Everything will be streamed on the VOKA video service.
The Belarusian Basketball Federation and the Belarusian Computer Sports Federation to make an interesting experiment. Stars of Belarusian basketball - Maksim Liutych, Andrei Rahozenka, Aliaksandr Semianiuk, Natallia Dashkevich – will take part in a unique e-sports championship.
Tournaments like this, where the real professional players would have fought against each other not on a real, but on a virtual platform, still haven't been in Belarus. It is understandable that the pilot project aroused our considerable interest. What is it? When will it happen? Where to watch?
We will give an answer to the last question right now. An exclusive broadcast of the competition is planned on Thursday, May 28, at VOKA. And not just broadcasting, but the most professional shooting. LED screen, live-cam, flash interviews and the accompanying voice of well-known commentators - many people have the right to envy such attention to the country's debut games on the NBA2k20 platform with the participation of eminent basketball players.
But our business is different: find out what exactly an experimental tournament is and how was born this brilliant idea. Executive Director of the BBF Nastassia Marynina answered some of the questions.
- Did you choose participants from those who play well in NBA 2K20, or in a different way?
- Cyber basketball is a new direction, which FIBA is currently developing. First, we talked with our colleagues from Russia and Estonia, where real championships are already taking place. Then, after negotiating with Pavaga Gaming, the Belarusian Federation of Computer Sports and VOKA, we thought that the idea of organizing a virtual basketball tournament in our country is quite interesting. We did not know whether our athletes were playing in the NBA 2K20, but, after conducting a survey of the national teams, we found potential tournament participants. Already now in the BBF database there are more than twenty basketball players who practice not only on the basketball floor, but also on the game console in their free time. Our sport in real life is very contact, but the competition on the game console avoids this.
- Maksim Liutych, Andrei Rahozenka, Aliaksandr Semianiuk, Natallia Dashkevich - does everyone play well or did they have to go through a “training camp”?
- Our participants are stars to one degree or another. But, of course, for the first tournament we invited those basketball players who are the most recognizable among those playing in the NBA 2K20. Taking in account the achievements of our teams at the European Games, we have preferred the 3x3 bronze medalists. I was pleased with the fact that the representative of the women's team will fight for the cup. Our center Aliaksandr Semianiuk, who plays for the national team in classic basketball, is also known and loved by many fans.
- Is there anyone in this four who plays basketball better on the PlayStation than in real life?
- I think we’ll see it all together live on May 28th.
- Will fans be able to compete with basketball players? Or not this time?
- If this project will attract a lot of interest, the BBF plans to organize a series of such virtual competitions involving both professional players and fans. So let's see who is better on the site, albeit virtual.
- Who exactly will the participants play for? Will there be a draw or will the players choose the teams they like?
- We gave the participants the right to choose. Natallia Dashkevich will play for Brooklyn Nets, Maksim Liutych - Los Angeles Lakers, Andrei Rahozenka - Milwaukee Bucks, Aliaksandr Semianiuk - Houston Rockets.
- Why did our basketball players choose these teams?
- Everyone has their favorites in the real NBA. So let's see how well it will turn out to manage favorite teams and players in cyber basketball.
- NBA 2K20 broadens the horizons of those who play it? Participants learned something interesting about the NBA, which they still did not know?
- Any additional information on the sport is always helpful. In addition, there is an opportunity to learn in more detail the skills of league stars, their capabilities. For example, managing virtually the same LeBron James, you once again understand what gives him an unspoken advantage on a real site, how physically strong and gifted he is.
- VTB League season is over. How do basketball players who are free in a pandemic spend their time?
Professional sport is primarily self-discipline, so everyone is now focused on the training process. Individual work is underway in the gyms and gaming halls with the involvement of specialists in physical fitness. The new season should start soon and the guys understand that it is necessary to be in good shape and maintain competitiveness, because a career depends on it.
- NBA players across the ocean are banned even from practices. Except individual, of course. What is the situation with this in Belarus?
- All classes are subject to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, WHO and FIBA. Now the weather allows for training in the fresh air; if the athletes are engaged in the gym, then all equipment and coatings are disinfected, the minimum number of people on the site. Compliance with personal hygiene rules, self-control, a limited circle of contacts - now this is the lifestyle of basketball players. And, of course, everyone really misses the battles at the venues and wait for the moment when the fans will fill the halls, and the teams will give them an exciting fight and unique emotions.
