Six New Nations Join IESF

IESF is excited to announce the admission of six new national members. The membership expanded within three (3) continents as Djibouti from Africa, Honduras and Suriname from America as well as Armenia, Croatia and Lithuania from Europe. 

Mr. Boban Totovski, Secretary General, stated, “I am happy to send my sincere congratulations to our newest members and wish them: welcome aboard! We are excited to have more countries and communities as part of theIESF family. We hope that by supporting national federations in those countries, we can stimulate the growth of the Esports communities there and everywhere else.”

The nations are represented through their respective national Esports Organizations:

ARMENIA – Armenian Esports Federation CROATIA – Croatian eSports Federation DJIBOUTI – Djibouti esports LITHUANIA – Lithuanian electronic sports association HONDURAS – Federacion Hondureña de E-sports SURINAME – Esports Suriname

Source: https://ie-sf.org/?p=5854
Originally published on: Wed, 21 Apr 2021 07:02:58 +0000

HanbitSoft’s AUDITION is back to the IESF’s Esports World Championship as a promoted title

IESF is pleased to announce that AUDITION is back as a promoted title for the13th Esports World Championship, Eilat 2021!

As a promoted title, AUDITION will be operated in individual format and players presenting their nations will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals.

AUDITION uses their own K-pop as well as the latest K-pop, leading the K-pop trend worldwide. It also contains fashion items of the latest trends as well as traditional costumes from around the world, making it a perfect game for players from all over the world to play with “K-POP, Dance, Fashion, and Community.”

The game is played by pressing the arrows displayed on the screen as well as the spacebar or control key on every 4th beat of the song. The more accurately the spacebar or control key is pressed, the higher the score. That’s the dynamic point of winning or losing in just 0.1 seconds, and this part of the game is a fun and exciting addition to the event.

AUDITION was first introduced at the IESF’s 12th Esports World Championship to the participants and global viewers of the event, with 1st place to Domin “Fabulous” Ahn of Korea. The matches gathered fans worldwide for watching players simulate dancing using the keyboard to control their avatars that dance with or against other players. IESF hopes to see him make his way to Eilat, Israel, to defend his gold medal at this year’s event.

Stay tuned for more updates to be announced in the following days!

Source: https://ie-sf.org/?p=5687
Originally published on: Mon, 15 Mar 2021 06:10:18 +0000

eFootball PES series return for the IESF’s 13th Esports World Championship

IESF is pleased to announce that KONAMI’s eFootball PES series will return for its third year as an official game title for the 13th Esports World Championship, EILAT 2021 to be held in Eilat, Israel later this year.

With its long history of international appeal, eFootball is a natural choice for international Esports competition. The game will be played on Playstation®4 during the IESF competition. IESF looks forward to continuing to engage the global PES community in making this game an exciting part of international Esports competitions into the future.

The eFootball PES series tournaments were a centerpiece of the 11th and 12th Esports World Championship. IESF hopes to see the best player from all over the world and make their way to Eilat, Israel, to have their championship medal at this year’s event.

Stay tuned for more game titles to be announced in the following days!

Source: https://ie-sf.org/?p=5647
Originally published on: Mon, 08 Mar 2021 06:21:46 +0000

OCA Confirms AESF As Technical Delegate for Esports at 2022 Asian Games

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) have announced the introduction of ‘Road to Asian Games,’ the official qualifier program for esports at Asian Games, starting with the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. 

This news comes with the reconfirmation that the AESF takes charge of all the matters of technical conduct for esports at Asian Games as the sole Technical Delegate. The AESF will also be responsible for selecting the esports event titles to be contested for the qualifiers and finals at Asian Games and make the final confirmation on the selected titles in collaboration with the OCA. 

As the exclusive organizer of ‘Road to Asian Games,’ the official qualifier program and esports competition at Asian Games, the AESF will oversee the qualifying and final tournament structure for all esports events at Asian Games including the responsibility to identify the finalists for their respective esports event titles through regional qualifying competitions as part of the campaign. The campaign will begin in Hangzhou 2022, and with AESF to continue the organization of Esports through to Nagoya 2026, Doha 2030 and beyond. 

With esports making its debut as an official medal sport at the 2022 Asian Games, this campaign will lay the foundation in bringing the Olympic Values and Movement to esports to Asia as well as the world. In addition, as part of the program, the AESF plans to include virtual and simulating event titles to the ‘Road to Asian Games’ and finals competition as a demonstration event, which will further encourage and expand the esports scope from traditional titles which are recognised as console, computer or mobile esports game events. 

