The first Commonwealth Esports Championships (CEC) took place at Birmingham’s International Convention Center last weekend, and it was great news for the UK esports home nations as they won 11 out of the 18 medals up for grabs. Prior to that, a Commonwealth Esports Forum took place on the Friday.
The events were a result of a partnership between the Commonwealth Games Federation and Global Esports Federation, a body that has sports expertise and 118 national esports member federations, and one that has had a mixed response from the esports community.
JACK FREEMAN attended the games last weekend, and in this opinion piece, weighs in on how successful it was – and whether the GEF has done enough to create an esports legacy in the West Midlands.
The Commonwealth Esports Forum
This conference brought together various GEF members, businesses and other individuals, and was held the day before the matches. It was filled with panels that aimed to “spotlight leading voices, debate some of the most important issues, opportunities, and challenges facing the fast-growing global phenomenon and explore the limitless potential of esports.”
The chief executive of West Midlands Growth Company, Niel Rami, commented: “From my perspective, getting the Commonwealth Forum event going allows us in a sense to be a part of what the GEF is trying to do, which is connect the world.”
That sounds all well and good, and in all fairness, it was good for attendees to hear about important topics that affect the esports industry. However, this also came with its limitations.
If we look at who was in attendance and the speakers, you can see a pattern. The majority of attendees were high-level business people from entities typically outside of the esports industry. While not necessarily a bad thing, you got a sense of who the GEF really cater for. And it looked like several who attended the forum were not present for the matches in the following days.
On the other hand, there were a few people who emanated a genuine interest in esports. Neil Rami had done his homework and could name all of the major esports/gaming events in Birmingham from the past few years, and he brought his children to watch the games. Meanwhile, President of the Malaysia Esports Federation, Dato’ Ananth S.Nathan, supported his teams throughout the weekend, including joining in with chants of support during the Dota 2 open series finals.
It’s also worth mentioning that GEF’s theme song was performed live by ‘#worldconnected Together’ by Jill-Marie Thomas at the opening of the Forum – and the finals. Yes, the GEF have their own song: an interesting anthem emphasising the GEF’s values.
“Diversity, pride, commitment, unity, equality, innovation, not division, let the world unite,” sings Jill-Marie.
Overall, the forum was filled with business-to-business panels and discussions talking about the future and potential of esports. I’ve no doubt that it was all good for business and some revenues were made from the few that purchased the £295 ticket.
And while I doubt much of this was relevant to those already in the esports industry, GEF’s CEO Paul J. Foster did tell us in a recent interview: “‘We’re not for those who are really knowledgeable in esports. We’re for the communities around the world that are still starting their journey in esports.”
At the end of the long day, it was time to end the forum and send everyone on their way, ready for the weekend of matches. But there was one last thing before the end of the evening.
An awards ceremony.
Usually reserved for the end of a tournament, these awards were not for the players or the teams. They were for those at the forum.
It was a little befuddling to see members of the GEF hand trophies to other members of the GEF, before they got to see how successful the CEC was going to be. To be fair, they did also hand out awards to individuals that are outside of the GEF as well, such as their new partners that were also at the forum.
Innovation Showcase looks to tech and the future
Alongside the activities was an ‘Innovation Showcase’ taking place during the Forum and across the weekend. Open to ticket holders, as part of the GEF’s efforts to demonstrate new technologies that could come into esports and elsewhere.
The World Freestyle Football Association were there to promote freestyle football and how it can be a healthy activity which you can ‘gamify’ anywhere, something that’s aligned with GEF’s goals. The same went for other sports, like taekwondo.
Don’t get me wrong, they were amazing and were a cool addition to see around during the weekend. But don’t quite understand why they were there, other than promoting their ‘product’ to the ticketholders.
In addition, diversity-focused sim racing organisation Init Esports were present to give the attendees a few laps around Silverstone race track on their sim racing rigs.
I also had the chance to try out Refract Technologies’ motion tracking game Freestriker, promising ‘full-body, untethered freedom of movement’ Axis technology.
It’s certainly different, as there are no controllers needed to play the game – just sensors that attach to you, like motion capture. And more importantly, it was fun. Plus it offered an exciting workout routine which I wasn’t expecting.
