WES24 has grown into one of the largest and most impactful international Esports gatherings. Each year the summit grows, it attracts thought leaders, stakeholders, and professionals from all corners of the Esports ecosystem, creating an essential platform for dialogue, innovation, and collaboration.

The summit also featured the IESF Referee Academy, where aspiring referees gained hands-on training and expert mentorship from leading industry professionals. This program aims to raise the standards of officiating in Esports by equipping referees with the knowledge and skills needed to oversee competitions with precision and integrity.

Another key program that took part in WES24 was the IESF Training Camp, an initiative designed to support athlete development. Athletes received expert guidance on game tactics, scrimmage preparation, and strategic insights, enabling them to enhance their performance and readiness for elite competition.

The World Esports Idea Quest 2024, also one of IESF’s initiatives this year, revealed its winners, recognizing outstanding project ideas for Esports events that demonstrated creativity and vision.

On the final day of the summit, the prestigious National Federation of the Year Award was presented to Indonesia. This annual award celebrates the federation that has demonstrated excellence throughout the whole year across all areas of Esports, from competition success to organizational achievements.

As WES24 concludes, we reflect on another year marked by success, growth, unity, and collaboration within the international Esports community. With increased engagement from the national federations, athletes, and fans, IESF looks forward to even greater success in the coming years.

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Over the course of the camp, the athletes participated in a range of activities designed to help them grow as players and teammates:

• League of Legends (LoL) training sessions featuring strategy breakdowns, in-depth analysis, and focused coaching.
• Practice matches (scrims) where they could apply their skills in real-time scenarios.
• Workshops and theory sessions led by experts, diving deep into tactics, teamwork, game mechanics, and mental preparation essential for competitive success.

The camp was all about creating an environment where athletes could push their limits, learn from one another, and gain valuable insights to carry forward in their Esports careers.

A big thank you to all of the athletes who gave their best and made this camp truly special. Watching you grow and level up embodies what IESF stands for: inspiring athletes, encouraging them to work on themselves, and providing opportunities to succeed in their careers.

As we close on another amazing World Esports Summit 2024, we also celebrate the end of an incredibly successful year. Here’s to many more years of growth, achievement, and the continued advancement of Esports!

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This award recognizes the National Federation that demonstrates Esports excellence across all areas, including operational professionalism, success in competitions, marketing initiatives, and efforts to grow the Esports ecosystem both nationally and globally.

This year’s race for the award was incredibly close, showcasing the remarkable progress of national federations worldwide:  https://nf.iesf.org/national-federations-ranking/
Every year, their achievements and level of dedication continue to rise, making this award more significant than ever.

What a year for Indonesia! While they earned the Overall Champion Award at the 16th World Esports Championship (WEC24), it was their commitment to promoting esports, supporting their national teams, and demonstrating professionalism throughout the year that secured this honor. They have set an example of what it takes to build an Esports ecosystem that inspires athletes, fans, and communities alike.

Congratulations to all national federations for their hard work and contributions throughout 2024. As we look ahead to 2025, IESF remains committed to supporting federations on their journey to expand and elevate the international Esports ecosystem. Let’s continue working together to make 2025 an even greater success.

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Officiating is at the heart of every Esports tournament. Without skilled referees, ensuring fair play, consistency, and smooth operations becomes impossible. That’s why IESF’s Referee Academy is so important, it equips the next generation of referees with the expertise and confidence to handle the most high-stakes competitions.

What Did Participants Learn?

The academy’s program provided a detailed look into the world of refereeing. Every session combined theory with hands-on application. Participants explored key topics like the role of a referee, rules and regulations, tournament standards, game-specific rules, and the differences between mobile, PC, and console refereeing. These sessions were led by highly experienced officials who shared insights from years of officiating at the highest levels.

Elevating the Standards of Esports

The Referee Academy’s main goal is to create leaders who can guide matches with confidence, integrity, and professionalism. By providing in-depth training, we’re raising the bar for officiating standards across Esports and ensuring that tournaments worldwide meet the expectations of players, organizers, and fans alike.

IESF takes pride in leading this initiative, knowing that each new referee trained brings us one step closer to a stronger and more professional Esports ecosystem.

The 2024 Referee Academy was a great success, thanks to the dedication of our instructors and the enthusiasm and interest of all participants. These aspiring referees are now ready to take their skills to the Esports arena, and we’re excited to see the impact they’ll have on upcoming tournaments.

