After last year we had a large team at the world championship in e-Sports, which was held in Bali at the end of the year, this year only e-Footbaler Bojan Tatar to represent Montenegro at the new big competition, which will be held from August 24 to September 4 in the capital of Romanian culture, the city of Iași.
This time, the Electronic Sports Association will have a larger team, and apart from one competitor, many gamers are going to the tournament to get a coach's license, and we will report on everything that happens during the tournament on the Vijesti portal.
“Last year we got Wild Card for e-Football, Tekken7 and CS:GO games because of our excellent relationship with IESF. They often go out to meet new national teams to give them a little boost for the coming years. This year we were choosing between e-Football and Tekken7 and chose e-Football. And as for the Counter Strike national team, it achieved an excellent result in the qualifications, passing the group as the first. But in the play-off to go to the world championship, they lost to Ukraine," he reveals Filip Šoć President of the Union of Electronic Sports of Montenegro, why do we have only one competitor at the WC in Romania this year.
He hopes that this year the e-Football representative Bojan Tatar will manage to make a better result.
"Bojan showed last year that he is at the very top of e-Football in the 1/8 finals, he lost on penalty kicks and was one step away from the 1/4 finals. In Iasi, 109 countries are participating in the e-Football competition, so the competition will be even greater than in Bali. Expectations from our gamers are always high," he points out.
He is glad that an increasing number of people are showing interest in other spheres of gaming, and for now we have licensed judges and commentators - Radovan Vojinović (CS:GO) and Pavle Šturanović (Dota 2), while after Jaši, the Association will be able to boast of having several licensed trainers.
"Gaming and esports are growing day by day. So after Jashi, we will have five licensed coaches, including two licensed referees who judged the World Cup and Israel. We are slowly becoming aware of this industry, first of all we see it through the local support of Bar, Podgorica, Cetinje, Budva, Nikšić and Herceg Novi, who have recognized the potential of the industry and greatly help the organization of everything that the Alliance and partners do. It is interesting that there will also be representatives of TO Bar in Iasi, who will present Bar as a tourist and gaming destination to the world, European and Adriatic federations", reveals Šoć, and notes that in addition to the WC in e-sports in seven titles, as part of this manifestation, there will be organized Comic con festival in which actors from Avengers will participate, gaming conferences with over 100 different speakers from the IT, business and gaming world, as well as music concerts of the world's most famous stars, various educations, courses and a festival of science and technology.
He is especially looking forward to the gaming conference in which he will participate, and about the problems facing the fastest growing industry, he says:
“The biggest problem with this industry is that it's growing too fast, literally by the day. And it's difficult to follow all the trends at the moment of the actual event", points out Šoć.
High expectations, no pressure
Our celebrated e-Footballer Bojan Tatar will once again defend the colors of Montenegro at the world championship, and in an interview with Vijesti he also talks about his expectations for this tournament:
"My expectations are initially to pass the group. This year, there will be around 100 competitors in the e-Football title, and therefore there will be stronger competition. Considering that this is my third major competition in a row, I consider that I have experience, but certainly many things need to come together and we will see how far I can go", said Tatar, who is also the only representative of Montenegro at the entire competition. , but that, as he claims, does not create pressure for him.
"As for pressure, to be honest, I don't have it at all. It would certainly be much nicer if we had more representatives, but what is there is. I will try to represent our country in the best possible light and I hope for a good placement", adds Tatar.
Preparations never involve only regular trainings, but also watching opponents' matches, and about how much information was available to him about who he was in the group with and how the other competitors were playing in general, Tatar points out:
"Considering that all the representatives of their countries have a training group and that I regularly train with all of them, I can expect a great fight for every point. I follow the tactics that the guys put in place and it's all different styles of play. If I manage to impose my style, I expect a good placement. Which honestly won't be easy at all, given that all the guys from the pro scene from clubs like Barca, Bayern, Arsenal, Manchester United and others are taking part in addition to others", notes Bojan, who at the weekend was a participant in the tournament that was held in Beranam.
"The tournament in Berene was a nice gathering for me above all. Of course, I wanted to see myself competing and what is most important, I am mentally stable. This is such a game that sometimes the luck factor decides, but there is certainly no looking for an alibi, but I have to attack in Romania with all available means from the very start", says Tatar, who as a representative in one title will have the opportunity to receive a scholarship for an e-sports manager. . When asked if he will use it, he says:
"When it comes to that topic, to be honest, I still don't know. I plan to use my time in Romania to pass my coaching license, which is a priority for me and something that fulfills me. I see myself in that role sometime in the near future. Especially now, when we are in the final phase of making our club EFC Budućnost official. We have big plans for the future and I have a lot of responsibilities at the club right after I return from Romania. We have two leagues in 3v3 format waiting for us, which start at the end of September, and I will devote myself to that as much as possible", promises Tatar.