More than just an esports event, the ‘Road to Asian Games’ and finals at the 19th Asian Games shall exhibit the growth of esports from competitive gaming event to an official sport event.  Moreover, the ‘Road to Asian Games’ will play the important role to introduce a direct pathway that allows publishers to be part of Asian Games. This initiative will be the first of its kind to bring fair and equal opportunities to all publishers and advance esports developments not just for Asia, but worldwide.

Furthermore, the ‘Road to Asian Games’ campaign will also include a focus on grassroots development, inclusion programs, career pathways, health and wellbeing support, as well as athlete’s rights and protection. As part of the Asian Games community outreach, the AESF will deliver and execute the ‘AESF Experience Program’ with full support from the OCA where AESF will aim to connect esports with athletes, fans, and local communities. This initiative will include a plan of an esports zone at the Asian Games Athletes Village, OCA House, and Fan Zones.

To officialise the partnership for the ‘Road to Asian Games’ campaign and the confirmation on the roles and responsibilities of AESF, an official Signing Ceremony was held with the OCA Director-General Dr. Husain AHZ Al-Musallam, OCA Director of Sports Mr. Haider A H E Farman, AESF President Mr. Kenneth Fok, and AESF Director-General Mr. Sebastian Lau in attendance.

Commenting on the partnership, Director General of OCA Dr. Husain AHZ Al-Musallam declared “It is a great pleasure to officially announce our partnership between OCA and AESF for the new esports program for our Asian Games and OCA will provide full support for successful esports events at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. We wish the best to our partner AESF on the journey ahead.”

Echoing Dr Husain’s sentiments, AESF President Kenneth Fok added “I would like to express our sincere appreciation for the continuous support and trust from the OCA. I believe that the Asian Games presents the best stage for us to share Olympic Values with the esports community and we aim to make our esports communities develop further through this opportunity. Also, we look forward to a successful collaboration with OCA as well as LOC.”

This collaboration not only marks another milestone in AESF’s continuous effort to drive esports forward, but also as testament to our constantly growing reach and network. The OCA has entrusted the AESF again with a major undertaking which would shape the world of esports for many years to come. The AESF welcomes this challenge and looks forward to delivering a momentous and unforgettable experience for everyone involved.

Source: https://ie-sf.org/?p=5642
Originally published on: Thu, 04 Mar 2021 06:13:48 +0000

DOTA 2, CSGO revealed as official titles for the 13th Esports World Championship

IESF is pleased to announce that DOTA 2 will return for the IESF 13th Esports World Championship, Eilat, Israel and welcomes the newly featuring Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for IESF’s flagship international competition, which has taken place annually since 2009.

DOTA 2, published by Valve, enjoys enormous global Esports popularity. The DOTA Pro Circuit, with Valve’s “The International” tournament, has seen crowdfunded prize pools in excess of $30 US million, making DOTA 2 one of the most lucrative games in Esports.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) is a multiplayer first-person shooter genre developed by Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment. It is the fourth edition in the long-standing Counter-Strike series, one of the biggest Esports titles in the world for two decades.

IESF looks forward to seeing the world’s best Esports athletes from IESF member nations in the competitions at this year’s 13th Esports World Championship, Eilat, Israel.

Eilat was chosen as the host city of the IESF’s 13th Esports World Championship, following the cancellation of the global finals event in 2020. The format of the competition will be similar to last year’s as the World Championship’s Regional Games will be held online and the best players and teams will be participating in the offline Global Finals in Eilat, Israel.

Stay tuned for more game titles to be announced in the following days!

Follow IESF social channels for the future updates and news! >>

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Source: https://ie-sf.org/?p=5584
Originally published on: Mon, 01 Mar 2021 11:00:00 +0000

Olympic Council of Asia and AESF Introduces the ‘Road to Asian Games’ Campaign for 2022 Asian Games

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) has confirmed the introduction of the new program, ‘Road to Asian Games’ for the upcoming 2022 Asian Games. In addition, the OCA has confirmed again the appointment of the AESF as the only Technical Delegate who will take charge of all the matters of technical conduct for Esports events at the 2022 Asian Games.

