CSB - Connor English - President of New Zealand Esports

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted unanimously last night for Saudi Arabia to host the first-ever Olympic Esports Games in 2025. This decision, made on the eve of the Paris Olympic Games, marks a significant milestone in the integration of esports into the global sports arena, reflecting the growth and popularity of competitive gaming worldwide.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Whether it's gun boots or rugby boots. The country Sport
Breakfast has you covered on gold Sport, your home of
live commentary eight seventeen here on gold Sport. Well. The
International Olympic Committee met in Paris overnight and voted unanimously
for Saudi Arabia to host the first ever Olympic Esport Games,
and they'll be held next year and Kiwi esports athletes

(00:23):
are set to get an opportunity to win gold medals
at these inaugural games, joining us as the President of
New Zealand Esports. Connor English Morning.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Connor, Good morning, Brian. How are you?

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah? Great mate? This is exciting for esport athletes, isn't it?

Speaker 2 (00:37):
It is super exciting. Yeah no, We're absolutely thrilled at
theon the committees decided to do this and just opens
up a world of opportunity for our athletes.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
So tell me more about esports in New Zealand. How
strong is it?

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Booky sports is a growing sport in New Zealand. We
of course have a lot of gamers. It's been estimated
that you know, up to three million people in New
Zealand play games either on their computer or new phones
on a sort of a semi regular basis, But in
terms of people who consider themselves athletes in the esports arena,
you know that that is a growing area and a

(01:10):
fast growing area. You know. We've got a lot of
new teams developing in schools and universities and another competition,
so it's definitely growing and I think we'll have a
pool of people we can draw from to represent the
country at the Olympic Games because.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
New Zealand athletes have competed at a world level the
World Esports Championships, haven't they and done well.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yes, we have. Yeah, and it's a very very competitive
field because there's just so many participants, you know, unlike
say rugby, where you only have you know, several thousand
in each country, in esports, it's millions in each country.
So yeah, we have had some great athletes who've done
super well in a really tough environment.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
How do you go about selecting somebody to compete in
the eblacks?

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yeah, Well, look at esports is pretty straightforward because most
of the games they are just about how many points
you've got and how many points the other players have got,
and if you've got more points, you're better. So it's
pretty easy to measure. So it's you know, we have
to go through some tournament type qualification process, which you know,

(02:18):
that's that's the biggest challenges. It's just getting those frameworks
in place.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
At the recent games, I think was it Reagan Kelly,
I don't think he's a relation. He won bronze medal.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah, yeah, he did really well. He was he was
a strip fighter, I think it was. And when we've
had other eblets like you know, Josh King, you know
Over and Read last year, you know, playing a football
up against eighty four other countries and he did pretty well.
You didn't get through to the finals, but you know,
it just highlighted how competitive it is out there.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
And they're competing for huge, huge prize money, aren't they.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
Yeah, well that's right. Well last year I was in
what they call Gamers eight Over and Read and you know,
it lasted sixty days. They had, you know a couple
of thousand competitors and they two and a half million
people come through the gates to watch this stuff and
there's seventy million ups for grabs and well at the
moment they got the Wheel Cup over the here and

(03:16):
that you know, it's one hundred million, So there's a
lot of money at stake in those tournaments.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
It's certainly a fast growing sport, isn't it it is?

Speaker 2 (03:23):
Yeah? I think it's it is very fast.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
Growing, absolutely amazing. So it's held being held next year
in read you got a date for it next year?

Speaker 2 (03:31):
No, look, we haven't got a date. And look there's
still a lot of details to drop out of the
decision and just how we you know, string it all together.
So but you know, at ins at esports, we're well
placed to pull things together and get some get some
talent over the here good enough to.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
Qualify absolutely and then opportunity to do in gold medals
as well as money.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
I guess yeah, well, yeah, it's certainly the gold medals.
I'm not so sure to be honest about the extent
of money involved in being an Olympic event. So the
ones where there's the big.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Price money often just commercial operations as applied to Olympic
Olympic competition, which is more about the glory, isn't it you?

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Well, that's right, yeah, representing your country the e Blacks.
I love the name as well. Connor, Hey, great, great
news for you guys, thanks for joining us.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah, no pleasure.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
That's Connor English, a president of New Zealand E Sports.
So that's going to be held in read next year.
The date to be your Organized Great Stuff A twenty
one gold sport