David Liggins interviewed by Bobby Sophabmizay – Director Esports Partnerships, SCCG
Bobby – I am here with David Liggins, who works on tournaments with Esports Engine! Here’s a look into Esports tournaments! What inspired you to become an esports tournament organizer? For me, it was working with the Square Enix community team at events while 16+.
David – I became a TO because I love giving players a platform to play their favorite games. Communities need to be built to make a game last longer.
Bobby – Can you share some of the memorable moments from your past events? One of my most memorable moments would be playing in League of Legends SLG for a couple months for Boston. We didn’t win as a city, but I did win MVP!
David – My first EVO when I moved to Vegas last year, meeting players from different walks of life was great!
Bobby – That’s great and looks like we both moved here at the same time! Did you have a second moment you’d like to share?
David – Working BTS (behind the scene), at the recent CDL Championship, meeting pros I watched and prominent figures in the COD community was so surreal!
Bobby – For my second one, I’d say the Esports Awards in Las Vegas. It was a turning point for my career choice and going back into primarily Esports. It set the bar for the people I’d like to collaborate with or even surpass!
Bobby – Could you walk us through the process of planning and organizing an esports tournament from start to finish? I’ll keep my comments to the end since this should be lengthy.
David – Usually how a tournament works is that first research must be done to figure out which game to feature and popular game modes within those games (i.e. No-Build Fortnite Duos).
Next, the ruleset is created for the event, luckily there are plenty of them from past events so it’s easy to create one that makes an even playing field for all participants.
Once the game mode and the corresponding ruleset has been decided on, the tournament page is created. Sites like StartGG, Challonge and Battlefy has done great work in making events with little to no stress.
These websites have tools to build the event from top to bottom so your event can be as detailed as possible.
The next step is MARKETING, the most underrated and hardest part of the process. In order for an event to be successful, people need to know about it! Social media is the main medium for event marketing, however, word of mouth is still a useful method. Content creators and pros can bring a lot of attention to your event, especially if they are considered a top player from the community (i.e. Scump for COD, Hiko for Valorant, etc.). If they are interested in your event, their communities will be interested.
Marketing should be the bulk of your planning, not only do you want players to sign up for this event, but the next ones after that.
Then the event happens! During the event, you should be taken notice of a few things: negative feedback, suggestions and any errors with the game and/or platform. As a TO, you need that intel to improve. In my opinion, if there’s no pushback, you become complacent.
After the event is over, make sure to plug your socials, your team’s socials and make a point to invite players back for the next event. Try to get as much feedback as possible! Every event will not be perfect and players who care will let you know.
Bobby – I wouldn’t recommend brands that are looking to integrate into Esports, to start something like this themselves. We didn’t even cover the intellectual property piece!
Bobby- How do you engage with and attract sponsors for your tournaments? This has been a forte of mine for a few years now.
David- Now this is a tough question. Sponsors look for certain statistics and results when it comes to tournament organizing. Usually, sponsors love it when you use their merchandise and/or know a lot about the products they create. Also, you as a TO need to have some level of a reputation, so before going to a sponsor, you need to have a community willing to vouch for you, “You can’t win a war by yourself”. Furthermore, consistency, consistency, CONSISTENCY! Sponsors want to work with people who care about them and not how deep their pockets are. If a sponsor believes they can benefit from you and your events, they will give you what you need to achieve it. Make a plan, stick to it and show sponsors how well you can do what you do.
Bobby – I appreciate that you took the time to share some insights today! I’ll attach our LinkedIns at the end of this segment.
Bobby – Thanks for reading & watching, we’ll be back next week!