The AESF will be the exclusive organizer of ‘Road to Asian Games’, the official qualifier program and competition of esports to the Asian Games final. The AESF is the first Esports federation to introduce a direct pathway, ‘Road to Asian Games,’ whereby event titles selection and confirmation will be decided by AESF and allow publishers to be part of an Olympic event such as the Asian Games. The campaign will begin in Hangzhou 2022, and with AESF to continue the organization of Esports through to Nagoya 2026, Doha 2030 and beyond. This initiative will be the first of its kind to bring fair and equal opportunities to all publishers and advance esports developments not just to Asia, but worldwide.

With Esports making its debut as a medal event at the Asian Games, the AESF ‘Road to Asian Games’ campaign will also extend beyond the competition scenes. This campaign will lay the foundation in bringing the Olympic Spirit to
esports and introduce an education program for participating Esports athletes to share the Olympic Movement and Values not just in Asia, but globally. With plans for the promotion, sustainability and legacies underway, the emphasis will be on education and development in Esports. The key area of focus will be grassroots development, inclusion programs, career pathways, health and wellbeing support, as well as athlete’s rights and protection.

The AESF is excited to accelerate the esports movement from competitive video gaming event into official sport event with the participation in the Continental Games. The AESF plans to include virtual and simulating sports to the ‘Road to Asian Games’ and finals competition as a demonstration event, which will further encourage and expand esports scope from traditional titles which are recognised as console, computer or mobile esports game events. This inclusion will also aim to encourage both sports and esports community to engage in physical activity and promote mental wellbeing.

To officialise the partnership for the ‘Road to Asian Games’ campaign and the confirmation on the roles & responsibilities of AESF, an official Signing Ceremony was held with the OCA Director General Dr. Husain A H Z Al-Musallam, OCA Director of Sports Mr. Haider A H E Farman, AESF President Mr. Kenneth Fok, and AESF Director General Mr. Sebastian Lau in attendance. Announcing the partnership, Director General of OCA Dr. Husain AHZ Al-Musallam said “It is a great pleasure to officially announce our partnership between OCA and AESF for the new Esports program for our Asian Games and OCA will provide full support for successful Esports events at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. We wish the best to our partner AESF on the journey ahead,” he added.

In line with this partnership, the OCA reconfirms that the AESF is the sole official governing body of esports in Asia and will be fully responsible for all technical aspect of esports competitions at Asian Games as well as any other OCA events.

“I would like to express our sincere appreciation for the continuous support and trust from the OCA. I believe that the Asian Games presents the best stage for us to share Olympic Values with Esports community and we aim to make our Esports communities develop further through this opportunity. Also, we look forward to a successful collaboration with OCA as well as LOC.” said Mr. Fok in a speech during the signing.

Disclosing AESF’s role and responsibility, OCA Director of Sports Mr. Haider A H E Farman added, “Leading up to the Asian Games, the Asian Electronic Sports Federation will have the leading role and take full responsibility in the selection of esports titles in collaboration with the OCA. From the qualifying rounds to the grand finals of each esports event, rest assured that the OCA and AESF, together with LOC will work hand-in-hand, ensuring successful esports events for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022.”

Mr. Sebastian Lau of AESF further conveyed his gratitude during the ceremony, “As the Asian Federation, the AESF is honoured to be organizing the esports qualifiers and the Technical Delegate for the upcoming Asian Games. We will start from Hangzhou, and I am looking forward to exploring more opportunities together with all of you and make the evolution of esports further in Nagoya 2026, Doha 2030 and beyond.”

More than just an Esports event, the ‘Road to Asian Games’ and finals at the 19th Asian Games exhibits the growth of Esports from competitive gaming event to an official sport event and the AESF, with the full support of OCA and LOC, will assure the most competitive and extraordinary esports event to date.

Road to Asian Games Partnership Summary

Esports Event Title Selection
AESF will select the esports event titles to be contested for the qualifiers and finals at the 2022 Asian Game and make the final confirmation on the selected titles in collaboration with the OCA.

Eligibility and Participating Teams
Leading up to the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, the AESF is responsible for identifying the finalists for their respective esports event titles through regional qualifiers as part of the ‘Road to Asian Games’ competition campaign which will lead to the Final at 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Qualifiers and Finals
The AESF will form the qualifying and final tournament structure for all esports events and conduct the qualifiers for all participating Asian countries at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in collaboration with the OCA.

Community Outreach Programs
As part of the Asian Games community outreach, AESF will deliver and execute the AESF Experience Program with full support from the OCA. Aiming to connect with the esports community and fans alike, this program also aims to deliver the best Esports experience while also attracting new esports fans.

Youngman Kim appointed as new IESF Vice President

The International Esports Federation (IESF) Board had voted to approve Mr. Youngman Kim as the official Vice President of IESF.

