Has the electronic sports (e-Sports) phenomenon officially arrived in Guyana? This is the firm belief of sports journalist Michelangelo Jacobus, who served as the coordinator of the recent inaugural I-Bet Supreme FIFA 20 ‘League of Champions’ e-Sports tournament.
The crowning of Emuwnah Pross, who vanquished Tevin Bremner 3-1 on Thursday evening in a hard fought contest, serves to reinforce the sentiments of Jacobus. After all, the event which was held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic, attracted hundreds of viewers every night and was viewed as a tremendous success.
Jacobus said, “This is an area previously untouched; I say untouched despite there being like two FIFA tournaments being held before; those were organized as one day events and that was it. The difference now is that we are introducing these leagues that will run over a couple of weeks, with a set number of matches on specific days. Throughout the world professional gamers make a living from e-Sports, some specialise in one game, others are all-rounders. The idea is to create a gaming community here with our tournaments where gamers can have a chance to earn a consistent income as we get deeper into the e-Sports market.”
