A successful eSport tournament
23.08.2022
One of the big new features of the 2022 edition of the Omega European Masters was the introduction of an eSport golf tournament on simulators, which took place from 9th to 31st July 2022.
It brought together more than 500 players from 17 countries. And the stakes were high, as the top three finishers in the amateur eSport tournament would be eligible to compete in Wednesday's Credit Suisse Gold Pro-Am. They are Florian Rey from Switzerland, David Foster from the USA and Hugo Saurat from France.
Aleksandar Radoicic to compete in 2022 OEM
In parallel to the amateur tournament, the professionals also had their eSport tournament. The three best players went from virtual to reality on Tuesday morning. Gen Nagai (Japan), Jean-Luc Burnier (Switzerland) and Aleksandar Radoicic (Montenegro) played a round on the Severiano Ballesteros course to earn a ticket to the Omega European Masters. A unique opportunity!
Aleksandar Radoicic, who was born in Crans-Montana and played his junior golf with the Golf-Club Crans-sur-Sierre, won (-1) by one stroke over Jean-Luc Burnier. "I felt the tension rising on the last two holes. And I entered that last putt which gave me the victory. It's an incredible opportunity to be able to play in this European Tour tournament," commented the winner. The last players from Crans-Montana to take part in the Open were Francisco Valera in 2012 and Steve Rey in 2003.
A way to build bridges
The Swiss company EGL Interactive launched the eGolf tournament. "Foresight simulators took care of the whole software development part. It was completed in early spring and then dozens of games had to be tested to get it right. The tournament director Yves Mittaz and Omega trusted us right away when we told them about this idea, we couldn't let them down", explains Jeremy Trouillet, Managing Director of EGL Interactive.
The ambition of the initial project was to create bridges between eSports and traditional sports. "We don't want to replace golf, but to make it more accessible. We want to attract players who no longer play due to a lack of time or young people who are not familiar with golf," concludes Jeremy Trouillet. As for the organisation of tournaments, it is a unique way of reaching golfers who are on several continents and getting them to participate in the same event.
