Moore Park to be home to E-sports arena
E-SPORTS is taking Sydney by storm — and we’re set to have a state-of-the-art games arena on our doorstep.
Southern Courier
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MOORE Park precinct has been host to some of Australia’s greatest sporting moments.
From Bradman’s 234 runs against the Poms in 1946 at the SCG to Sydney FC’s penalty shootout win in the 2017 A-League grand final at the SFS last year.
But Moore Park could soon be host to sporting memories of a different kind — eSports. Electronic sports are multiplayer competitive video games.
Computer game company Gfinity has joined forces with Hoyts to create an eSports venue at the Moore Park Entertainment Quarter.
The venue features state-of-the-art gaming equipment and a full broadcast studio so the action can be streamed to a potential audience of millions.
ESports fans will also be able to watch their heroes in action on the big screen in the cinema.
“ESports has been around for four or five years and continues to build momentum,” Gfinity CEO Dominic Remond said. “There’s a really vibrant community in Australia with around 1.5 million fans. That’s up there with a number of mainstream sports.”
The entertainment quarter will host a seven-week tournament, starting on Saturday, featuring six teams battling it out across three games — Counterstrike Global Offensive, Rocket League and Street Fighter V, with a staggering $450,000 prize pool.
Daniel Ringland, the head of Oceanic eSports for Riot Games, said the rise of eSports was incredible.
The company he works for runs League of Legends in Australasia, played by millions around the world.
“The world championships last year we held in the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing with more than 40,000 people. Millions watched it online,” the 35-year-old ex- Coogee resident said. “I’m a gamer as well but those that play competitively are on a different level.”
Traditional sports want a piece of the eSports action too — the AFL has partnered with Riot Games for an eSports stadium tournament later this year.
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