International esports tourney attracts 36 professional teams
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Terrorists and counter-terrorists battled for virtual supremacy during Fragadelphia’s first Canadian competition, held at St. Clair College.
The professional esports production, featuring players from around the world competing in a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive four-day tournament, took over St. Clair College’s Nexus Arena for fast-paced virtual play.
“We have professional teams flying in from other countries,” said Stephen Csikos, Fragadelphia founder. “We’re broadcasting the event to four different online platforms, Twitch tv, kik.com, YouTube and Twitter.”
The international tournament began Thursday with 36 teams of five to six players. By Saturday, the number of teams remaining was 12.
Sunday’s final featured four professional teams vying for a grand prize of US$18,000. The total prize pool was $35,000.
Organizers said roughly 400 people attended the event, including players from Montreal, Toronto and Windsor who competed in open play.
A production studio with a broadcast announcer provided play-by-play audio to fans around the world.
More than a dozen St. Clair College students in the esports administration and entrepreneurship program were involved, from broadcasting to administration and back-end production of the gaming events.
“There’s nothing better than this,” said Chris Funston, the college’s assistant esports director. “This is what the facility is built for, running these types of events, and we’re making the most of it.
“We run collegiate events throughout the year, but we don’t run many pro events, so to take this opportunity for our students, it’s huge and that’s what we want to keep providing.”
Fragadelphia is based in the United States and was founded in 2014. It’s the first event Fragadelphia has hosted in Canada as it looks to expand its footprint across North America.
“This is a passion project,” Csikos said. “I personally have played this game for nine years professionally, back when I was way younger, and now it’s kind of like giving back to the community and doing more communal things.”
Csikos said Counter Strike attracts an older gaming crowd in the 21- to 27-year-old range, “so it’s usually people who are still finishing their degrees, post-grad, or somebody who’s really starting their career.
“And a lot of these players, like the ones who are on stage, are actually professional,” he said. “They make full salaries to play this. They get flown around the world to play this. So it’s a really cool pursuit for some, and for others, it’s a job.”
Csikos said Fragadelphia operates as a non-profit entity so partnerships are necessary.
“And we’re hoping that the students who are involved get that education, get that hands-on education, that if they decide to take a career in gaming or production or sports production, this helps them get there,” he said.
“We want to find the next people up … people who want to do this type of stuff and who are passionate enough about it so that they’re just building and building and building. And hopefully by the time I’m retired, the gaming esports industry is more mature, similar to professional sports.”
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