The global esports industry has enjoyed astronomical growth over the past decade, yet any form of regulation is still largely handled by the publishers and developers of popular games such as Call of Duty, League of Legends, Overwatch, and many more. However, with the just passed resolution, there is the hope of standardization of the industry, specifically within Europe.
The resolution was a long time coming, as the processes leading to it started a year ago when the EU parliament called for research on the industry as part of its sports policy. Reports on esports analysis and policy recommendations were submitted earlier this year.
The final and amalgamated report shed light on issues such as definitions, the role of esports in education, culture, media, technology, provision of a legal framework, amongst many others. After several amendments, adoption of the report by the Culture and Education committee (CULT) and an eventual debate by members of the parliament, the resolution was passed after it garnered 560 votes in favour and 34 votes against.
The resolution raised questions concerning the ambiguous state of the industry, calling attention to the immense possibilities lying within it. The resolution highlighted the need for funding, creation of legal frameworks, development of a charter with game publishers and developers in light of data privacy and cybersecurity, and many more. In terms of betting, the resolution called for safeguarding the industry from issues such as doping, match-fixing, illegal gambling and other vices through player education and the promotion of positive values and skills.
While commenting on the achievement, Tomasz Frankowski, EPP Group coordinator in the European parliament, noted: ��Videogames have a huge economic potential in the creative and cultural sectors. The European Union has more than 80,000 people working in the sector and is home to some 5,000 development studios, some of which are world leaders. It is also one of the few cultural and creative industry to have experienced turnover growth during the COVID-19 crisis.��
Nepomuk Nothelfer, a legal researcher for the EU on esports, also expressed enthusiasm for the resolution. He said: ��The resolution alone is a gigantic recognition of gaming and esports. [But] I get the feeling the real work will begin after the resolution. Most of the time it��s before the resolution because now you have a plan, and you can act on it. But in esports it��s still so complicated. �� I get the feeling that the stages afterwards will take a long time.��
]]>The primary purpose of the game is to inspire recovery and rehabilitation for international injured ex-service personnel and veterans through sports. The inaugural competition was held in London in 2014, and the Invictus Gaming Foundation has since made it a point of duty to host these games as often as possible.
Through their official Twitter page, the foundation announced that their esports tent is open, and they will be including esports in this year’s edition. Some of the esport games to be featured include League of Legends, FIFA 2022, Rocket League, Mario Kart, etc.
Esports have come to the Invictus Games.
Our #eSports tent is now officially open and we will be hosting competitions and giving away prizes all day! #ig22 @EsportsH20 | #InvictusGames pic.twitter.com/LzYztMTr7r
— Invictus Games Foundation
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(@WeAreInvictus) April 18, 2022
The esports competition will hold from April 18 to 22 and will have a two-hour live stream daily. Outside of the streaming programs, participants could participate in the competitive section or simply play for fun on PC and consoles.
According to Invictus Games’ official site, the esports activation is delivered by Amsterdam esports initiative H2O Esports Campus. There are prizes available for participants, courtesy of HyperX, HP, Nintendo, and OMEN.
Speaking on the decision to incorporate esports, CEO of Invictus Games Foundation Dominic Reid said:
��We know that the Invictus community of wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans are already gaming regularly, and actively participating within esports competitions. What we are now interested in is understanding how this could be tailored as part of a recovery pathway from injury or illness, to explore the benefits that participation in esports could bring to the community, and unlock innovative ways of facilitating digital connections between the international community.��
H20 Esports Campus CEO Matthijs Vink also said some words following the announcement. He expressed his organization’s interest to be a part of future events – offline and online – to help grow an Invictus Community.
��Gaming and esports are inclusive to everyone across the range of physical abilities. H20 Esports Campus and the Invictus Games Foundation share values in seeing competition as ways to inspire, motivate, and respect one another. H20 Esports Campus is proud to be helping the Invictus Games Foundation to bring esports and active sports together in a pathway to recovery for the international community of wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women. We at H20 look forward to future events both offline and online where we will help grow an online Invictus community where there is a place for fun and competition.��
Invictus Games’ first introduction to esports
Despite holding several games from 2014, Invictus Games only delved into esports in 2020. They partnered with Global Esports Federation to explore incorporating esports to further advance sports recovery, which is a proven method to accelerate and reinforce rehabilitation.
On the partnership, Vice President & Chair, Education, Culture and Wellness Commission, Global Esports Federation Chester King said:
��Esports, as in traditional sport, showcases human competition and has tremendous cognitive, physical, and social benefits. We have seen firsthand the benefits of esports in promoting communications between people, building stronger global communities, and encouraging the connection between people from around the world, wherever they are.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Invictus Games has been unable to hold its annual competition. However, the Hague 2020 is currently ongoing, with most of the sporting events happening around the Invictus Games Park.
]]>Attach is a Call of Duty esports player, filling the role of SMG player for the Minnesota ROKKR. The 25-year-old was part of the Denial eSports team that won the World Championship in 2015 and has been playing professionally since the age of 16. He joined ROKKR in September 2020 and has since stayed loyal to the team.
The US-born player took to social media platform Twitter to share his thoughts about how tasking the game is. In his tweet, he put esports above every other sport on the planet.
“Esports is the most physically and mentally demanding sport in the world.”
Esports is the most physically and mentally demanding sport in the world
— MN Attach (@Attach) April 10, 2022
For those on the outside, it might be difficult to agree with Attach, especially when they see NFL players go at each other like raging bulls every other night. However, every athlete’s perspective has to be respected.
ROKKR finish eighth in Call of Duty League 2022 Stage 1 Major
ROKKR was one of the teams outside of the top eight in Stage 1 of the 2022 Call of Duty League season, automatically playing in the losers bracket of the first Major of the year. Regardless of their slow start, they managed to advance to Round 2 before getting eliminated by Los Angeles Thieves.
They finished eighth in the tournament and got rewarded with $10,000 out of the $500,00 prize pool for their efforts. Added to that were 10 Call of Duty League Championship points. Esports betting sites had Atlanta Faze as the overall favorites. Unfortunately, they could not overcome OpTic Texas, who defended their turf and went home with $200,000 and 65 CDL points.
In Stage 2 Major, ROKKR was a lot more disappointing, finishing outside the top eight and missing out on getting a piece of the prize pool. ROKKR still has some time to accumulate as many CDL points ahead of the CDL championship. The team’s next challenge will come in the Pro-Am Classic, scheduled to commence on May 5.
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