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This year’s theme, “Building Bridges, Not Barriers, Through the Power of Esports,” will highlight the role of Esports in uniting cultures, ideas, and industries. Under the slogan “We Empower Success,” the Summit provides a great platform for Esports experts to engage in meaningful discussions and sessions, sharing their insights on trends and presenting forward-looking ideas for our industry.

The event, strategically timed at the close of the competitive season, presents a perfect environment for reflection on the year’s biggest events, industry shifts, and the next steps for Esports. Attendees can follow the expert’s perspectives on topics including:

• (R)Evolution in Esports
• East Meets West
• Esports Integrity: The Role of Referees
• The Rise of International Esports Competitions
• (In Korean) Korea’s Secret Sauce etc.

Also, featured at this year’s event are the IESF World Esports Training Camp and the World Esports Referee Academy. These are very important IESF programs that are aimed at advancing the skills and professional standards of the next generation of Esports leaders.

Join us in Busan for a dynamic two-day experience designed to inspire, connect, and empower the international Esports community. Registration for the World Esports Summit is free and open to all interested attendees. 

To register, please complete our online registration form: https://iesf.formstack.com/forms/wes2024_participation_registration

See you in Busan!

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The relationship between Esports and education

“Scholastic” is a term that means to concern learning and schools. When we are talking about scholastic Esports, we are talking about the relationship between Esports, schools, and learning. This definition is apt, as the relationship between Esports and schools; and Esports and learning, can be examined and understood separately – the “form” and the “function”, as it were.

Esports and schools benefit from mutually beneficial cooperation. Schools can incorporate Esports into their body through the format of dedicated, competitive Esports teams, through opening Esports clubs, or both. Esports teams allow schools to enter scholastic competition leagues where they can gain recognition, allow the team members to gain valuable competition experience, and even find sponsors and funding, both locally and nationally.

Esports clubs, on the other hand, serve as a place for interested students to learn more about Esports, run tournaments, learn what is involved in the industry, or just engage in their mutual hobby. Both Esports teams and clubs will increase student engagement with the school, create another avenue from which they create a sense of belonging, and allow students to gain experience and create bodies of work that will help them in their later careers. 

When it comes to learning, the main advantage Esports provides is how easily it can be incorporated into social-emotional learning (SEL). Esports by nature encourages the growth of skills like communication, collaboration, leadership, decision-making, and problem-solving. Esports also allows students from all backgrounds to engage in the activity, thus teaching the importance of and fostering equality. Through competition, students learn other valuable skills like perseverance and empathy, and Esports can fill the socialization needs of students by allowing them to collaborate on a shared passion.

The need for critical thinking and adaptability in Esports means students will make good use of these soft skills in their future careers. A well-defined Esports training program will allow students to consistently work on and improve their skills in analyzing problems and communicating possible solutions – skills that are invaluable in the 21st-century job market.

Career in Esports

Future career prospects are where both school and learning relationships with Esports combine. By getting involved with Esports at a scholastic level, students can create three main avenues of career-building activities. The first one is of course becoming a professional Esports player. Adopting the discipline and dedication required of Esports athletes at the high school level ensures students can seamlessly transfer into professional players, and they can present themselves as valuable prospects through the tournaments and competitions they attend while representing their school.

The second way they can build their career is by getting involved in the technical side of Esports. High school Esports teams and clubs require students who can arrange live streams, manage tournaments through the usage of software, and execute the upkeep of required Esports hardware. These skills can all help them find future employment in the Esports industry.

The third area of employment that can be overlooked is that of the creative industries. Managing the social media presence of their club, creating team visuals and sponsorship decks, and acting as the casters and commentators of their school competitions can help students create their portfolios that they can present to possible future employers, from a very early stage.

As can be seen from the points presented so far, the inclusion of Esports in the scholastic environment will help schools and students equally, creating an environment of acceptance where students can train and compete to be shining representatives of their schools currently, and where students can improve both hard and soft skills to become future success stories.

