Over 300 delegates gathered in London for two days of speaker sessions, networking events, exhibition and the inaugural Esports Insider Hall of Fame Awards
Last week saw leaders from sports, technology and esports attend ESI London, the biggest esports focused business conference in Europe. ESI London, hosted by Esports Insider (ESI), the leading esports business news site, media and events company, encompassed every element of the industry across speaker sessions, exhibition and networking events as well as the newly launched ESI Hall of Fame.
Over 300 delegates congregated at Olympia London to discuss, debate and gain insight on pressing industry topics as over 60 speakers shared their knowledge and experience across the two-day period. Highlights included sessions from tournament organisers such as ESL, StarLadder and FACEIT, teams including compLexity, Vitality, Fnatic, and NiP as well as Leicester City FC footballer and owner of #NoFuchsGiven Christian Fuchs and Julian Tan, Head of Digital Growth and F1 Esports at Formula 1, plus many, many more.
The show culminated in the inaugural ESI Hall of Fame, in partnership with GINX Esports TV, on Thursday 20th September. London’s Natural History Museum played host to over 600 luminaries of the esports, sports and technology industries as three of their peers whose contributions have helped build, shape and mould the esports sector, were honoured. The first members of the ESI Hall of Fame are:
- Michal ‘CARMAC’ Blicharz – VP of Pro Gaming at ESL
- Jason Lake – CEO of compLexity Gaming
- Chris Puckett – Host, producer & caster
The ceremony marked the first annual event which, each year, will commemorate three worthy trailblazers who have carved the path for competitive gaming globally and award them a place in the ESI Hall of Fame.
Following the conference on Friday 21st September, attendees were granted access to the sold-out FACEIT London Major, the biggest and most prestigious esports event in the UK to date, at the SSE Wembley Arena. The London Major was recently announced to be the third most viewed esports event ever.
Sam Cooke, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Esports Insider shared his thoughts on the conference: “ESI London was our biggest event yet by some margin, and both the attendance and buzz around the conference were further indicators of the current excitement that surrounds this industry.”
He continued, “The conference saw a number of solid debates and insightful talks from industry veterans, and we will have plenty of in-depth coverage, both editorial and video, covering these coming out soon!”
ESI London is Europe’s biggest esports business conference, the next ESI event will be held in New York City in April 2019.
ESI London will, henceforth, act as the company’s flagship conference year on year, with Esports Insider having a number of major announcement in the near future. From the return of the prized ESI Forum Series to the launch of the Esports Insider Trust, which will act as a bridge and support between the esports sector and outside entities to facilitate successful and meaningful partnerships, ESI have a lot in the pipeline for 2019.
Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
