What is Esports Leaders, who is attending and why is it important?

This autumn in a venue hidden away in Monsanto Forest Park, Secret Spot Lisbon – Montes Claros will host over 100 key decision makers in and around the competitive gaming sector in what will be the inaugural Esports Leaders. 

On 23rd September 2024, the by-invitation-only event will gather some of the leaders from the most established esports teams, tournament operators, game publishers, brands, sponsorship agencies, federations, and select service providers worldwide for a day of great hospitality, networking, and action focused discussions and workshops.

Supporting Partners include Visit Raleigh and GRID, whilst there’ll also be roundtable sessions from Samsung Ads and Spectatr.

Attendees so far include the likes of Ubisoft, EA, Moonton, Mercedes AMG, Team Liquid, BLAST, Cherry Xtrfy, CUPRA, Formula 1, OverActive Media, StarLadder, G2 Esports, Formula E, VSPO, Dreamhaven, Visit Qatar, Esports World Cup Foundation, Radisson Hotel Group, Deutsche Telekom, GIANTX, UNICEF, the Socialist Party of Portugal, IMG, Geoguessr, and plenty more. You can see the full list here, with more being added each week. 

Visit Raleigh is a Supporting Partner of the event. The city in North Carolina has welcomed esports events with open arms, such as 2022 Fortnite Championship Series Invitational, 2022 Apex Legends Global Series Championship, 2023 League Championship Series Spring Finals and more in recent times, and is fast becoming a hub for the wider gaming space with the likes of Epic Games and Lenovo calling it home. 

Loren Gold, Executive Vice President at Visit Raleigh, told ESI: “Like all esports competitors, Visit Raleigh wants to place first and win!  We were first to introduce an Esports Healthcare Concierge Program for visiting players during the COVID-19 pandemic, the first to introduce and champion the first statewide Esports Incentive Grant Fund in the United States, and the first to develop and prioritise a long-term strategy for being an esports-welcoming destination in every way. 

“Our connections with international destinations (and esports fans) continue to expand with our newest direct service with Frankfurt GERMANY via Lufthansa and Mexico City MEXICO via Aeromexico.”

The second Supporting Partner of Esports Leaders is GRID, a data platform specialising in in-game data and technology. GRID works directly with rights holders, such as game developers and tournament organisers, including exclusive partnerships with Riot Games for League of Legends and VALORANT Esports or Ubisoft for Rainbow Six Siege. GRID provides these partners with in-game data technology and distribution solutions, ultimately connecting them with official data consumers, such as fans, professional teams, betting companies, and media.

Moritz Maurer, Founder and CEO at GRID, told Esports Insider: “GRID is a platform with a mission to unlock the potential of data for everyone. We believe in long-term partnerships, where success always starts with good communication. Over the past five years, we have fostered the growth of a sustainable esports ecosystem by staying true to our core values. By partnering with ESI for Esports Leaders, we aim to continue doing what we do best—providing a platform for many more successful partnerships to emerge in esports.”

Esports Leaders is a part of the broader ESI Lisbon show, which is set to be the premier B2B event in the esports, video game, and creator economy industries running from September 23rd to 25th at the MEO Arena. ESI Lisbon, which itself is alongside the SBC Summit with over 25,000 attendees, promises to deliver a productive and enjoyable experience with an expansive exhibition space, two stages, and extensive networking opportunities. 

Esports Leaders is tailor-made for C-suite executives, founders, directors, and other senior-level individuals from the most established esports teams, tournament operators, game publishers, brands, sponsorship agencies, federations, and select service providers.

Sam Cooke, Managing Director & Co-founder of Esports Insider noted: “We’ve been running industry-focused events in the space since 2017 with our Forum Series at the Fnatic Bunkr. Whilst our conferences have grown year on year, and we’ve expanded our shows to the US, Singapore and Europe, we’ve increasingly recognised a need for a focused Esports Leaders show. 

“As the sector continues to develop worldwide, there are plenty of learnings to be had across countries, regions, and across sectors; this is a day designed to be productive & efficient with excellent hospitality in a nice, relaxed setting, with the aim being meaningful conversations and real outcomes, and in turn hopefully, long last partnerships that help to further and grow the whole space in a sustainable fashion.”

Cooke continued: “Scaling and strengthening our larger conference & exhibition shows have been and will continue to be very important, but we also need to cater to and bring together the decision makers across the sector, and allow space and time for frank discussions around challenges and opportunities.”

The Portuguese capital will host ESI Events’ biggest show to date.

Cooke remarked: “We’re really happy to hosting this alongside our biggest event in history in Lisbon, which is itself alongside the SBC Summit, a 25,000 delegate show focused on igaming, payments, sports and tech, and featuring Keynote Speaker Tony Hawk. This means ESI Lisbon & Esports Leaders attendees will have full access to this one too, meaning pretty amazing business development opportunities.

“Lisbon itself is a fantastic city, very accessible, it’s beautiful in early autumn with guaranteed great weather, with good food, and accommodation for all budgets. It’s the home of the Web Summit, and closer to esports-land we know BLAST enjoyed it, there’s a reason they’re coming back after all! We’re confident it’ll be a great home to our new flagship show and to the first Esports Leaders.”

Cooke added: “We should have a couple more exciting announcements in the next few weeks so keep an eye out for those. Personally I’m especially excited for the second edition of the ESI Film Festival, which’ll be at the MEO Super Stage on 24th September. This year we have a €6,000 prize pool, thanks to ESG Gaming!”

Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of the unmissable B2B esports, games, and creator economy event at ESI Lisbon 2024. For more information visit the website page here. To find out more and register your interest in Esports Leaders, head here.