebook pages. These tournaments have grown significantly and over €19,000 in prize money will be given out over the next few months, he says.
“There is also another massive project we are working on, however we cannot divulge too much other than it is a major offline CS-GO tournament with top teams. Considering what we’ve achieved in such a short time frame, I am extremely pleased with how well received e-sports in Malta has been thus far,” he says.
Mr De Cesare says that his target audience are the young – and the young at heart! However, he stresses, e-sports is for everyone, regardless of age or gender.
“My young son has been recently been teaching me how to play Fortnite. Unsurprisingly, the majority of gamers are the younger generations since many of them grew up with the latest technology and games and are therefore more accustomed to it.
“That being said however, our research shows that e-sports engagement in higher age groups is growing at a rapid pace so we expect older individuals to play a significant role in this industry in the future.”