MidnightAus (right) and Teq show streaming viewers the Street Fighter 6 trophy at the end of the tournament. Image credit: OzHadou.
Esports – electronic sports – are video games played professionally or in organised leagues. The term has become increasingly recognised in the 25 years since it was coined, but classifying video games as sports is still hotly debated. Esports don’t require conventional athleticism – but they do involve quick reflexes, dexterity, strategic and tactical thinking.
Of course, sports do more than test physical ability – they also bring people together, and tell stories about struggle, competition and triumph.
For Episode 10 of AFTRS FM, I went to OzHadou Nationals 19, a fighting game event spanning from casual play to world-level competition. I spoke to MidnightAus and Teq, who commentated the event’s Street Fighter 6 tournament, and told me that esports can be just as compelling as traditional sports. “We’re trying to tell a story,” says MidnightAus of their approach to commentating. “When people are tuning into the stream, we want someone who’s never watched this before to be able to not only enjoy what they are watching, but also to get a backstory on what’s happening … all the little nuances that go into why matches matter between players, really adds to the engagement.”
The event also showcased another quality shared by esports and traditional sports – the ability to bring a community together. Players who otherwise connect through local-level clubs and online converged on Sydney to compete in the multitude of tournaments. “Fighting games are primarily played online, right – that’s kind of how things happen these days,” says Teq. “Being able to come to events like this, where you get to put faces to names of people that you’ve been playing on Ranked or playing in lobbies or playing on Discord or stuff like that, there’s something really special.”
Listen to the full report from OzHadou Nationals 19 in AFTRS FM Episode 10: Connection.
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