eSports is finally a global sensation like we all wanted it to be. eSports tournaments today captivate millions of fans from around the globe, while opening up a lot of opportunities for people in the community to make good money. If you’re a part of that community, a passionate gamer, and want to bring your local gaming community together, this blog is for you.
You can bring the excitement of eSports to your area offering a venue for your fellow gamers to connect, showcase talent, and build the community further. But first you need to get some “upgrades in your skill tree”.
Level Up The Planning
Before you start seeking sponsors for the event or even share the idea with your local community, you need a little prep. Let’s start by nailing down the basics.
- Pick your game wisely: Which titles have the biggest fan base in your local community? League of Legends? Valorant? Mortal Kombat? Apex Legends?
- Research: Check if you need special licenses or permissions from game publishers to host such an event. If you’re lucky, you might even get funds from the publishers to make the event happen.
- Finalize a venue to spawn the event: The venue must have fast, stable internet connection with backup lines, proper electrical setup, temperature control, adequate space for an audience, parking, area for refreshment and restrooms, and everything else.
- Break the budget down: Take factors like venue rental cost, equipment rental costs, staff compensation, and prize pool for starters. You may have to spend a little on marketing too.
Choose Your Party
This is easier than building a cool Minecraft base. You will need the team and the gear to set the stage for epic PvP showdowns. Feel free to modify the “basic checklist” below.
Technical requirements
- Gaming PCs or consoles
- Competitive-grade monitors
- Network infrastructure
- Backup generators
- Sound system
- Commentary equipment
Your Party
- Tournament admins
- Technical support
- Stage managers
- Social media coordinator
- Commentators
Additionally, if you can have a special guest for the event, it can help get more reach for your promotions.
Do Side Quests
In this case, side quests are how you make some money out of the event. The eSports market in the US is growing significantly and is supposed to hit a revenue of $1.07 billion this year. This means, gamers don’t mind spending on interesting stuff when attending an eSports event.
But that doesn’t mean you can count on getting big sponsorships and funds for the event. Worry not. Here are a few strategies to make it all work.
- Entry fees: It’s not weird to request a reasonable entry fee to attend the live event. You can request registration fees from players, which can collectively go towards the bigger prize pool. You may also want to think about charging an entry fee from attendees, though this may not always be a good idea. Instead, you can try offering VIP spectator passes where people who can pay can get the best seats in the house.
- Sponsorships: This is where you get a good chunk of cash from. If you can find great sponsors, you might just be able to get everything you need and more, without squeezing your wallet dry. You can try talking to local gaming cafes, energy drink brands, gaming hardware stores, and even the popular local pizza shop. You can also try contacting game publishers to see if they want to promote their games at your event.
- Food and beverage sales: Buy snacks, bottled water, soda, energy drinks in bulk so you get a reasonable discount. Then sell them at a higher margin to make good profit. You can partner with local cafes and bakeries too.
- Merch: Merch isn’t just swag anymore. It’s a solid revenue stream. You can sell customized tournament-specific jerseys, custom mousepads, coffee mugs, keychains and even badges featuring iconic gaming-related stuff. Considering hoodies are the most preferred kind of apparel for casual gamers, you can also offer custom hoodies. Grab a few Port Authority hoodies in multiple sizes from a supplier (in bulk of course), partner with a local apparel customization business, sell them and split the profits. But because this is a local event, you should consider the size of your gaming community and how many will attend to source the right volume of merchandise.
Hype Things Up
The kind of creativity on your promotions influence how best you attract participants and spectators. Here are a few relatively-easy ways to build the hype.
Social media
- Event-specific hashtags
- Share pre-event content
- Post registered player bytes
- Run countdown teasers
- Publish and tag list of sponsors
Community engagement
- Partner with other community groups
- Reach out to schools and colleges
- Connect with local entertainment influencers
- Set up a Discord server for participants
Local promotion
- Gaming cafe posters
- College campus flyers
- Local news coverage
- Radio spots
Cast A Spell On The Experience
To make your event truly memorable, it should deliver a positive experience for both participants and spectators. As you may know, gamers are in it for the immersion and engagement. They expect eSports events to be immersive and far from boring, even if it’s small in scale.
So make sure you set everything up perfectly in a way that won’t even remotely lead to disputes both from the players’ side and from the spectators’ side.
Optimize Tournament Rules & Guidelines
- Double elimination brackets work great for smaller events
- Use tournament software like Challonge
- Set up clear rules and regulations for both players and spectators
- Plan for overtime and technical issues
Give Players The Environment They Need
- Refreshments
- Comfortable seats
- Warm-up areas
- Restrooms that spectators can’t access
- Quick tech support if they need it
Engage The Spectators
- Engaging commentary by experienced casters
- Live standings updates
- Food & drink options
- Audience competitions for exclusive prizes
- Raffles
Quick Tips To Cheese The “Boss Fight”
Alright, if you’ve made it far enough till the day of the event, your boss fight awaits. You will have to make do with these tips.
Double check & triple check the venue setup
- Test equipments
- Do network stress tests
- Brief the staff
- Volunteer orientation
Test the registration process
- Ease of check-ins
- Player verification mechanism
- Equipment rules check
- Player briefing
A smooth-running event beats a flashy mess any day, gamer. Start small, learn from each event, and scale up the next one. This is something us gamers can do naturally. Your local community is hungry for well-organized tournaments – go give them something worth talking about.
