Equality in E-Sports

E-Sports as a Discipline – AnyDesk Supports Gamers

If you still think gamers are unathletic, introverted, and mainly male, you are wrong! A graphic from Statista shows that 48 % of the gamers surveyed are female and that playing video games is no longer a strictly male domain. A lot has changed in the world of computer and video games in recent years. Competitive gaming has not only become socially acceptable, but also professional.

The best gamers in the world compete at E-Sports competitions and even world championships. Professional gamers have trainers, sponsors, and mental coaches, just as we know it from athletes in traditional sports. Fame, honor and high prize money are waiting for the winner of a tournament. E-Sports is no longer inferior to “normal” sports competitions and the E-Sports industry is steadily growing.

To support equality in E-Sports and to create a certain level of awareness for gender-specific challenges in this field, the esports player foundation launched the Equal eSports event. The event took place in Berlin from October 29th to October 31st.

What is Equal eSports?

Equal eSports is an initiative of Deutsche Telekom that promotes equal opportunities in the field of E-Sports and gaming. The initiative gives gamers the opportunity to live their dream and hobby, regardless of gender, origin, or social status. As a first step, the Equal eSports event (in collaboration with partners) serves to raise awareness for equality for all gamers. Despite the increasing proportion of gamers who are female, E-Sport is still dominated by male players.

Over the course of three days, visitors of the event were offered a wide range of activities on the topics of diversity, E-Sports, and gaming. These included exciting talks, inspiring workshops, and heated live matches with world-class players of League of Legends – a free computer game that is occasionally played by up to 100 million players a month. All this was complemented by coaching sessions with well-known coaches from the E-Sports scene.

AnyDesk at the Equal eSports Event

Vu Tran is a performance marketing manager at AnyDesk and was visiting the Equal eSports event along with other colleagues. “Since we have a partnership with the esports player foundation, we were invited to visit the event in Berlin,” he says.

Impressions and Insights

Vu is a passionate gamer himself and first had to explain to some of his colleagues what “LoL” (short for League of Legends) stands for. “I’ve played LoL myself, but the skill level here is completely different,” Vu says impressed. “It was remarkable that all the players brought their own equipment – from headsets to mouse pads. I didn’t expect this.”

Before the competitions, the respective setup was adjusted to the individual needs of each talent, so that everyone could perform at their best. But not only the players could compete against each other. Visitors were also given this opportunity to participate in this popular E-Sport.

“We competed against each other in skill games. These are games where reaction and memory are important. That was very funny!”, mentions Tim Rüdinger, SEO Manger at AnyDesk. Visitors were also able to compete in LoL on prepared setups. “Having never played LoL before, I was of course mercilessly outclassed by Vu,” says Tim.

For Vu and Tim it was a remarkable and fun experience attending the event. “It was great to talk to other gamers and to see how even people who don’t regularly play computer games get excited about them,” both confirm.

In addition to the live matches, there were also talks with prominent guests and a special area dedicated to coaching. This is also the topic AnyDesk supports. “As a collaborator, I think it’s great that we can use our software to help gamers get the best performance out of their setup together with their coaches,” Vu says. “Being able to experience E-Sports first-hand in return at the event was a great experience!”

More information

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If E-Sports has sparked your interest, visit the esports player foundation and Equal eSports website to learn more. On Twitch you can rewatch parts of the event and dive into the world of E-Sports.