Esports Insider is pleased to reveal the agenda for ESI Digital Summer, presented by Kinguin Lounge, the largest online B2B esports conference of 2020 with more than 1,200 attendees and over 35 hours of live content, taking place over August 17th-21st.
Bigger and better than Esports Insider’s first digital event, the ESI Digital Summit, which drew in almost 550 attendees in May, every aspect of the burgeoning esports industry will be covered at ESI Digital Summer (#ESIDIGITAL) with each of the five days focusing on a key or emerging region worldwide.
Over the course of the event, in excess of 100 speakers from across and around the esports ecosystem will share their insights and opinions on some of the industry’s biggest topics, and online attendees will have the opportunity to comment and network throughout the five days. Major themes will include brands & sponsorship, betting, sports and esports crossovers, investment, and there’ll be debate and thought-leadership sessions too.
ESI Digital Summer attendees will also see the return of The Clutch Digital, Esports Insider’s online edition of its pitch investment competition to which registration and application is now open. The Clutch Digital will see four judges and investors, including Hiro Capital’s Esports Venture Director Spike Laurie and Trust Esport VC Fund Founding Partner Matthieu Dallon, assess and dissect four live pitches from esports-related startups. Applications for The Clutch Digital are open now.
With so many key industry figures in one place, ESI Digital Summer promises to be a world-class B2B esports conference. Now, with the agenda revealed, Esports Insider has outlined some of the confirmed sessions below.
Day 1: Asia-Pacific – Monday, August 17th
Held in association with Redd+E, an esports-focused subsidiary of Singapore-based marketing agency Reddentes Sports, the first day of ESI Digital Summer will focus on the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. In this segment of the event, all of the important developments in this part of the global esports ecosystem will be discussed by leading industry figures from the region.
ESI Brand Showcases will start proceedings before a panel dissects the challenges and opportunities that go hand-in-hand with operating esports events in Southeast Asia.
Afterwards, Bo Shen, VP of International Expansion and Innovation at RNG Esports, will be one of a number of speakers to assess and compare some of the ambitions and challenges of Western esports teams in Asia. After this Chris Tran, Head of SEA Esports at Riot Games, will discuss the developer’s plans for both VALORANT and Wild Rift’s competitive push into the APAC region. He’ll be joined by the CEOs of Talon Esports (Sean Zhang), Team Flash (Terence Ting), and Resurgence (Jayf Soh).
Day 2: Middle East – Tuesday, August 18th
On the second day of ESI Digital Summer, key figures in the Middle Eastern esports industry will unite to showcase some of the region’s most exciting developments. Towards the beginning of the day, Mohammad Majali, Founding Partner of FATE Esports, will talk about his organisation’s deal with telecommunications giant Orange, and how the two parties have worked together to date to activate the partnership.
Later on, following two presentations, there will be two panel sessions – one exploring the challenges and opportunities regarding events whilst operating in the Middle East, a region that has hosted both ESL and BLAST tournaments in recent years, and the other looking into broadcast rights.
Day 2 will also be when the second edition of The Clutch Digital takes place.
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Day 3: Europe – Wednesday, August 19th
Europe’s major players will converge on the third day of ESI Digital Summer to speak about everything from esports betting to bespoke branding and maximising impact. Once a selection of brands and rights holders have showcased their esports partnerships in the morning, Richard Huggan, Managing Director of Hitmarker Jobs, is scheduled to join Jonas Gundersen, COO of Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Charlie Allen, Director of Global Brand Partnerships at ESL, in their talk all about recruitment.
Later on, the hot-topic of esports and education, Dr Richard Oddy, Programme Director and Senior Lecturer at Birmingham City University and Chair of the ACES Executive Board, will be one of four panelists speaking about the blossoming relationship between esports and education across age groups and institutions. A keynote session will also be a central part of the day, with Kinguin CEO Viktor Wanli taking to the virtual stage. The company recently launched its Kinguin Lounge; LOUNGE is a global loyalty program for esports enthusiasts around the world. It offers “significant benefits for Esports fans, Esports Venues, Esports Partners and Employers (coming 2021).”
Before the day finishes, a panel moderated by Kirsty Endfield, CEO and Founder of Swipe Right PR, will come together to try and better understand how teams and tournament operators can create a superior ecosystem to help develop and nurture young talent in esports. The panel will question what role governments, schools, colleges, and universities could play, their interaction with teams, the grassroots scene more broadly, and how this might look in the future.
Day 4: Latin America – Thursday, August 20th
Held in association with Live Media Esports Entertainment, one of Latin America’s fastest-growing gaming companies, Day 4 of ESI Digital Summer will focus on the LATAM esports ecosystem.
Speaking on ESI Digital Summer, Luis Carrillo Pinto, CEO of Live Media Esports Entertainment, said: “ESI Digital LATAM will bring together the decision-makers and major players of the region in the agenda and talks, meaning it’s an invaluable opportunity for everyone who works or wants an opportunity in esports to understand and gain connections in the space.”
On the fourth day of ESI Digital Summer, stakeholders will come together in panels to talk about whether they believe LATAM is the new esports goldmine, how and why Counter-Strike is so popular in Brazil, as well as a more general conversation about broadcast and media rights in LATAM.
There will also be ESI Brand Showcases, as well as a panel on the success and further potential for mobile esports in the region, with representatives for both PUBG Mobile and Garena Free Fire joining live for this session.
Day 5: North America – Friday, August 21st
On the fifth and final day of ESI Digital Summer, the focus will be on, by some metrics, the most established region; North America. Following two ESI Brand Showcases, Artur Minacov, Founder of THESPIKE.GG, will present a session titled “VALORANT – A new dawn for Riot Games’ esports” in the morning, before Moritz Maurer, CEO of GRID, leads a panel titled “Esports Betting in the USA.”
Throughout the final day, several panels are confirmed to debate everything from the emergence of esports facilities and venues, to the commercialisation of merchandise in the space, and how esports and gaming can positively impact wider society, with CEO of Gamers.Vote Christie St. Martin and FlyQuest CEO Tricia Sugita being just two of the confirmed speakers on that topic so far.