Digitec hosts first e-sports cup
The online retailer Digitec is hosting «Digitec Playground,» the first esports tournament in the company’s history. Eight teams will compete in the finals on Saturday. The game being played is the tactical shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
On Saturday, the best Swiss amateur gamers and semi-professionals of the tactical shooter "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" (CS:GO) will meet in the final of the e-sports tournament. Out of a total of 128 squads of five players each, seven teams prevailed in two qualification rounds. The eighth place in the final will be awarded to the Digitec employee team by wildcard.
The final will be broadcast live on YouTube from 1 p.m. onwards. Galaxus editor Simon Balissat and CS:GO specialist Remo Blaser will provide live commentary and analysis. The Digitec team will compete in the Zurich eStudios, while the other teams will connect online. There are PC monitors, keyboards, mice and headsets worth over 8,000 Swiss francs to be won - sponsored by Logitech and HP Omen.
"Team Digitec" will be there at least in the first round. "We'll be competing as stark outsiders," says Luis Loureiro, captain of Team Digitec and an employee in the control center of the Digitec-Galaxus warehouse in Wohlen. "But we are looking forward to the challenge."
The finalist teams are in order of points achieved in the qualification:
- Equinox.CUP
- Babos Gaming
- mYinsanity
- KINGZZZ
- Scythe of Seraph
- Swissbulls
- Flying_Grit
- Team Digitec
Why e-sports? Why CS:GO?
The three Digitec founders Oliver Herren, Florian Teuteberg and Marcel Dobler were already passionate gamers 18 years ago. The start-up came into being not least because the PC components they wanted were not available in Switzerland or were far too expensive. "We still like to gamble today, as do many Digitec Galaxus employees," says CEO Teuteberg. "That's why we've had a hankering for our own e-sports tournament for a long time."
The game CS:GO was chosen by the customers: In a public vote by the Digitec community, 18 percent of the more than 3,000 participants voted for the tactical shooter. The games "Rainbow Six Siege," "Overwatch" and "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" also ranked highly.
Continuations are up for debate
Digitec Playground is a pilot project. Whether there will be further tournaments will be decided by the success of this Saturday. "With the Cup, we are looking into long-term participation in the scene," says David Kübler, project manager at Digitec Galaxus. But one thing is already clear: Digitec Playground will continue to belong to the community in the future.