For some the novelty may wear off after a while but for those that enjoy an outlet to physically fight something, it’s great, but not without some issues. One of the biggest issues is that the virtual body sometimes doesn’t quite align with your actual body. Occasionally recalibration was needed as my character had their arms crossed and inside my virtual torso.
While not an esport, it kind of made sense for this to be showcased at the Commonwealth Esports Forum, a conference preceding the esports finals that explored tech, entertainment and the future of esports. It was all very ‘virtual sports’ – a term used by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to describe virtual versions of some physical sports, like cycling, rowing and sailing. But how relevant is that to traditional esports?
What worked for the GEF at the Commonwealth Esports Championships?
So what worked for the GEF over the weekend? Well, there’s no denying that it was quite the experience for the teams and players with many heading to Twitter to share their gratitude.
The CEC was one of those rare opportunities in esports for players to compete for their nation and grab themselves a medal or two. The commonwealth spirit was definitely in the air as a great sense of national pride overcame the players and much of the crowd.
What was even more compelling to see was the teams supporting each other, there was a real sense of camaraderie among the players, especially amongst the home nations.
Moreover, working with the Commonwealth Games Federation worked in their favour as the mainstream media were intrigued as to what an esport is and what it was doing alongside the Commonwealth Games.
I believe over the weekend I saw three different branches of the BBC as well as other mainstream media covering the event to have a look at what it was all about. The livestream of Sunday’s Commonwealth esports matches was also available on the red button.
This would’ve helped put the CEC, and subsequently the GEF, on the map for other non-endemic businesses looking to get into esports.
“The CEC was one of those rare opportunities in esports for players to compete for their nation and grab themselves a medal or two. The commonwealth spirit was definitely in the air as a great sense of national pride overcame the players and much of the crowd.”
Plus if there’s a greater increase in infrastructure and tourism around the same place as the event you’re organising, then why wouldn’t you take full advantage of that?
Alongside this attention grew a new curiosity around esports. Parents were asking: what was that thing the kids were on about? And how big is it if it’s at the Commonwealth Games?
This brings me to the biggest win for the CEC and hopefully what the GEF and others should focus on for their other events: a memorable experience for the families and fans that attended.
The GEF vice president and CEO of the British Esports Federation, Chester King, told me: “What I’m hoping is if we start winning some medals then we create heroes and then we create future role models.”
By far one of the best parts of esports is the experience of it all. The crowd, the sounds, the games, being part of something bigger.
It was great to see so many families in the audience with their children. I suppose it helped that the Commonwealth Games were happening at the same time. An entertaining day out in Birmingham with half the day for esports and the other for traditional sports.
Parents got to learn a little about what esports is all about while their children were inspired to follow a path into esports to become the next generation.
To have such a diverse group of people there to represent their country gave everyone a possible role model to look up to, someone to aspire to be.
With that being said, the CEC was far from perfect, with a few issues which can’t be ignored.
What didn’t work for the GEF?
While most of the players widely praised the GEF for a fantastic event, others were not so pleased.
One of the biggest issues that blew up over the weekend was how the GEF handled the open qualifiers.
In this TwitLonger from David ‘Dai’ Jones, a player for Wales’ Dota 2 open team, he explains that there was a major problem for them when some of the teams weren’t present for the qualifiers.
“It’s quite funny that there’s this incredible event, with loads of staff and massive ambition, but my team only played two bo1s.
“In a Dota tournament held in 2022, in which there were supposed to be eight teams, in which you are trying to prove that esports belongs in the Commonwealth Games, you have invited a team to play two single games before being knocked out before the opening ceremony is even held. The ridiculousness is compounded by the failure to react to teams that failed to show to the event. “From eight qualified/invited teams, only five actually showed up.”
As such, the GEF as tournament organisers stuck with the format that they’d set out months ago.
It’s worth bearing in mind that FaceIT was on board to help run proceedings, players did have access to student accomodation (though this was criticised by some), and Dai did say that overall, the experience was “hugely positive”.
It should be noted that there were also some technical issues that affected the matches over the weekend. However, is it really an esports event if there aren’t enough technical issues to send the poor production crew into a panic?
Transphobic tweets test GEF’s diversity and equality values
Elsewhere on Twitter, a few promotional tweets blew up for all the wrong reasons.
