Key trends of 2019 to be discussed at the ESI Autumn Forum Series

It’s just a matter of days until our final event of the year gets underway and limited tickets remain. The ESI Forum Series Autumn Edition, presented by ES Broadcast, will feature a series of small presentations before a set of familiar faces join a panel discussion sharing their 2019 esports industry highlights. Buy tickets here.

The event takes place in the heart of London, at HKS Architects, Fitzrovia. The event is further supported by Kinguin and Ross Video.

The full agenda for the evening is as follows:

18:00 – 19:00: Doors open & networking drinks
19:00 – 19:30: Presentations from ES Broadcast, ESI and HKS
19:30 – 20:10: Panel: “Esports 2019 – a year in review” ft. ESL, Team Vitality, Kinguin & London Royal Ravens
20:05 – 23:30: Networking, drinks & food

We’re excited to welcome the following speakers to our final panel of the year:

• Nico Maurer, CEO, Team Vitality
• Heather Dower, Marketing Director, ESL UK
• Viktor Wanli, CEO, Kinguin
• Michael ‘ODEE’ O’Dell, Managing Director, London Royal Ravens
• Yinsu Collins, Sports Journalist, Sky (Moderator) 

There’s little doubt that esports has had another mammoth year in 2019. We’ve seen the continued entrance of a variety of non-endemic brands into the space such as Louis Vuitton, Kappa, Honda, and Bumble.

Countless well-known popular figures have dived into the space such as Wiz Khalifa with Pittsburgh Knightsand Offset with FaZe Clan. Funding has continued to flow into the space across a variety of means – with teams continuing to be taking the limelight. 

The Overwatch League has continued gearing up towards its first season featuring homestand fixtures in 2020 whilst Activision Blizzard has decided one franchise league isn’t enough and have also moved in the same direction with Call of Duty. 

Join us on the evening of November 14th to celebrate and reflect on another defining year for the esports industry. Listen, discuss, and debate about what needs to change next year & begin to build valuable business relationships for the future. 

We asked some key members of the ESI team about what their highlight was this year: 

Ollie Ring, Head of Business Development & Media said:”This year has been an interesting one to watch in esports. I’ve been most impressed overall with the launch of the LEC and the activations and partnerships they’ve delivered. It’s been seriously impressive work, watching them bring huge household names in and integrate them seamlessly.”

Sam Cooke, Managing Director and Co-founder mentioned:”Call it a bit self-centered but my highlight of the year has been how well we’ve done over here at ESI. We’ve seen incredible growth across our events, site and social platforms and I’m excited to see what 2020 will bring. I also finally achieved my dream of bringing an esports print magazine into circulation! That’s the main thing.” 

Adam Fitch, Editor commented: “My standout moment in esports for 2019 was seeing Hitmarker complete its equity crowdfunding round in six days. Not only did it smash its target of £80,000, it raised 250% of its desired amount in a fifth of the time it had. The platform provides a vital service to the industry and seeing the public get behind it in such a big way warmed my dead heart.”