Convention - Paris Games Week Restart: esport in the spotlight 

By Mulder, 25 october 2022

True to its long-standing commitment to promoting esports, Paris Games Week will be putting the discipline in the spotlight throughout the show, on the PGW Stage with FNAC as well as on the stands of numerous exhibitors committed to the promotion and development of French esports, both professional and amateur.
 
Paris Games Week aims to be "the showcase of video games" in all their forms, and what better showcase than esport? This discipline showcases the best of the video game medium: quality creations, team play, extreme skills, and the strength of fan communities. And like video games, esport, whether professional or amateur, is a popular activity, which interests 10.8 million Internet users aged 15 and over (1) (+1.4 million compared to 2021). This year, esports will once again be at the heart of Paris Games Week, with a major competition to be discovered live at the show: the two semi-finals of the first edition of the League of Legends French Cup will take place on the PGW Fnac Stage on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 November, from 10:30 am to 3 pm. The French startup EVA (Esports Virtual Arena) will be present again at the PGW. With EVA, players are equipped with, among other things, a VR headset and a connected dummy weapon, to compete in a 500 m2 virtual arena. Among the events not to be missed: the finals of the French EVA Cup, on Friday, November 4, 2022, live from the PGW booth, but also the new season of the game AFTER-H, in preview. Finally, the France of esports extends its borders to other countries of the world: concretization of a historical partnership between the French and Nigerian esports actors, the France Esports x Nigeria booth of the PGW will highlight the Nigerian esports scene, an extremely dynamic and promising ecosystem, in search of international expertise. On the program: several tournaments with Nigerian players, on the games FIFA 23 and Call of Duty Mobile. 
 
Esports will be celebrated throughout Paris Games Week: visitors will be able to attend professional matches and competitions, as well as play amateur games themselves. Numerous esport-related activities will be taking place throughout the show, with publishers and exhibitors present. On the Ubisoft stage, the highly anticipated Six Open Cup final (on the game Rainbow Six) will take place on Saturday, November 5 from 9am to 1pm.  Bandai Namco will offer a tournament area with animations around its fighting games, including Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Tekken 7, whose first national championship final will take place on November 12 during the Ultimate Fighting Arena, one of the biggest European esports events. ASUS Republic Of Gamers will also be holding the final of the Clash of Clans (FCC) competition on the ROG Phone 6 Pro as part of its ROG Masters. One of the most talented French esports teams, Team Vitality, will have its own booth at the show. Players and ambassadors of the team will be present to meet fans and participate in various activations; among them: Corentin Chevrey aka "Rocky", Lucas Cuillerier aka "DaXe", Julian aka "GoB", Nicolas Frejavise aka "Nikof", Luka Perković aka "Perkz", Matyáš Orság aka "Carzzy", Yang-Bo Zhou aka "Bo", Alexander Spelda aka "Stuii", Santeri Sassi aka "BONECOLD" and Salah Barakat aka "SALAH". Finally, esport interests players of all ages: this is what the Silver Geek association demonstrates, back at Paris Games Week with the National Final of the Senior Trophy on Wii Bowling, on Thursday, November 3 from 11:20 to 12:50 (also to be followed on the association's Twitch channel). Four teams will compete, entirely composed of players aged 65 to 95!
 
During the Paris Games Week preview, the PGW Stage with FNAC will host the 1st edition of the "Esport Trophies" organized by Webedia in partnership with France Esports. This ceremony, which will be held on Tuesday, November 1 from 7:25 to 8:15 pm, will honor the players, structures, events and personalities who have marked the esport these last twelve months. Awarded 50% by a jury of experts and 50% by a vote of Internet users, the prizes will be awarded in the following categories Fighting Game Player of the Year, Sports Simulation Game Player of the Year, Strategy Game Player of the Year, Shooting Game Player of the Year, Team of the Year, Structure of the Year, Public Event of the Year, Competition of the Year, LAN Party of the Year, Esport Game of the Year, Male Esport Personality of the Year, Female Esport Personality of the Year. Two honorary awards will also be presented to celebrate esport's most prominent figures: Esport Player of the Year and Esport Personality of the Year. Just before announcing the winners of the Esport Trophies, France Esports will unveil the first figures of its annual Barometer realized by Médiamétrie. Most played games, most watched games, behavior analysis, most followed teams, typology of players and consumption habits: so many indicators that will be revealed in preview during this evening. 
 
Key information:
-,Open to the general public from Wednesday 02 November to Sunday 06 November 2022 
- Opening hours: 8:30 am - 6:30 pm
- Paris Expo - Porte de Versailles, Hall 1
- Ticketing (online only): here

(Source : press release)