Mr. Youngman Kim, also serves as president of the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) and is one of its founders, will serve this role for a  two-year term, succeeding the outgoing Acting Vice President HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Sultan Al-Nahayan of the UAE.

Mr. Kim was elected by IESF members during its 2019 General Assembly as a Board Member. He has been working closely with the Korean Government for the benefit of IESF members and multiple global Esports Programs.

Before joining IESF, Youngman contributed decisively in establishing Esports as a new cultural content having StarCraft in Korea and led the explosive growth of Esports. While Korea was going through the IMF (International Monetary Fund) crisis, he left the company he worked at and established a game company, and went to great lengths to vitalize ‘StarCraft’ in Korea. With his tremendous effort, three (3) million copies of StarCraft were sold in Korea and industrial expansion worth 1.14 trillion KRW and job creation effects for more than 150,000 people were accomplished. Mr. Kim is still being introduced as the “Father of modern Esports” and “Esports Legend” on the international stage.

Mr. Kim has actively participated in the development of the Esports industry by serving as President of Korea Software Property Right Council and Korea Association of Game Industry. He has been back leading KeSPA in 2018 to reconstruct the Association and to promote Esports in Korea. KeSPA is one of the leading Esports Association on the international stage, and a member of IESF and IOC ELG Group, and a partner of Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF).

“This is an exceptional opportunity and I’m honored.” adds Mr. Youngman Kim . “I’m truly excited to continue to interact with our members and partners all over the world as well as Esports stakeholders, many of whom I have worked closely with on Esports over the past decade. I am looking forward to continuing these efforts as IESF Vice President.”

IESF President, Vlad Marinescu , stated: “Youngman Kim did a wonderful job as Board Member of IESF and I am very happy to welcome him as our new Vice President with full consensus from IESF leadership. Together, we will continue to lead and promote Esports through our global programs, competitions and tournaments.”

Source: https://ie-sf.org/?p=5574
Originally published on: Tue, 23 Feb 2021 03:37:32 +0000

KeSPA’s New Initiative with Korean Wave

The first collaboration case of Esports and Korean wave is presented with “Support project of planning and developing of Korean wave-linked collaborative contents.”

Participated in the “CAST”, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, organized by the Korea International Cultural Exchange Promotion Agency Introduced new products with 8 Esports related companies, which are utilized for Korean wave contents Planning to expand the Korean wave’s appearance, including gaming apparel, gaming gear, protection guards, education and cartoon contents.

Through ‘Supporting project of planning and development of Korean wave-linked collaborative content (CAST)’, Esports created the first example of collaborating with South Korean companies, having Esports recognized as new K-wave content.

Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) publicly announced how this meaningful project has been like on the 10th.

‘Supporting project of planning and development of Korean wave-linked collaborative contents (CAST)’ is a project hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea International Cultural Exchange Promotion Agency, and the Korea e-Sports Association participated in the game and Esports field with 8 companies from 5 industrial groups related to Esports.

The project “CAST” (CAST: Connect, Company to make Synergy and Transformation) systematically supports Korean SMEs with potential in developing new content or product. In particular, the game and Esports sectors focus on spreading the dynamic image of K-wave culture.

The participating companies include DRX, ROX Gaming, DSC, AIDER, Xenics, Icom Brand, BATTLICA, Gamtoon. By including esports players and Korean esports content into the company’s original business area, the companies produced new products such as gaming apparel, gaming gear, glasses, protectors, educational content, and e-books.

Specifically, ▲All players from DRX worked with the team for the development of gaming apparel and mouse pads, ranging from designing to the fittings ▲ROX Gaming developed the joystick and various gaming products, working with Bae ‘Knee’ Jae-min, a legendary ‘Tekken’ player ▲DSC created two types of glasses with cooperation from Lee ‘DuDu’ Dong-joo and Oh ‘Vista’ Hyo-sung, professional LoL players of HLE ▲AIDER, with recently retired legendary professional LoL player Heo ‘Pawn’ Won-seok, developed three types wrists and waists supports.

Click to play the video

In addition, ▲Xencis created a never-existed gaming chair, with ideation and feedback from Hong ‘Pyosik’ Chang-hyun, a professional LoL player of DRX ▲Icom Brand developed a special gaming PC, working with Kang Do-kyung, a general manager of Team APE, and Kim Hee-chul, a K-wave Icon. ▲BATTLICA made esports educational materials with Jang ‘Dingception’ Kwang-myeon, Cho ‘Vino’ Han-kyung, Kim ‘hyMIN’ Min-kyu, Nho ‘Rothy’ Si-eun ▲Gamtoon created 3 types of cartoon e-book highlighting the stories of legendary esports players (Cho ‘Maru’ Seong-ju and Jang ‘Moon’ Jae-ho) and Korean esports history.

