The Panam Open is the most important federal festival in the region and this year it will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in person.
Day after day, the world of Esports is growing by leaps and bounds and our region is no exception. In this case, the International Sports Federation (IESF) announced the Panama Open, an Esports festival that will be held in person in Buenos Aires. In addition, it will deliver a total of 200 thousand dollars in prizes and a place in the 14th WE Championship, to be played in Bali, Indonesia.
Vlad Marinesco, president of the IESF, arrived in Argentina with the purpose of officially announcing the Panam Open. The festival will have a total of 7 disciplines, which are Tekken 7, eFootball, Counter-Strike:Global Offensive, Dota 2, Mobile Legends, PUBG Mobile and Free Fire. It should be noted that the latter will be exclusive to this competition. In the first instance, each Federation will have a contest where they will define their representatives. A Qualifier will then be held, dividing the continent into four regions: Latin America South, Brazil, Latin America South and North America. The champions of each zone will obtain the pass to play the face-to-face event to be held in October in Buenos Aires.
Presentation of the Panam Open at the Palacio San Martín, Buenos Aires
In an interview with CodigoEsports, the president of the IESF answered some questions about the arrival of the Panam Open in Argentina, the objective of returning Esports to an Olympic discipline, among other things. The 14th WE Championship will be held from November 27 to December 9 in Bali, Indonesia, and will deliver 500 thousand dollars in prizes.
-What was the reason why you chose Argentina as the venue for the Panam Open?
-I think that the culture and also because of how people are here, the passion they have for Esports. It’s fantastic. In Argentina, there are the best people who practice Esports per capita in all of America. It is a modern country and it has everything that is needed to put on a massive event that can surprise the world.
-How is the situation of returning Olympic discipline to Esports?
-Wanting to enter the Olympics are very difficult steps because those who make this decision are the members of the IOC (International Olympic Committee). We have had meetings and talked with the representatives of the Committee, but they see esports as physical electronic games, like cycling, for example. That is not Esports, they are an electronic version of traditional sport. This is precisely what we also seek in our talks with the IOC, to educate and express the needs of our community. The JJ.OO. they can give us many benefits, but we also benefit them, because we have a large young audience.
-What is the objective of the Panam Open? In the future, will this event be held in other parts of America?
-The main objective is to bring together the best athletes from the entire region, meet the strongest people who can go out to the World Cup to represent Pan-America and also their own country. We need the Panam Open every year. In 2023 we can return to Argentina, or go to other parts of the continent, that will be decided by IESF Panam, which is here in Buenos Aires.
-Do you think that in our region it is more important to focus on mobile games?
-Yes, we all have a cell phone and practically anyone can access mobile games. The most important thing for us is that we have games on all platforms, PC, consoles and mobile. The idea is to unify all the communities, Tekken, CS:GO, PUBG, etc. Today we have 6 disciplines, next year I would like to have 8 and the next ten. Every year we will grow to unite the communities involved in the World Cup.
What are you going to take into account to choose the disciplines that are going to add in the coming years?
The main thing to keep in mind is the market. We want to unify the best communities we can in different categories, like FPS or MOBA. If we grow, next year we will also have to take into account the country where the World Cup will be held. On the other hand, there are also the National Federations affiliated to the IESF that vote, so we will have to see what they decide for the next World Cup.
