Global multiday PUBG esports tournament set to take place in Oakland

Move over basketball, football and soccer — there’s a new sport in town. The world of esports is expanding at a rapid pace and is the true game-changer in technology. Esports, which is short for electronic sports, is the competitive sport of video gaming, where professional players, individuals and teams come together for organized, multiplayer competitions. The booming billion-dollar industry attracts over 450 million participants a year, with millions of viewers tuning in to live streams each day and hundreds of thousands of fans flocking to the in-person competitions such as the upcoming PLAYERUNKOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS esports season finale, the PUBG Global Championship.

Video game competitions have been around since the early days of Space Invaders tournaments back in the 1980s. It’s the modern wave of competitions that are dominating the scene on a global scale, producing top-notch players at the same rate that traditional sports are generating star athletes. Players even hire coaches and trainers to develop their skills in order to move their leagues up in the ranks. Perks include the usual adrenaline rushes from popularity and notoriety, plus more tangible rewards such as stipends and cash prizes. Just this year, a 15-year-old student and his 21-year-old teammate split a $2.25 million dollar prize after finishing second in an esports world cup-style event.

Gamers from all across the world compete in a variety of ways. The most common genres of esports gameplay are multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBA), followed closely by first-person shooter (FPS) games. PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG), one of the most popular games in the esports genre goes beyond these ideas with their game creation. The concept was designed and led by Brian Greene, more commonly known as “Playerunknown”, whose popular ARMA 2 and Dayz mods gaining instant popularity amongst online gamers and introduced the battle royale style . The PUBG game (literally) drops players into a large-scale battle where they battle each other to see who can be the last-man standing. By implementing this third-element — the airdrop, the developers added another gameplay element in which gamers position themselves to collect the best resources and gain strategic advantage over their competitors for combat. This, in turn, birthed the battle royale genre which influenced games like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.

Players, viewers and fans can connect and engage from home by streaming games online with services such as the popular Twitch.tv platform. The greater rush and rewards come from participating in and attending the live, in-person tournaments, namely the upcoming PUBG Global Championship taking place in Oakland this November. PUBG Corporation originates in South Korea and has global offices across North America, Europe, Brazil and China. The company launched PUBG in March 2017, and generated millions of dollars within the first few days of sales. To celebrate the surpassing of 2 million copies sold, PUBG Corporation held a charity tournament shortly after, using the Twitch platform to invite over 128 players to raise money for the Gamers Outreach Foundation. By August, the first invitational tournament was formed and by the end of that year, a 20-team, 80-player tournament was held in Oakland with a $200,000 prize pool. The spectacular multi-day tournament is experienced both live and online across multiple continents.

“PUBG Global Esports events are incredibly special to us as both employees of PUBG Corporation and passionate fans of our game,” shares Jeff Parker, Head of Events at PUBG Corporation. “These events give our fans the opportunity to watch the very best PUBG teams in the world play at the highest level with a huge multi-million-dollar prize pool at stake. The pressure on the pro teams is enormous but so is the potential reward of success.”

Whether you’re a hardcore gamer or a casual spectator, you are bound to find yourself enthralled by the production and technology that goes into these tournaments. The impressive multi-level tournament takes place in the iconic Oakland Arena with the top 16 PUBG teams around the globe competing on a massive platform. The setup includes giant LED screens to beautifully display gameplay for onsite attendees, with high production value to ensure a quality experience for all involved. In the intense world of digital combat, every second and every frame counts. It’s a huge undertaking that comes with impressive audio/ visuals and commentary — similar to what you would find during an NBA Championship or FIFA World Cup.

“We’ll have the best esports storytellers from around the world onsite to deliver play-by-play commentary in three languages (English, Chinese, Korean),” Parker reveals. “We’ll also be utilizing over four gigabytes per second of internet bandwidth to broadcast an eightlanguage feed that will be produced across multiple continents. The broadcast production will incorporate cutting edge eye tracking technology, augmented reality and much more. PGC will employ over 1,000 staff to handle set-up, stage build, broadcast and operation.” The team is laser-focused on delivering a world-class live event and broadcast, for seasoned fans and newcomers alike to immerse themselves in. “We can’t wait to show you all of our hard work!” he adds, enthusiastically.

Not only is esports an expansive industry in the world of entertainment, it is also quickly becoming a rewarding career path in the fields of technology and software engineering. Many gamers start out as players but go on to develop technical skills through game modifications, some even building out their own hardware when parents can’t afford or simply refuse to invest in gaming equipment, which can be costly. The esports industry also offers opportunities for coaches, trainers and guides, as well as retail sellers and affiliates who provide the best equipment for serious competitors. For example, esports players have an affinity for certain high quality headsets that enable them to track approaching player’s footsteps, similar to how Steph Curry may have a preference for a particular sports shoe, giving them a major strategic edge Pro teams share many of the same luxuries as other pro sports, such as earning money, winning prize money and attracting sponsorships, corporate partnerships and investments. So if parents are concerned about children spending too much time gaming, perhaps they need to reconsider it as investing quality time in a future career.

This November, the PUBG Global Championship makes its way to Oakland. After a few competitive rounds and phases, the top teams will compete head-tohead on the dazzling tournament stage. “After a thorough search of the West Coast, we selected Oakland as our host city for the PUBG Global Championship Grand Finals. In making this decision, we considered the fact that Oakland and the greater Bay Area has a history of esports fandom as there have been multiple other competitions hosted here in recent years,” explains Parker. “The opportunity to bring this event to such a beautiful city was too good to pass up.” PUBG promises to deliver a fantastic experience live at the Oakland Arena from November 23-24, so prepare to step into the PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS as a player or spectator, and may the best gamer win.