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So, why we are stuck for such a long time when it comes to Esports? The progress throughout the years is evident, but there’s still lacking a wide public recognition of whether it is acceptable as a profession, career path, or just a daily leisure activity. In most countries, it is not recognized as a Sport, even though it fills out the definition of Sport completely, and there are decades of international competitions that serve as supporting evidence. Yes, there’s the physical inactivity that heavily burdens the industry recognition and acceptance, but then again, what about chess and other “passive” sports that have reached their recognition way more smoothly? 

We don’t have this dilemma obviously, here in the IESF, with the rest of the Esports entities and a growing number of countries and their governments, Esports is a Sport, a competition that involves both, physical and mental effort, crowned by a scoring and ranking system, therefore deserving winners and losers. 

So, today, when we ask the Esports community, Why Esports, we get a clear and precise answer: because I want to be an Esports Athlete, or a Coach, or a Referee, or a team manager…So how do we interpret this? This tells us that Esports today has a firm infrastructure, built by the Esports pioneers and people devoted to the industry. It means that it has gained the scarcely-needed sustainability to move forward and face bigger challenges. Throughout this period, the Esports family has made massive steps toward securing its future, and today, here it is, on the global stage, standing firmly and presenting the world of competitive gaming for what it is, a global phenomenon that includes millions of people, passionate about expressing themselves through the games. 

Has it reached its final destination? Not even close. This is one of those big scenes that requires continually investing resources and effort in order to grow. Growth on the other side, is never easy. The more an industry grows, the bigger the emerging obstacles are. And one of the best ways to address them is through public events and gatherings, just like the one we have ahead of us, the World Esports Summit, which will take place in Busan between November 28-29. 

We’ve invited numerous amount of experts from different segments of the Esports ecosystem, to share their knowledge on the latest innovations and happenings in the world, but also to answer the controversial questions that our community is struggling with, the most sound of them being: “Esports – is it Passion or Addiction?”. For this topic, we’ve prepared a special format where our guest will present their arguments for both cases, and stimulate an open debate in the community, and in that manner breaking the ice into finally providing a sustaining and firm answer. We must remind the world, that every activity can be seen and done both ways, in a healthy and non-healthy way, the only difference being in the attitude and the level of knowledge presented and absorbed by the participants. Well-educated and trained Esports athletes, won’t suffer negative consequences. Guided and informed gaming community can develop a healthy relationship with the games. 

Following the opening debate, there are educational workshops and panel discussions that will cover a variety of topics including a Dota 2 Masterclass led by Dominik Reitmeier “Black”, one of the greatest athletes to play and compete in the game, the correlation between health and gaming led by Michael Anderson, Co-Founder of FITGMR, and many more topics and Esports professionals that are willing to travel all the way to Busan, from all across the globe with the purpose of revealing the knowledge, awareness, and expertise in front of the world.

We’d like to invite every Esports enthusiast to join us in the almost completely booked BEXCO Convention Hall in Busan and use this unique opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, all of them sharing the passion and the drive Esports brings with itself. Everyone interested in participating in the World Esports Summit can register for free at the following link.

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The Seminar will feature keynote speeches from knowledgeable members of the World Esports Family, including Del Rosario University esports professor Mario Andrés Agudelo Padilla, Chinese University of Hong Kong,China Professor Peichi Chung, Chair of IESF Equity Committee Diana Tjong, NASEF Executive Director Gerald Solomon and more. 

NASEF Executive Director and Chair of IESF’s Education Committee Gerald Solomon said:  

“IESF could not be more excited to host the World Esports Academia Seminar once again. Together with esports stakeholders from all corners of the world, we will revitalize the relationship between esports researchers and educators. This year’s theme will inspire us all to think outside of the box and unite the World Esports Family. We look forward to the insightful discussions that will take place in Busan.”

The first day of the Seminar will feature four keynote speeches representing different regions around the world. Day one will conclude with a panel discussion entitled “How Can IESF’s Approach to Esports Competition and Education Be Socially and Culturally Sensitive To Global Differences,” moderated by Solomon with panelists Mario Andrés Agudelo Padilla, James Fraser-Murison and more to be announced. 

The second will include four workshops to share the value of esports education, diversity, equity, and inclusion. The full schedule can be found below. 

