Sport may have taken a back seat during the coronavirus pandemic, but esports is on the rise. Over the years, video games have evolved dramatically from a niche hobby to the world’s most valuable and lucrative form of entertainment. Much of this centers around casual play, but competitive play has evolved from what was once a niche aspect of the game itself to become a competition, skill, and technical juggernaut with millions of players. fans around the world, big in-game prize pools and professional teams of players compete against each other. And as the scene continues to grow in Israel, an effort is underway to develop esports here and see our players compete with the best of the best. Enter Team Finest, Israel’s first competitive esports team.Shiran Shushan, CS: GO player, and Yotam Nachshon, Marketing Director of Team Finest. (OR GLICKMAN)Founded in January 2019 by Ruvik Milkis, the team started with humble beginnings as a dream: to take the thriving esports scene in Europe and bring it to the Jewish state. When it started, everything was voluntary. The gamers had a life and a job on their own and did not play games full time. The team did not have any reputable sponsors and all arrangements were paid for out of Milkis’ pocket. But in August of the same year, the team won a tournament in Greece, beating professional players to take the top prize. “That’s when the light came on for me,” Milkis told the magazine. “We beat teams that were well funded and playing full time. If I gave my players access to the resources so that they could play full time, how far could we go? “

Soon, as the pandemic hit Israel, Milkis was joined by Yotam Nachshon, a gamer with a background in marketing who worked for companies like Logitech, Asos, Microsoft and even on an esports project with Wix. By joining as CMO, Milkis and Nachson transformed Team Finest into a fully functioning start-up. time and compete with the best players in the European esport scene. TEAM FINEST players are diverse – a mix of Israelis and players recruited from across Europe. However, the main goal has always been to develop and recruit local Israeli talent. Funding and growth is achieved through a combination of sponsorship and efforts to find and develop local talent. To do this, Team Finest set out to create new monthly tournaments called ONESHOT. “We want to give Israeli players the opportunity to play at the highest level in tournaments with big prize pools,” Milkis explained. “It’s monthly and every month it’s a new game.” The titles Team Finest has been covering so far are FIFA, Valorant, Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO), and Fortnite, and every month they host a tournament for one of those titles. The goal is to find new hidden talents, but even if none emerge, they can still follow the progress of other players and develop potential. But tournaments serve another purpose: free advertising for sponsors. Already, Team Finest has sponsorship agreements with Logitech and Acer. These tournaments help Team Finest present its products to a large audience. “Everything we do is a free advertising opportunity,” Nachshon said. “This goes for a lot of sponsors and advertisers. We get massive exposure for them and they get massive impact. We do this with content creators without intrusive commercial advertising. We use brand ambassadors to expose us to a wider audience, pushing us towards the mainstream. All of these events, talents and teams come together to help create a community around us that generates enough fans and interest to keep us doing what we do. So far Team Finest has enjoyed considerable success on the European esports scene. In CS: GO, the team plays in one of the best leagues in Europe. “Last season we finished fifth,” said Milkis. “So far in the new season we’re 3-1.” But Valorant is where the team really hits its stride. Valorant, compared to other titles, is relatively new. Because of this, Team Finest was able to adapt quickly and carve out a reputation as one of the top players in Europe, with two of its players consistently among the top ranked players. Indeed, on May 30, Team Finest even announced the inauguration of a new Valorent team, this time made up of all women. PLAYERS at Team Finest take Israeli esports to the next level. (OR GLICKMAN)KEY to their success is Team Finest’s commitment to making sure their players have everything they need. With players committing to working up to nine hours on their skills each day, the team is making sure they have all the resources they can have to ensure they play at the top of their game. art. This includes a salary, help with internet access, top-of-the-line equipment obtained from sponsors like Logitech and, arguably most important of all, a sports psychologist. “We had a sports psychologist and told him to bring his methods to esports, the new modern sports. And it became a very successful idea. It got us where we are today. Sports psychologists are not unheard of in esports, but only the best-funded teams are usually able to get them. They are essential in keeping players in peak mental condition to cope with the ordeal of being a full-time player. And this is what reflects the growing legitimacy and professionalization of esport. Esport is now finally making its way to a wider audience than ever before , with some esports games slated to be played at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Although these are only demo matches rather than major Olympic events and are mostly video game versions Olympic sports like cycling rather than tit esports res, this is still a major milestone and could see games play a bigger role in the future. has a bright future in esports. In 2020, the International Esports Federation (IESF) World Championships, the biggest esports event of the year, were due to be held in Eilat. It was a massive event and a defining moment for the Israeli game, and saw players from all over the world ready to send their teams to participate. Even Iran, which has hostile relations with Israel and a reputation for forcing athletes in international competitions to forfeit rather than face Israel in a match, had agreed to send a team to Israel after passing qualifying. . While the coronavirus pandemic has forced the cancellation, the World Championships will still be held in Israel, explained Nachshon, who also works with the Israel Esports Association, Israel’s member organization within the IESF. And with Team Finest building the local esports scene with monthly tournaments to help uncover hidden talent and provide players with a professional environment in which to thrive, it looks like Israel may soon have a larger and larger talent pool. strong to choose from over time. 