It should be noted that the broadcast of the event “Cyber basketball. Star tournament” with the participation of professional Belarusian basketball players will be available on VOKA for free and without authorization for all users - both in Belarus and in other countries. You can watch it on the website voka.tv or in the VOKA application for mobile devices and Smart TV. After the live broadcast, the recording will be available for viewing in archive mode. In this regard, it was logical to find out what is the interest of VOKA itself. On its behalf, the speaker was Anton Bladik, Deputy General Director of A1, Digital Platforms and Content.
- How did you came up with the idea of a cyber basketball tournament? Is there an example that inspired? In a way that you saw that it works and have decided to try in Belarus.
- It's simple: Belarusian basketball federation came to us with the idea to host a cyber basketball tournament with the participation of professional players. As it turned out, many of them like to play not only real basketball, but also virtual, especially now, when all practices and competitions are put on pause. For our basketball players this will be another opportunity to test and demonstrate their skills, for fans – a long-waited meeting with their favorite game, for ordinary viewers – a chance to discover something new and just have an interesting time, and for us – another step on the way to the eSports development in Belarus. In short, everyone wins.
We know that neighboring countries have the same basketball tournaments and it is not new, neither to Russia nor to the Baltic countries. We are pleased to begin the history of cyber basketball in Belarus.
- What response from the fans can be considered as a success? What viewing figures do you expect?
- We will be interested to find out whether professional players, who gather full arenas for their real basketball games, can attract a similar audience by playing virtual basketball.
- Do you think such tournaments have a great future after the pandemic?
- If the audience and participants will be interested in this format, then yes, of course. Moreover, I am sure that this will happen: such competitions tend to be a great opportunity to see sports stars from a new perspective and to be on the same level with them to some extent. After all, in eSports, unlike classic sports, physical parameters take a back seat. Professional players or ordinary people are all on equal terms.
- ESports is very promising, isn’t it? What about Belarus? Is this tournament a test step or do you have big plans for eSports?
- Our main goal is to show that eSports exists in Belarus, and to create prerequisites for its development. In the world, it has long been a powerful industry with billions of dollars in budgets and huge potential. There is definitely a prospect even at the level of Belarus: there are eSports teams whose participants show good results. ESports events draw big attention — we can judge by our own experience of organizing tournaments, and by the number of views of eSports content (for example, the number of views of VOKA League games exceeded 800 thousand last year). However, in order for this interest to develop, a lot needs to be done: starting from a variety of events to appropriate administrative support.
As long as eSports is not recognized as an official sport, as long as cyber-disciplines (whether it is Dota, cyber football, or cyber basketball) do not receive full status in the world of sports, any development will depend on the efforts of enthusiasts like us. An official status means official support and fundamentally different conditions for promotion. It is the direction we are currently actively working on.
- A large-scale broadcast of the tournament, as well as the use of live-cam is announced. What is the beauty of this format?
- You must agree that every fan is interested not only in the final score of the game. We are planning not a simple game broadcast, but a whole show, where you can enjoy not only the game itself, but also video materials with players and coaches, live broadcast from the Studio with commentators and players. The most priceless thing that creates the atmosphere of any game is bright moments and true emotions. The close-up faces of players is a mandatory part and a real treasure of any sports photo reportage for nothing.
A player "hides" behind their virtual avatar in eSports, which becomes the main character of all game events. One need to shoot on live-cam so that real people and real emotions do not remain behind the scenes. Thus, our viewers can simultaneously follow events in the virtual arena and live participants.
- What is the main difficulty of eSports broadcasting? Or is there no difficulty in doing that?
- Each game has its own characteristics. Taking into account that it is our first the NBA 2k20 tournament, there were a number of small nuances that the Pavaga Gaming team helped us to understand.
- We know the participants. Tell us, who will comment? Was it easy for them to agree? Do they have any doubts that they will manage such a format?
- To commentate these types of games, one need comprehensive skills: commentators must understand both classic basketball and the NBA 2k20 game, as well as be able to involve the audience in a virtual game, so that there is no less emotion than from the real court game. These are high requirements, but we hope that our carefully selected team of commentators will make the event informative and exciting.
- What system will be used for the competition: a single-round tournament?
- Olympic system or the playoffs.
- NBA players are also trying their hand at playing on the PlayStation now. Have you studied their experience?
- As they say, if you have a good idea, be sure that someone else has it as well. It is great to have something to compare your experience with and draw some conclusions from. However, we will compare this experience afterwards, now we are more interested in implementing our own idea and vision. After all, even very similar things can be implemented in very different ways.
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