Gamers from all over the province gathered at the Edmonton Expo Centre this weekend for the first major esports event in Alberta.
More than 2,500 people registered for the Alberta Esports Association’s exhibition, eclipsing the roughly 500 attendees the group was initially expecting.
“This is unseen for the esports community here in Alberta,” said Courtney Nickerson with the Alberta Esports Association. “We’re finally showing the esports is a legitimate thing. It is a very big deal for us to have all of this support, all these people showing up.”
There were multiple tournaments on Saturday and Sunday, with people playing a wide variety of games like Super Smash Brothers and Valorant. Among those competing were professional esports athletes and school teams.
“Growing up and seeing how big esports has grown is super amazing,” said Andrew Tran, esports lead from SAIT.
“Even this event in and of itself is a testament to the amount of growth we’ve experienced in the Alberta region,” said Shadi Hanna, the head coach for Keyano College Esports.
This event has also provided an opportunity to put some misconceptions about esports to bed.
“The term ‘esports athlete’ gets a lot of eye rolls, even to the people I talk to on a daily basis,” said Hanna, who added that esports athletes need to be well rounded, and school comes first.
“We’re training physically, we’re training mentally, we’re training on your studies and intellect as well as your game and title of choice.”
These games can teach people a number of skills, Hanna said.
“What they’re learning is decision making – how to think critically in the moment. They’re learning communication – how do I collaborate with four other people to accomplish a shared goal.”
And more than the competition, esport is about community and spurring optimism about the talent in Alberta.
“Winning is good, but it’s the community and camaraderie, it’s the adventure, it’s the lessons learned within the space,” said Tran.
“It’s gonna take time but I think right now everything’s moving in the right direction and I’m excited to be a part of it,” added Hanna.