Open Circuit: FIGHTERZ Brawl Round 1
Ready? FIGHTERZ Brawl, Area 51 Gaming Lounge in Kingston was the battle ground for eSports Jamaica’s most recent fighting game tournament. Toting a whopping prize pool of $100,000 JMD shared across 3 games, as well as being sponsored by Pizza Hut the fighting game circuit showed out
eSports Jamaica’s first tournament of 2020 sponsored by Pizza Hut
Ready? FIGHTERZ Brawl, Area 51 Gaming Lounge in Kingston was the battle ground for eSports Jamaica’s most recent fighting game tournament. Toting a whopping prize pool of $100,000 JMD shared across 3 games, as well as being sponsored by Pizza Hut the fighting game circuit showed out. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Dragon Ball FighterZ were won by gamers Rasheed Lawrence (Ravi), Sonouvio Walker (Mess), and Alex Issaacs (Kacarrot) respectively. Round 2 of the tournament is set for early April of this year.
Pizza Hut’s stake in the event proves the stigma attached to the video gaming scene in Jamaica is fading. No longer heavily considered a waste of time, it is now an entertainment commodity with a dynamic range of audiences and sponsors alike. If only our younger selves could see us now.
Dexton Graham, founder of eSports Jamaica, wanted the first eSports tournament of the year to be a symbolic beacon for other organizers, sponsors and gamers.
Having Pizza Hut as a sponsor was actually a huge impact on the event and for eSports in Jamaica.
Dexton Graham, founder of eSports Jamaica
He proposes that for non gaming Jamaicans to embrace the scene, there must be some rebranding. Providing incentives for gamers, and non gamers alike with prizes and generally entertaining content is the order of the day. He went on to comment on the success of League of Legends, an international sensation among gamers. League of Legends World Championships can easily be considered multimillion dollar enterprises. What is even more impressive is the cult like following it has amassed over the years, becoming one of the most played online games of all time.
“One of the reasons I got into eSports is because I wanted to bring what I saw on the League of Legends Championship Series scene into Jamaica.”
He hopes to see more tournaments hit the circuit going forward. When Triple G asked which games he would like to see more of, he name dropped classics like Street Fighter and Call of Duty. Looking forward he is eager to see the release of League of Legends: Wild Rift for mobile from Riot Games.
eSports Jamaica is a way to engage in an alternate form of entertainment that is a trending international phenomenon. Streaming services like YouTube Gaming, Twitch and Facebook Gaming are available, making it easier for people to connect, also giving payouts to gamers who provide quality gameplay. Jamaican organizers should have a good year of gaming events lined up if this tournament is an indication of what’s to come. The Triple G family will keep the game paused until next you tune in, peace.
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