VIRTUAL REALITY

Virtual games become increasingly popular in the modern world. Cyber-game competitions organised all over the world attract close attention. It is no coincidence that among the standard-bearers at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games was also a representative of e-sports.

E-sports become increasingly popular in Azerbaijan as well. The attitude towards competitions, previously considered just as computer games, changed after the creation of a separate federation. Now young people participate in daily trainings, fight for victory in national championships and tournaments. We interviewed the head of Gaming League Azerbaijan (GLA), which organizes these competitions for domestic gamers, Mr. Adil MAHMUDOV.

"Can you tell us about e-sports?"

"The concept of e-sports emerged relatively recently. Yet many people do not understand it well. Any e-sport is an individual or team competition based on video and computer games. However, not all games fall into the e-sports category, as the main factor here is not luck, but skills. In cyber competitions, gamers do not play for fun but to achieve a result. Usually the creators decide in advance whether the game will be used for sport or entertainment purposes. E-sports is a huge industry. The leading countries of the world are investing millions of dollars in this area. The income of e-sports players can well be compared to the income of football and tennis celebrities."

"What is the current level of interest in e-sports competitions?"

"There is a huge interest. The main reason, of course, is the coronavirus pandemic, which, along with many spheres, paralyzed sports life. Since many international competitions, as well as national and world championships are cancelled due to the lockdown, sports fans are shifting their attention to online competitions. We can say with confidence that the current situation has had a positive impact on e-sports. Fully online e-sports tournaments are currently in advantageous position compared to traditional sports. This is also confirmed by statistical data. According to forecasts, in 2020, the global video game market will hit $159 billion! That's four times the income of the film industry and three times the income of the music industry!

“Interest in e-sports has also increased in Azerbaijan. A large number of our gamers join to e-sports competitions every year. In recent months, we have seen an expansion of the audience in this area. This process will last at least until the end of the year.”

"Earlier, the interest in e-sports was not great. What do you think is the reason for the current surge in interest in virtual competitions?"

"Previously, young people had fun in the Internet clubs. But over time they began to play in specially designated e-gaming rooms. Major e-sports competitions have been held in the United States and other developed countries since the end of the last century. And over the past 20 years, interest in this area has increased in such neighboring countries as Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan. Naturally, this trend has been observed in our country too. Yet there are stereotypes in Azerbaijan. But the process of recognising e-sports as an independent field of sports is progressing, albeit slowly. Azerbaijan E-sport Federation largely contributes to the popularity of e-sports in the country. As in other areas, the increased interest in e-sports is associated with the attraction of large funds. In this regard, Gaming League Azerbaijan decided to contribute to the development of e-sports in our country."

"How is e-sports developing in the world?"

"As a business industry, it started developing since 1997. After ten years, the turnover in this business has already reached $35 billion. Another ten years passed, and this amount reached $138.9 billion. As you can see, e-sports is setting unprecedented records. These numbers encourage gamers to pursue their careers in the sport. Another important point is the rapid growth of the e-sports audience. Nowadays, gamers receive great support from fans, and clubs have multi-million dollar contracts with world famous brands. In the modern world, e-sports is youth, fame and money.”

"Which of the competitions caused the greatest interest?"

"Our league has been working in Azerbaijan since the end of last year. Nevertheless, we have done a lot of works. In spring 2020, we held the Azerbaijan FIFA 20 Championship with the participation of the country's top 20 e-FIFA players. The FIFA 20 League ended recently. At the same time, we organized competitions in Dota 2, Counte-Strike: Global Offensive and PUBG Mobile. I can say that PUBG Mobile was of the greatest interest, because the game can be easily downloaded to a smartphone and is available for everyone."

"Is it possible to include e-sports in the program of the Olympic Games in the future?"

"As you know, the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo has been postponed to 2021. This gives rise to some assumptions. Since the International Olympic Committee declared the main goal of the Olympic Games be youth, the organisation included skateboarding, surfing and rock climbing in their program as well. Given the popularity of video games among young people, fans of e-sports consider it advisable to include it in the Olympic Games in the future. But I will note that there are obstacles to the implementation of this idea at the moment. This is primarily due to the presence of fighting scenes in video games. However, I think the main problem is the ownership of specific video games. However, e-sports is already featured in the Asian Games. In 2018, it was presented in Indonesia (Jakarta and Palembang) at demonstration competitions and was included in the program of the Asian Games upcoming in 2022 in the Chinese city of Hangzhou."

"What are the results of Azerbaijani teams in international competitions?"

"Our participation is directly related to the establishment of the Azerbaijan E-sports Federation in 2011. In the same year, the federation became a member of the International E-sports Federation. Azerbaijan is the first country in the region and the second country in the post-Soviet space to become a member of the federation. In 2014, the 6th World Computer Games Championship was held in Baku, organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan and the International E-sports Federation. Given the popularity of computer sports in the country, President Ilham Aliyev provided funds from the Reserve Fund of the President for the organization of our first championship.

“The event was attended by more than 300 representatives from 34 countries and was widely covered by the world's leading media outlets. Millions of people all over the world watched the competition. The championship held in Baku went down in history as a significant large-scale event not only in the post-Soviet space, but throughout the region.

“Our gamers have participated in a number of international competitions and achieved successful results. For example, at the International Championship held in Jakarta in 2015, they became the third. In Seoul in 2016 – the sixth. At the 8th World E-sports Championships in 2016 in Jakarta, our team became the second in the game HeartStone. Our participation in various international tournaments is extremely important in terms of gaining experience. I believe that even more striking success is ahead of our gamers.”

"What are your future goals and plans?"

"There are many goals. We are working hard to achieve them. Our main goal is to turn Azerbaijan into a country of e-sports, to identify gamers and promote their level of professionalism. Naturally, all the tournaments we organize are aimed precisely at increasing the experience and skills of our e-sportsmen. We have already established a PUBG team from the best players in the country. Our goal is to create strong teams that will represent the country in international competitions. To encourage our players, it is necessary to create conditions for them to organize the training process. We are aware of this and are building our work in this direction. I believe that in the near future we will achieve a worthy representation of our country at prestigious tournaments through the establishment of strong teams in other types of e-sports."

"How do you see the level of e-sports competitions in ten years?"

"I think e-sports will become a real profession in the coming years. There are no particular obstacles to its development, since it is available to everyone. A few years ago, it was difficult to imagine that e-sports would compete with other sports. And now it is a candidate for inclusion in the program of the Olympic Games. I think that e-sports competitions will be held in large stadiums, aired on television and web channels, getting large sums for their broadcast. I believe that Azerbaijan will not stay away from this trend. And we will do our best to achieve this objective."