Robbie Douek wants to "organize something big in the history of Esport in France"

Robbie, first of all, can you explain to us what a CS: GO (Counter Strike: Global offensive) Major represents?

It's the biggest sporting event in the field of Esport on this game.

It brings together a lot of international teams, a lot of spectators, but also millions of Internet users who will follow it from home.

It's a great sporting spectacle.

What made you choose France and Paris to host the next edition in May 2023?

First of all, I love France.

My children are French and I have many ties with this country.

And secondly, even more importantly, Blast has always had the desire and the dream to organize a Major here.

We founded our box three and a half years ago but we hadn't yet found the opportunity to do so.

We were looking for the best time to do it.

I heard President Emmanuel Macron's speech a few months ago saying that he wanted France to become a country of gamers, by investing in this ecosystem.

I told myself that this was the opportunity we were waiting for because in France, there is really a heart and a gigantic community of gamers.

There are teams, there are talented players, there are many fans,

Robbie Douek, CEO of Blast Screenshot

The final would take place at the AccorHotel Arena in Bercy.

Why this speaker?

I saw all the images of the event organized this year by the Karmine corp in Bercy, and obviously also the world final of LOL (League of Legends) in November 2019. It's a very nice speaker, very easy to use .

We know the people who manage this room and we have an excellent relationship with them.

In terms of size, it is a sufficiently large enclosure in relation to our ambition in terms of attendance.

Depending on how we are set up, we will be able to accommodate between 10 and 15,000 people, which is important because we know that there will be a lot of French supporters, especially those of Vitality, but there will also be Danish, German and Brazilian fans too...

You mentioned Vitality, which is the leading Counter Strike team in France…

It's even one of the world leaders.

They have phenomenal players like Apex or ZywOoo who was one of the best players in the world a year ago.

They have a structure in Paris that allows a lot of people to work, not just players.

This allows them to improve the quality of their players.

But there are other teams in France which have a very good level and which should have the possibility of qualifying for the Major.

Vitality in the CS:GO arena Joao Ferreira

Overall, how do you judge the evolution of Esport in France in recent years?

I think it's interesting that France is becoming a key country in the professionalism of Esport.

There has always been a heart of gamers in this country but for a little while now, this has been anchored in daily life with the arrival of investors, structures, schools... Esports is now really known in France.

And we must not forget that it is not only players or fans.

There are also many jobs that are generated by this environment.

Blast, for example, employs a hundred people and they are not gamers.

They work on marketing, on social networks, on the creation of events, on the technological part… It is very important to insist on this notion of ecosystem on the economic level which is being built.

When you talk to a young person today, either he always wants to be a footballer, or he wants to be a LOL or Fortnite player, or work in a studio like UbiSoft, a French company.

So esport offers plenty of professional opportunities.

Somehow, I think the people who work at Blast originally dreamed of becoming esports champions but they didn't succeed.

This did not prevent them from finding another way within this environment and from flourishing there.

It drives them crazy.

Quite honestly, in my career, I have never met people as passionate about what they do as in Esport.

a French box.

So esport offers plenty of professional opportunities.

Somehow, I think the people who work at Blast originally dreamed of becoming esports champions but they didn't succeed.

This did not prevent them from finding another way within this environment and from flourishing there.

It drives them crazy.

Quite honestly, in my career, I have never met people as passionate about what they do as in Esport.

a French box.

So esport offers plenty of professional opportunities.

Somehow, I think the people who work at Blast originally dreamed of becoming esports champions but they didn't succeed.

This did not prevent them from finding another way within this environment and from flourishing there.

It drives them crazy.

Quite honestly, in my career, I have never met people as passionate about what they do as in Esport.

The quality of what we do, the content, the production, really makes the event accessible for a large channel.

Robbie Douek

What limits do you see to this exponential development of Esport?

The glass ceiling is already wide.

There are more than 500 million players in the world, even 600 million, and there is still room to expand this number of practitioners.

Now, the crux of the problem will be the monetization of competitions.

Today, when we see our audiences on the net, our level of monetization is not adequate, but that will come.

We are in the process of framing this very rigorously.

Regardless of the country, all have structures, a federation, associations that work with governments, with school systems so that everything is well organized.

So I really think “sky is the limit”.

Moreover, it is not for nothing that during the pandemic and the various confinements,

On monetization, can you imagine this Parisian CS: GO broadcast live on a major national channel?

On TF1 why not (smile).

Or Canal +, BeIn Sport, I don't know.

Even just the last part of an hour would be great.

We have already been broadcast on major channels like the BBC, so why not do the same in France?

It is time.

It can come.

The quality of what we do, the content, the production, really makes the event accessible for a large channel.

We know how to offer relevant content for a channel like TF1 or Canal+.

So I keep hope, especially since I am a very optimistic person (smile).