Gaming – this is an industry worth USD 3.8 bln., 2015 income to the tune of USD 325 mln., 70% in annual growth and 226 mln. fans, rapidly on the rise. South Korea, considered to be the Mecca of gaming has even turned it into an extracurricular activity and a national sport. The tournaments, broadcast online by the Twitch platform /with 45 mln. unique visits every day/ is a key part of that industry, as the overall prize money amount last year was USD 61 mln. Bulgaria now will also have its large-scale gaming event – Game Evolution, to be held on September 9 – 11 at the Arena Armeetz Hall in Sofia. Dimitar Alexandrov is one of the main organizers of the event, a former professional gamer. He says that he wants to change the attitude towards gamers here – the latter are not some closed immature group of people and gaming could be something more than just a hobby. It can be a well-paid job.

“Our goal is to show what gaming has become nowadays and the options it provides. The wages with professional teams are something like EUR 10,000 – 20,000 per capita. Bulgaria has always had very powerful gaming, but it has been lagging behind somehow over the past years. We want to change that.”

Dimitar promises that people will have the chance to enjoy different sports at Game Evolution, while taking their rests from the computer games.

“The Bulgarian Basketball Federation will assemble a playground and there will be street basket and slam dunk contests. There will be also American football presentations, as this very interesting sport is unfortunately almost unknown in this country. We have provided a skateboarding zone too. The most interesting part: 24 of Bulgaria’s finest dancers will be divided in 8 teams and dancing shows will take place during the breaks over the three days.”

The tickets for the three days will cost EUR 10 by the end of August, EUR 12.5 after that. Daily tickets to the tune of EUR 5 will be sold on the spot. However, the usage of the playgrounds in front of the hall will be free. The three days will begin at 9 am and will end up at 10 pm. Here is more from Dimitar:

“Anyone willing to come and see digital sports may feel invited to witness how people spend 12 hours in a hall, finding it interesting all the time. One of the most attractive zones will be dedicated to virtual reality, alongside a racing virtual reality. There will be four fully equipped seats with steering wheels, gear shifts etc. Anyone will have the chance to sit down and taste this incredible feeling.”

Game Evolution starts with EUR 10,500 in prize money and many other awards. Dimitar says more on the regulation:

“We have 6 games. The main ones: League of Legends, Counter Strike and HearthStone. The first two will be played by teams of five. We have EUR 3,500 in prize money for those. HearthStone is a game, played mainly by people, aged over 30. Warcraft is the addition – interesting due to the recently released movie. I also used to be a professional Warcraft gamer and I saw no tournament without it. Overwatch is the 5^th game – a new one, only a month old, as the company has been entering the market. FIFA is the last game. If anyone wants to know what gaming is, this one is the best, as you simply can’t get confused on what’s happening in the screen. We will have presentations and fan meetings, aimed at Minecraft. One of the surprises: a studio with a professional sports commentator. There will be some 20 play stations at the FIFA tournament. We expect something really interesting to happen, as some percentage of the money from the goods sold will join the prize money and we expected it even to double.”

The qualifications for the event are ongoing now across Bulgaria, Romania and Greece. Three Romanian and three Greek teams will qualify for League of Legends and Counter Strike, alongside three people for HearthStone. Other neighboring countries are expected to show additional interest. The organizers plan four other events for next year, as three of them won’t be in Sofia, only the finals.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev