What is Esports?
Esports and esports tournaments are video game tournaments held to determine the best players or teams. It is used as a catch-all term for numerous types of video games played. It can cover sports games, puzzle games, first-person shooters, or really anything with competitiveness baked into it. Teams or individuals of professional players compete head to head in tournament-style brackets to decide who is the best for said event. With an increase in popularity in live-streaming, esports has also risen on a larger scale. Winning prize money or glory, esports has taken the world by storm and you too can host a successful esports event.
Key Esports Event Considerations
In this article, we’ll cover some of the elements (but not all) that you should consider. Whether it’s a small, local tournament for amateur players or a large, international event for professional teams – The elements should be the same.
- Define your Target Audience
- Choose your Venue
- Staffing
- Budgetary Needs
- Sponsorships and Partnerships
- Event Timings
- Game Selection
- Event Promotion
Target Audiences
The first step in planning an esports live event is to define your event goals and target audience: The first step in planning an esports live event is to define what you want to achieve and who you want to attract. Do you want to host a local tournament for amateur players? Or do you want to host an international event for professional teams? Identifying your goals and target audience will help you make decisions about the size, format, and logistics of your event. For example, if you want to host a large, international event for professional teams, you may need to secure a larger venue and allocate more budget for prize money in order to entice them to join. On the other hand, if host a small, local tournament for amateur players, you may be able to host the event at a smaller venue and offer smaller prizes.
Choose a Venue
Once you have a clear idea of your event goals and target audience, you can start looking for a suitable venue. Consider factors such as location, size, and amenities, and make sure the venue has the necessary infrastructure (e.g., internet connectivity, and power outlets) to support an esports event. For example, if you are hosting a large event with multiple tournaments and activities, you may need a venue with multiple rooms or stages to accommodate all the different activities. You should also make sure the venue has good internet connectivity and sufficient power outlets to support all the gaming hardware and equipment.
Staffing and Resource
A group of committed employees and volunteers are needed to manage numerous responsibilities, such as registration, setup, and logistics, when hosting an esports live event. Start hiring early to make sure you can find the correct talent with the right skill sets and that you have adequate staff on the day of the event. Depending on the scale and complexity of your event, you might need to hire personnel for positions such as event management, technical support, and customer service. Additionally, you might wish to enlist volunteer assistance for jobs like registration and showing visitors around the venue. Since you do not have to pay for full-time positions, businesses like SimStaff provide freelance talent on an affordable basis, which helps with costs.
Budget Allocation
Arguably, Budget Allocation is one of the first steps in any event, but we figured that once you have more information around 3rd party costings, you will be able to plan more accurately without having holes in your budget. Decide how much money you have available, and then spend it wisely. Rental charges for the venue, prices for hardware and equipment, staff and volunteer costs, and prize money are a few of the major factors to take into account. To draw audiences and participants, you need also a budget for marketing and promotion.
Sponsorship and Partnership Allocation
Reaching out to potential partners in the gaming industry is worthwhile since sponsorships can help defray the costs of holding an esports live event. Make sure to explain the significance of your event and what sponsors can anticipate in return for their financial assistance. This could involve giving sponsors access to VIP events, product placements, and branding opportunities.
Event Timetables
The start and end hours, breaks, and any activities or tournaments you have planned should all be included in the event’s full programme. Be sure to allow for some flexibility in case of delays or unanticipated problems. In order to give visitors and participants a chance to rest and refuel, you should also schedule pauses and downtime in between activities. Documents you will likely need include: Call Sheets, Run of Show Schedules and Tournament Format documents. Having a universal document that all staff can work from is likely to enhance the efficiency of any event, and means that there’s no grey areas about who should be doing what (or when!).
Game Selection
The best part of any Esports Event is, of course, the Games! We’d hope that by this stage you’ve considered what titles you want to be included, but what you may not have considered is the Production, Stewarding and Formats of your favourite title as a competitive choice. Ensure that you have considered all hardware requirements for LAN Equipment, and that your adjudication and production team are up to speed on how to produce the jaw-dropping content fans will love to see.
Event Promotion
The success of any event depends heavily on how well it is promoted. Without effective marketing, it will be challenging to draw visitors and participation, which could have an impact on the event’s overall performance. You can advertise your esports live event in a variety of methods, like:
- To advertise your event and interact with your target audience, use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Develop a social media strategy that involves publishing news, updates, and behind-the-scenes material in the run-up to the event. Social media can also be used to communicate with guests and participants and respond to any queries they may have.
- Email marketing is a powerful tool for reaching a wide audience and promoting events. Make a list of email addresses for prospective participants and attendees, and send out regular updates and notifications in the run-up to the event.
- Consider setting up an event-specific website or blog where you can post updates, schedules, and other vital details. You can advertise ticket sales and sponsorships on your website or blog as well.
The above steps give you a brief insight into just some of the areas you should consider when planning an Esports Event in 2023. If you have any questions, ideas or tips then be sure to drop us a line and let us know!