Also, DRX, ROX Gaming, and Aider exhibited their products at the Korean Culture Promotion Center in November last year at the “3rd Jang Sam Gak international Culture Industry Fair” in Shanghai, China operated by the Korea International Cultural Exchange and Korean Cultural Center Shanghai. At the fair, esports was introduced as a new collaboration with various industries. During the exhibition period, more than 2,500 people visited the site and inquiries about products were received directly, so interest in the Korean wave culture in China was also confirmed.

Click to play the video

Moreover, the Asian esports Federation (AESF), the governing body of Asian esports communities, introduced this project to more than 40 member countries in the continent, as a good example of the expansion of the industry, with the support from the government.

Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) stated, “’CAST’ project is meaningful because it is the first example of esports showing industrial potential as a collaborative content linked to the Korean wave. Starting with the project, we will continue to show synergy through esports and collaboration with various industries.”

Source: https://ie-sf.org/?p=5479
Originally published on: Fri, 19 Feb 2021 05:34:00 +0000

IESF Athletes Committee leads the way for a better environment for Esports Athletes

IESF is excited to introduce the IESF Athletes Committee.

The Committee will be the voice of Esports Athletes (players) placing the protections of players’ interests as their top priority while ensuring IESF stays rooted and in touch with the interests of players with continuous cooperation.

Tiffini Lim, Chairperson of IESF Athletes Committee , says “Today the term ‘Esports player’ already means something very different than it did a decade ago, yet we still have many prevalent systemic issues regarding player rights – organizers get away with unpaid prize monies, and players sign uneven contracts and get exploited unknowingly. As ex- and current competitive players we have encountered our fair share of issues, and thus we are able to share our experiences so our fellow players don’t have to run into the same walls as we did. We will do everything within our capacity to provide a safe avenue for players to seek help from.“

The newly formed Committee is composed of diverse backgrounds, countries and regions covering different game titles. 

Tiffani “Oling” Lim is a Malaysian Dota 2 player, community figure and an outspoken advocate for player rights. She’s also the pro tem President of her local Esports Players’ Association and the Head of Marketing & PR of the esports organization Battle Arena Malaysia. Pedro “barboza” Barbosa is a Portuguese eFootball PES player and a quality technician in the aeronautic industry in Portugal. He is also the coordinator of Athletes Commission in the Portuguese Esports Federation since 2020. Simona “Monny” Ivanovska is a psychologist and an esports enthusiast who specializes in FPS titles. She has also taken up the role of Development Coordinator in the Macedonian Esports Federation since 2020.  Freddy “Zubscop” Mazila represents Namibia and used to be the Tekken champion for 3 years running. He is now a graphic designer working on a future with graphic designing that can implement into his gaming experience some day.

IESF’s Athletes Committee has been working for establishing and distributing a standard contract template for organizations and players’ reference, developing a series of workshop to educate players about their legal rights, protection and where to seek help, and helping to develop and shape a coaching license system, which is also a career option for retired professional players.

IESF is looking forward to walking the path with the Committee for the betterment of Esports!

Source: https://ie-sf.org/?p=5457
Originally published on: Wed, 10 Feb 2021 01:35:00 +0000

IESF reveals its 2021 global programs calendar!

IESF has revealed the schedule of global events and programs for 2021 featuring five (5) significant program categories with multiple events throughout the year to unify and enhance the Global Esports ecosystem

With IESF’s Esports World Championship, the annual Global Esports competition where national teams and players participate representing their nations, Regional Esports tournaments and the newly-launched World Super League will be presented globally.

Alongside the competitive events, IESF’s annual professional conference, the Global Esports Executive Summit (GEES) will be hosted for the sixth time this year. GEES gathers key Esports stakeholders and creates an environment for discussion, education and action for global Esports development.

To support the rapid development of global Esports, IESF will launch its international  R&D programs this year to strengthen the ecosystem and ensure sustainable growth.

For more information on the IESF 2021 global programs and events Click Here .

Follow IESF social channels to stay connected with IESF >> .

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Source: https://ie-sf.org/?p=5453
Originally published on: Mon, 08 Feb 2021 03:11:49 +0000