The Montenegrin e-sport team is traveling today to the Libyan city of Benghazi, where the first Mediterranean e-sport games will be held from August 6 to 10. A total of representatives of 14 countries will participate in the competition, and gamers will try their hand at two titles: e-Football and Tekken 8, in the male and female categories.
Montenegro will have representatives in all titles and categories, and thus the colors of our country will be defended in e-Football by a long-time member of the national team and one of the best players Rade Pavićević, while in the women's category he will have that honor Bojana Goranović for which this will be the first competition in the mentioned title. In the title Tekken 8 in front of our country will compete Nevena Marković i Aldin Taljanović.
"Although the Mediterranean eSports Games are being held for the first time in history, it is a very serious competition, which is also confirmed by the prize fund, which is 16.000 dollars. Already in 2026, Italy will host the Mediterranean Games and the goal is to include e-sports in this event through this and similar events, and it was announced that next year Saudi Arabia will host the first e-sports Olympic Games, while in 2027, as part of of the European Olympic Games in Istanbul will also include e-sports titles. This is a major milestone for the eSports industry and is happening almost eight years earlier than predicted. We hope that in cooperation with COK, after the Olympic Games in Paris, we will organize a commission for e-sports in Montenegro and slowly start preparing competitors for that planned event that is announced for next year in Riyadh", emphasized the leader of the Montenegrin delegations and the president of the Electronic Sports Association Filip Šoć.
Our e-footballer Rade Pavićević has participated in numerous world tournaments in his career so far. However, unlike those competitions, the competition at the Mediterranean e-sport games will be much more relaxed.
"The competition is not as strong as in the world and European competitions, but all the ex-Yu national teams are there, along with several strong African national teams, so the tournament will certainly be very difficult. Expectations, as always, are to pass the group, and then step by step", reveals Rade who, when it comes to the competition. he knows the game of e-footballers from the region very well.
"I know the game of the competitors from the surrounding countries very well, we have played a lot of games, while those who will participate from African countries, I don't know what level they are at," admits Pavićević, who will not only play the role of a national team member, but also a coach.
"Until now, I had the opportunity to be a coach in the men's competition, and the role of being a Bojani coach for the Mediterranean e-sports games is totally different and requires more patience and time. I can say that for a beginner in this game she is doing great, but we will see how everything will unfold on the big stage", praised the Montenegrin national team player Pavićević.
This will be the first competition for e-footballer Bojana Goranović. The classroom teacher, who is currently working as an intern at an elementary school in Nikšić, has long had an affinity for games.
"Mortal Kombat and NBA were the most attractive to me, and now for the first time I had the opportunity to try e-Football, which, I must add, is not so common for the female population," she confirmed.
"For me this is something new and I just started playing this game recently. However, this fact does not reduce my desire to compete and win", says Goranović.
The preparations for this competition were intense, and she does not hide that it was to her advantage that she had the opportunity to learn about the simulation of the most important secondary thing in the world from Pavićević.
"In the beginning, it was difficult, until I got used to it a little bit and got into it. I still don't know what my opponents are like, but of course I will do my best to rank as well as possible", promises Goranović, who, like most women, had no great interest in real football.
"I watch real football from time to time, but I think that now I will start doing it more often", she promised, and added that even after this competition, she will continue to play games, even recreationally, and that this experience will definitely change her view of e-sport.
"I hope that this is just the beginning for me and it will certainly affect my future attitude towards these kinds of sports.
Until now, Nevena Marković has had the opportunity to follow numerous competitions, but not to participate in them. She "fell in love" with Tekken even when she was version 7, when she followed the European Championship in this title that was held in Azerbaijan in 2022, where he represented us Bane Jugović. Since then, a new version of the most superior and impressive part in Bandai Namco's franchise - Tekken 8 - has been released.
"I really like the new version of Tekken - Tekken 8. The graphics have been improved, the gameplay is more fluid, and new features have been added that make the game even more interesting," Marković reveals that she likes the new version. However, Tekken is not the only martial arts simulation that Nevena has had the opportunity to play.
"The experience I gained playing other fighting games definitely helped me prepare better for competitions. I expect demanding competition in Libya, but I believe that I am well prepared", claims Marković, who reveals that she had the opportunity to research the competition.
"I know it will be difficult, but I am ready to face the challenges", promises Marković, whose favorite character in Tekken is Kazuya.
"I plan to stick to only one character in Libya in order to focus on one style of play and achieve better results," promised Marković.
Aldin Taljanović has been playing games since he was a child, and until now he has only participated in local competitions in Tekken. He is happy to play a new version of the game in Libya.
“We've all been waiting for Tekken 8 to come out and I have to say we're thrilled. There were criticisms and some objections to the changes, but overall I think that Tekken 8 is much better mechanically, and especially visually," Taljanović points out. Preparing for this competition also means getting to know the competition.
"I watched the last tournament that took place and the Pakistanis are holding the stage for now, they are by far the best. I think it's easier that they don't perform in this Mediterranean competition, but there will definitely be competition. I am already familiar with several players from neighboring Balkan countries and I think it will not be easy at all", he admits and adds that he has perfected the skills of a character named Leo.
"The difference in the performance of all characters is relatively small and more importance is placed on knowledge of the game, characters, reaction and prediction of moves. I don't have too high expectations, given that this is my first time going to the competition, but I will certainly do my best to be as good as possible", concludes Taljanović.
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