As part of the CEC there were a number of transgender players that played in the women’s categories, Emma ‘Emzii’ Rose in particular carried the progress flag with them for the entire time that she was on stage.
However, the response on social media was not so kind, as many of the players were harassed or criticised. In some cases, even their personal accounts were harassed for competing in the women’s categories.
Many, including Scottish player Jorhdys, spoke out on some of the hateful comments made below the GEF’s tweet.
For an esports body that promotes inclusion so heavily that they even spotlight it in their theme song, it’s disheartening to see such little action was done to protect the players.
There are actions that the GEF could’ve taken to mitigate such comments, such as a statement in support of the players and the cause. Even one of the most white male-dominated sports in the world, Formula 1, has made statements standing against hate and abuse.
After hours of inaction, the GEF’s Twitter account finally stopped the barrage of hate for that tweet and others similar to it, by limiting who could respond, but the damage was already done.
It should be considered that Twitter and social media as a whole are notoriously difficult to police. But it would’ve been nice to see a statement or acknowledgement from the GEF. Maybe they’re working on a statement, maybe they chose not to engage and fan the flames, or maybe they didn’t want to upset some of their members by making a statement of support for the LGBTQIA+ community?
In an interview with the GEF’s CEO Paul Foster for Esports News UK recently, he said: “We really care about our values and live those values: equality, fair play, diversity, inclusion and innovation. And we really think about credibility, legitimacy and prestige for esports, so it’s not just words.”
Some in the community weren’t happy with his response, and esports commentator StressCasts said a meeting is being set up between him and Paul to discuss more.
This incident also comes just days before British gold medal diver Tom Daley OBE called for countries with anti-LGBT laws to be banned from hosting the Commonwealth Games in the future.
Final Thoughts on the Commonwealth Esports Championships
Looking at the event as a spectator, if the idea was to inspire the next generation, then I’d say they’ve done a good job. It was great to see so many families at the event – kids that wanted to watch their favourite games played as part of the Commonwealth Games and parents who got to experience what esports is about first-hand. All of it created a memorial experience.
This moment was by far the best of the entire weekend and really encapsulates the spirit of the games and what it’s all about. It was something truly special that could never have been possible in the past.
Esports England women’s Rocket League player Bella Athena ‘Crimson’ Selwood told me: “It’s an incredible feeling. To be able to know that there are young girls who play video games, and they’ll be outcasts in the scene.
“It’s very scary to be in a male-dominated [scene] and play video games, and they’ll be able to see something like this and say hey there’s a space for me and I can do that, if I put the work in, I can be there.”
In this, I believe they have succeeded.
Moreover, I think they’ve done well in selling esports to businesses and sporting federations which wouldn’t necessarily have bought into esports otherwise. The collaboration with the CGF certainly helped with that. That’s been good for the GEF.
Finally, at the end of the whole weekend, there was one final action to carry out. Over the weekend there was a nice shiny trophy at the centre of the stage the whole time. And it was finally time to hand it over to the champion of the CEC: the people of the West Midlands!
They do love their awards and trophies at the GEF. Once more I have no knowledge of where the thing is now, but my best guess is that it’s in some high-level official’s office or an organisation’s show and tell cabinet. It would’ve been nice to see some of the teams lift a trophy.
Lighthearted comments aside, there is still much to be learnt from their mistakes and the first step is acceptance. If the GEF can acknowledge the mistakes that were made and perhaps better engage with the esports community, they have the opportunity to improve and better meet their goals.
In an interview with the news site Inside the Games, the GEF’s CEO Paul J. Foster had this to say concerning areas of improvement: “One of the things we have forgotten is how challenging it has been for the whole world to get here in terms of coming out of a pandemic and coming to live events.”
Later adding: “There is a bit more work to do around the work in education, like informing, sharing and being open to people coming and experience it.”
The next stage is making the change.
Some have said the GEF are looking to control or make money from esports, but they say they’re a not-for-profit – some greater transparency and engagement with the esports community would be good to see here.
They’ve got their Global Esports Tour in Istanbul coming up later this year, as well as later tour dates in Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates and the USA for subsequent years.
If they change any part of their approach to organising competitions then they’d do so at one of these events, just in time for the next Commonwealth Games set to be held in Victoria, Australia, in 2026.
Time will tell if the Global Esports Federation will push for the change that they claim to desire.
