Founder of the organization Natus Vincere Alexander ZeroGravity Kokhanovskiy revealed a plan with the help of which the Ukrainian Professional Cybersport Association (UPEA) plans to bring computer sports in the country to a new level. The presentation of the strategy took place on 17 September.
ZeroGravity began the story by listing the achievements of Ukraine in esports. He noted that there are several large companies operating in this business in the country, and also indicated that Ukraine is among the ten strongest countries according to the results of cyber sportsmen. But if the entire system is not changed, then it will be almost impossible to maintain this position.
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Alexander ZeroGravity Kokhanovsky:
“If we look at the dynamics of the prize money we won, <...> then it goes down. We do not have enough recharge for certain players, we do not have enough infrastructure facilities, tournaments to fuel generations of players who can play at them.
If we take the rating of countries in eSports, which is made up of various parameters such as the number of professional players, the presence of professional teams, infrastructure facilities, tournament operators, then Ukraine definitely falls into the top 10. But I can honestly tell you that in the next three or four years we can leave this top ten, and very easily. Therefore, our task is to get into the top 5 countries for the development of esports and to be on a par with America, South Korea and China. “
ZeroGravity noted that the new plan for the development of esports includes assistance from the state.
Alexander ZeroGravity Kokhanovsky:
“How can we do this? We are going, probably, on an unprecedented maneuver and trying to combine the professional level, the state and the amateur level. Why should you do this? The main difference between sports and e-sports is that in sports, IP rights do not belong to anyone. Everyone can organize football and basketball competitions. It’s not a problem. There are associations and federations that completely control the amateur, semi-professional and professional level.
In esports, IP rights belong to the developers of computer games, and they control the entire ecosystem. Therefore, when we talk about associations and federations in esports, they give a very small number of games. In order to build this bridge between the ecosystem and developers, we combine the professional level (teams, players, tournament operators – that is, everyone who works with professionals), the amateur level (associations, federations, computer clubs) and the state. Since e-sports is definitely an innovative economy, it is a creative economy and 100% is a digital transformation of society, we definitely need government assistance. “
ZeroGravity noted that the new ecosystem will consist of five components – sports, society, science, education and infrastructure. He told about each separately.
Alexander ZeroGravity Kokhanovsky:
“Let’s start with the sports part. First of all, we will build a complete system of tournaments from amateurs to professionals and semi-professionals. <...> High school and student leagues are the basis for any amateur who can start with them, and a business league. Semi-professional ones can participate in the Ukrainian Cup tournaments, and professional ones – in the professional cybersport league, which we plan to launch in 2023.
Now let’s turn to educational, social and scientific projects. First of all, this is esports education. <...> We would like to start with an academy at one of the higher educational institutions. We also want to develop undergraduate and graduate programs. In the end, we want esports to appear as an elective and as a subject in schools and universities. “
Kokhanovsky also pointed out that higher educational institutions and schools will need to create a scientific and methodological basis for training cybersportsmen. According to ZeroGravity, the federation will conduct research and find ways to improve the productivity of such education.
He also listed the “three pillars” on which the new e-sports infrastructure of Ukraine will be built. They turned out to be a multifunctional arena, the world’s first e-sports hotel and 20 modern computer clubs.
At the end of the presentation, ZeroGravity announced the upcoming global goals of UPEA until 2025. The Association wants to improve the awareness of the concept of “eSports”, attract investment, hold several international tournaments, open Ukrainian-language studios that will produce content, and also increase the audience, the number of professional players and teams in the country.
At the end of August, Kokhanovsky announced his intention to open an e-sports hotel in Kiev. To do this, he, together with a group of investors, purchased the Dnepr hotel for $ 40 million.