Day 1 Keynote Speeches and panel discussions: 

• Esports Education in Asia: A Digital Solution and Paradigm Shift: Peichi Chung, Associate Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong,China
• Esports in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities and the Emerging Trends
• How Esports are helping to solve Colombia’s problems through education: Mario Andrés Agudelo Padilla, Esports Professor at Del Rosario University
• European Esports Education: Introducing Essentials Skills for the Modern-Day Workplace: James Fraser-Murison, Director at Fraser Esports
• How Can IESF’s Approach to Esports Competition and Education Be Socially and Culturally Sensitive To Global Differences: Gerald Solomon, Mario Andrés Agudelo Padilla, James Fraser-Murison and more.

Day 2 workshops:

• The IESF x NASEF Scholastic Esports Model: Integrating Competition, Learning and Career Development: Gerald Solomon and  Jorrel Batac
• Breaking Barriers – Advancing Equity and Inclusion in Esports: Diana Tjong, Chair of IESF Equity Committee, and Debora Imanuella, Global Senior Vice President & Founder at UniPin & Luna Nera
• Leveling the Playing Field – Addressing Disparities in Esports Opportunities: Diana Tjong, Chair of IESF Equity Committee, and Debora Imanuella, Global Senior Vice President & Founder at UniPin & Luna Nera
• Creating a Safe and Inclusive Esports Environment – Combating Toxicity and Bullying: Diana Tjong, Chair of IESF Equity Committee, and Debora Imanuella, Global Senior Vice President & Founder at UniPin & Luna Nera

IESF continues to use education as a tool to unite the World Esports Family and contribute to the overall growth and development of the industry. IESF recently announced the details for the third annual WE Academia Competition, which called for members of the World Esports Family to submit research papers related to the two chosen research subjects: “Esports Toxicity: The Challenge, Evidence, and Solutions” and “Managing Harassment in Esports – The Role of Accountability and Standards to Address the Harassment.”

To register and be part of this year’s World Esports Academia Seminar click on the following link: https://iesf.org/we-academia-seminar-23/

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The Training Camp will feature two game titles: Tekken 7 and League of Legends. Participants will be selected through a strict application process, ensuring that only the most talented players get the chance to participate.

The Training Camp will be held later this month on the 28th and 29th of November at Bexco Convention Hall, the same venue as the World Esports Summit and IESF Seminar. This will allow participants to network with industry leaders, attend workshops, and experience the excitement of a major Esports event.

Professional athletes such as League of Legends Liiv SANDBOX Youth team, Tekken 7 Meo-IL, and CHERRYBERRYMANGO(CBM) will provide guidance and mentorship to the participants, helping them to reach their full potential.

The Training Camp will be divided into two sessions: online and offline. The online session will allow participants to get professional analytics based on their shown results remotely, while the offline session will provide hands-on training, practice, and competition opportunities.

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Whenever we enter a field of competition, the very first thing that the host introduces to us, are the Rules, these things and behaviors that we are and aren’t allowed to do. Now, considering the nature of the competitive spirit, people oftentimes are willing to bind the Rules or go around them, so they can acquire a competitive advantage and end up victorious. To prevent this, any serious competition must commit to their implementation through dedicated roles and positions called Referees, or in our case, Esports Referees.

They are in charge of following the competition and making sure no Rules are broken, or when they are, the appropriate sanction for breaking that particular Rule is applied. This can lead to many issues along the course of the competition, with most of them questioning the authority and the judgment of the Referee itself. How can we be certain that we have the right people in these very sensitive positions?

We’ve been closely following the industry growth and noticed that there are almost no relevant institutions that can provide the knowledge and skillset for these positions, so we decided to develop our own World Esports Referee Academy as part of our R&D program. With the foundation of this academy, we express our deep commitment to making the Esports scene a place where everybody will get an equal opportunity to acquire success, nurturing a competitive environment that will bring to the surface only the most dedicated ones, the ones most willing to push for victory.

The World Esports Referee Academy along with the Training Camp and the Academia Seminar will be part of this year’s R&D Program that will take place in Busan, Korea, from 28-29 November, supported by Busan Metropolitan City. If you can envision yourself as an Esports Referee, we’d be more than happy to assist you in becoming one!

Namely, there are a few criteria that you  would need to fulfill in order to be eligible to apply for the academy:

• Being a referee licensed by each national association or possessing a letter of recommendation from each national association.
• Completion of an online referee course (referee.iesf.org). The course must be finished before the offline event

If you meet the criteria and your goal is to enter the Esports ecosystem as an Esports Referee, you can proceed with the application form on the following LINK.

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