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Picture: ESL
News + Trends
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How PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds turned me into an e-sports fan

Philipp Rüegg
25.8.2017
Translation: machine translated

The big 'PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' tournament took place during Gamescom in Cologne. Up until then, I'd been rather indifferent to e-sports, but that was before the ESL invitational tournament...

Esport is a great activity that deserves support, but watching it? No, thanks. At least, that's what I would have told you if you'd asked me before I went to this year's Gamescom, or more specifically the PlayerUnknown's Battleground (PUBG) Invitational, the first invitational multiplayer LAN tournament for the unexpectedly successful game. Winners will receive US$350,000.

I suddenly understood why e-sport is so popular.

A game that fascinates me and my friends

A captivating broadcast

Without the two commentators Lauren "Pansy" Scott and Richard "TheSimms" Simms, I wouldn't have been so taken by the event. They're on a par with the commentators at South American football matches, just a little less biased and sonorous. Lauren Scott is particularly capable and incredibly captivating.

We did notice, however, that some aspects could be improved: instead of moving on to far more interesting situations, the camera often lingered far too long on scenes that were nothing spectacular. Sometimes the menu of an eliminated player was displayed for several seconds, while battles were raging. But I'm sure these problems will be fixed.

A learning effect

What makes this invitational PUBG tournament even more interesting to me is the learning effect. You quickly spot the tricks and tactics of the pros (the game is in third-player mode), and you immediately want to try them out. How do they move from shelter to shelter? How do they attack houses? What weapons do they use? I didn't fail to steal a few techniques from them, which are easier to use directly than those in traditional sports.

From indifferent to addicted

After devoting several gigabytes of data to watching PUBG in real time on YouTube from my smartphone, I can say that I've definitely converted to e-sports. I don't know how long I'll stay hooked, but I finally understand this phenomenon. It's a mixture of enthusiasm for the game, entertainment and access to new tricks. Even my wife has been obsessed with the tournament - and she doesn't even play. And, best of all, the cup is a golden frying pan.

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Header image: Picture: ESL

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Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

As a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles. 

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