Do you have what it takes to build and sustain an esports team?
Esports, for some, is still evolving and has yet to mature — both its community and the professional scene.
Despite having a passion and love for the games as a manager or a player, money is still a must to stay afloat in the league.
Just recently, former powerhouse Fnatic announced its departure from the Dota 2 professional scene in the Southeast Asian region.
Its former regional team manager for Dota 2, Pao Bago, said Fnatic exited to “focus on other ventures and to reduce losses.”
Esports production company Beyond The Summit (BTS), a staple in the scene until recently, also announced that it will be halting its operations after 11 years of shaping esports.
“Based on our current financial outlook, and how challenging the next year looks, we’ve decided that it would be irresponsible to keep BTS going in its current structure,” David “LD” Gorman, co-founder of Beyond The Summit said.
Participating in the professional arena entails a huge cost, not to mention a lot of patience and much-needed networks to keep yourself in the game.
Additionally, it is not a secret in the esports scene that sponsorships are key to keep an organization going.
This was also emphasized by Joy Roland Calulo, the esports operations executive of Shanghai MOONTON Technology Co. Ltd. when asked about his insights on the creation and continuity of gaming squads.
Moonton is best known for its game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
“Iba ‘yung… nakikilala ka, you become good with brands, good with deals, ‘no… Ito talaga ‘yung bread and butter ng isang team. It’s an industry that revolves around sponsorships, revolves around partnerships,” Calulo said.
“One of the most important things that they really need to do is to market themselves,” he added.
Asked about how can player marketing be achieved, Calulo said streaming is a way to attract and engage audiences, citing an organization's process in it.
"'Yung mga players nila, pinag-i-stream nila... They're at the top of their games, palaging sila 'yung nananalo. Nire-require nila 'yung players nila to stream para mapakita na 'hey, eto kami.' Para merong brand recognition. That's something that could lead to more sponsorship, mas madaling mabenta, mas madaling maging makilala ng mga tao."
Winning tournaments will also help teams gain followers, the esports executive bared.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes of a team roster is supportive and functional staffing.
Blacklist International team manager for Mobile Legends Monina Bunsoy shared her thoughts on keeping a squad intact.
"Kung hindi naman kami mag-function well as management, hindi rin sila magfa-function well 'yung players... 50-50 talaga siya."
Bunsoy said an esports team may also be considered as just any other organization with differing departments.
Blacklist, as a championship-caliber organization in Mobile Legends, has experienced winning in the past as M3 World Champions and MPL Philippines S10 winners — and the management had its share of celebrations along with its triumphant roster.
"Talagang 'yung small victories nila, no matter how big, no matter how small, kunwari 'yung pagkapanalo no'ng S10... Sumama kami sa victory party, basta nag-celebrate din kami kasi alam namin may contribution din naman kami sa pagkapanalo nila."
Staying in esports goes back to passion and love for the games, the team manager added.
"If gusto mag-esports ng mga tao, kailangan gusto talaga nila. Like 100 percent sila do'n sa choice nila, walang doubt. Mahirap siya as an industry naman. Pero maraming dedicated na tao na willing mag-work."