The role of a coach is important, but not for retirement yet
In addition to Bojan, another famous e-Footballer will apply for a coaching license Rade Pavićević, to whom the role of Bojan's coach in Iasi is intended.
"Until now, I went to competitions as a member of the national team, and now at this tournament a completely new role for me - as a coach. It will certainly be unusual, but I think that I will be at the level in this role as well and that I will help Bojan to jump a step higher compared to the last tournament", is sure Pavićević, who believes that the role of the coach is also very important.
"As we have seen in past tournaments, the coach is always there next to the player, someone who gives him directions, points out his mistakes as well as the opponent's flaws, so surely the position of the coach makes the game easier for the player himself," notes Pavićević.
He does not hide that the license he received as a trainer will expand his other possibilities in gaming, but that due to his new role he will not neglect his role as an active competitor.
"The playing career continues, as long as there is time to practice, because it is always a special emotion when you represent your country and I want to be in that role again," said Pavićević.
Gaming is no longer just dry "playing games"
In addition to Pavićević, there is also the "doctor" of the Dota 2 title - player, commentator, licensed referee, and soon a coach Pavle Šturanović will win another segment of gaming thanks to the visit to Jaši.
"Both roles are very important, but with two different aspects. In my opinion, both titles are important for the affirmation of the Association and the Montenegrin gaming scene. I hope that the fact that Montenegro has several international referees, and soon also coaches, in different titles, will encourage the development of gaming in Montenegro", said Šturanović, who assembled a team in Dota for last year's qualifications that represented Montenegro in several tournaments. , and he does not hide that he is sorry that this year, at least in the group stage, he will not fly the flag of Montenegro in this title during the championship.
"Unfortunately, we will not have a representative of Montenegro in Dota 2 this year either. Last year we had good results at the national and regional level. I am also sorry that the boys from the national team will not be able to compete with practically the best players in the world, such as the team of Bulgaria and the USA, who are the favorites to win this championship in that title", says Šturanović.
The fund of the tournament in Jaši is half a million, and Šturanović reflected on how much they can be a motivation for gamers:
"I think they are the biggest motivation for gamers. Along with constant travel, winning some big tournament, big prize pools are what every team/gamer strives for. Certainly, from year to year, those prize funds are increasing, which tells us that gaming is not just dry 'playing games,'" notes Šturanović.
When asked how he sees our national team in Dota next year, now that he has received an official license as a coach, and whether we will have more chances to be in a major competition, he answers:
"I hope every year that we will qualify for a bigger competition. Also, every year I see progress in our national team. I am sure that it is only a matter of days when Montenegro will also be the favorite to win a bigger competition", he proudly points out.
The virtual track champion designed the jerseys
Another gamer contributed to this year's national team. Namely, our delegation will wear jerseys designed for them by the champion of virtual tracks in the game Asseto Corsa Mladen Milosevic.
"It is a great honor for me to have designed the jersey for the Montenegrin national team in gaming. To be honest, when Filip Šoć contacted me about the design and said 'you have all the freedom, do it as you see fit, just make it modern and gamer', I instantly created a picture in my head and it was already 80 percent at the start done. Later, I just refined some details and, in agreement with Filip, arranged the logos from the sponsors. You know how, I love design, I love Montenegro and of course I love gaming, and when you do something you love and get all the freedom, the result must be successful. I wish luck to all the gamers who will represent Montenegro in various competitions in the future", said Milošević, and he does not hide that he is sorry that the game in which he achieves great results, Asseto Corsa, was not included in the list of titles.
“As for Simracing, it's always been behind other games in terms of competition. While some games have organized competitions in a big way, we could only dream that it would happen for us who love to drive. Of course I'm sorry that we don't have competitions, but as I said in one of the previous interviews, the last few years simracing has been very popular, and I expect that in the next two years it will reach its peak and be incredibly popular and present in tournaments and competitions. People look at simracing as kind of weird, and they don't realize how realistic and useful it actually is (when you have the right equipment). We are witnessing that the best driver in the world, Max Verstappen, drives a driving simulator that serves him for training, which he later transfers in the real world," Milošević notes.
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