For the second year in a row, the gaming national team of Montenegro will play in the final tournament in e-football (PES), UEFA eEURO, which will be held in London from July 9 to 11. The e-selection of the Union of Electronic Sports of Montenegro (SESCG) and the Football Association of Montenegro, Vučeta Šćepanović (ArtiePG) and Rada Pavićević (_r_a_d_e_), will play in group A, UEFA decided during the just held draw.
"For the European Championship, further preparations are underway. I think we can make a good result in London. We are in a group with the national team of Serbia, Turkey and Poland. We have a very tough group and I think we can make a good result and bring a medal. We prepare online. And when you play offline, it's a little faster and the preparation for that is completely different," said representative Vučeta Šćepanović, the champion of Montenegro in e-football (PES).
At eEURO 2021, 16 teams will compete in four groups, and in Group A, Montenegro's biggest competition, according to Šćepanović, is Serbia.
"It seems to me that the strongest group is D with France and Italy. It is not known which of them will be in the top two, and it will be the most uncertain group," pointed out Šćepanović.
The President of the Electronic Sports Association of Montenegro (SESCG), Filip Šoć, said that the qualification of our national team for the European Championship is proof that Montenegrin players are at the top of Europe and emphasized the cooperation with the Football Association of Montenegro (FSCG).
"Montenegro finished first in the group in the qualifiers. This result is specific, because they managed to qualify for it for the second year in a row, and we hope that they will represent us well at Wembley and bring home a medal," said Šoć. According to him, since the beginning of the year, SESCG has organized or participated in 14 tournaments, and by the end of the year, the plans are for the IESF and the qualifications for the World Championship.
"There were five events for PES, so those tournaments certainly helped them in the preparation for this final. However, the biggest preparations were made in the last month because they already play a lot with other national teams on the online server, and that is the best practice for them", Šoć explained.
According to him, PES as a game has become quite popular among gamers in recent years, and in Montenegro, the success of our national team, specifically Vuceta Šćepanović, is the most deserving.
"In one year, it experienced a great expansion not only here and in the region, but also in the world and due to the support of UEFA. Even, apart from the Italian league, there is also an E league in PESU", Šoć explains.
He added that FIBA also plans to make NB2024K 2 on 5 the preparatory sport for the Olympic Games by 5.
"They plan to organize 12 qualifying tournaments by that year. At the first there were about thirty national teams, but at the last there were 64. We have a nice national team and we hope that the boys will be able to achieve the result that our national team achieved in PES", said Šoć in front of SESCG.
SESCG also has support for this from the Basketball Association of Montenegro (KSCG).
"On behalf of KSCG, I am glad that we will support the FIBA NB2K 5 on 5 project. We know that the video game industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The SESCG will have great support from the KSCG in the future", said Maja Milutinović on behalf of the KSCG.
And basketball is increasingly popular among gamers.
"The game is a big problem for people, but it is still not as popular among gamers as football. We hope and will do our best to further popularize it through these tournaments", promises Šoć.
In many countries, gamers can earn money from their gaming.
"You can make a living from gaming, but it depends on the game you play. Salaries vary. Let's say, players who play Counter-strike can be paid from several thousand, to several hundred thousand. While, for example, players who play football simulation games are paid several thousand to a maximum of ten thousand euros. Therefore, the salary depends on the game you play, what you play on and how popular it is", concludes Šoć.
You can make a living playing games professionally
Montenegro has another professional gamer to be proud of. It is about Pavlo Bošković (Madden) playing Counter-strike: Global offensive.
"I started it as a hobby, but after a while I saw that I could become a professional player and that I could make a living and make money from it. I currently play for the team FunPlus Phoenix (FPX). Some months ago, I made that transfer and moved to that Chinese organization. We are currently fifteenth in the world. We will play the qualifiers for the Major. It is the biggest tournament in CS:GO that will be held this year," said Bošković.
The prize pool of that tournament will be around two million, and it will be held in Sweden at the end of the year. Bošković said that preparations for the Major tournament have already begun.
"Usually we practice five to seven days a week, six to eight hours a day. We practice against other professional teams that play in tournaments. We also practice theory and tactics. It's a daily routine. Physical activity is also important in order to be on top of it, and it helps a lot both mentally and physically," said Pavle Bošković.
He added that gaming is the future, but that it is still not represented in Montenegro as it is in the world.
"The gaming industry is a big industry. It's bigger than the music and film industries together and it's progressing day by day, just because it has a lot of people and money. In Montenegro, they don't see gaming as something special, so they don't make an effort and don't try to do something about it, but we definitely have talent and we can do something in gaming", concluded Bošković.
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