SKEMA Esport is a new association of SKEMA BS which brings esports up to date. If esports took root in the 1980s, recent years have been marked by an acceleration of the phenomenon and the proliferation of tournaments whose resonance is becoming increasingly important. Meeting with Ruben Lefèvre, president of the SKEMA association.
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
My name is Ruben Lefèvre, I am currently in M1 Grande École Program at SKEMA BS and president of SKEMA Esport for the year 2020-2021.
Can you tell us a little more about SKEMA Esport?
SKEMA Esport is a SKEMA BS student association created on December 31, 2019 by Anthony Jorda, now an alumni of the school. SKEMA Esport is an association full of ambitions which pursues 3 goals:
- Organize physical and digital events
- Train e-sports players and teams in order to have them participate in different tournaments such as the League of Legends ESC French Cup for example.
- Finally, we do not forget that we are a student association and therefore our aim is to bring together as many students as possible around video games, whether digitally or physically.
So you participate and organize esports tournaments?
We organize intra-SKEMA and extra-SKEMA events. These events are for the majority tournaments to cash prize on different games like League of Legends, TFT, Valorant, etc.
Concerning intra-SKEMA events, we recently organized a League of Legends tournament in partnership with the One ID Lille association bringing together students from Lille, Paris, Sophia and our campuses abroad. During the first confinement, we were also able to organize a Skribbl.io tournament bringing together students from all our campuses, but with the particularity of having the participation of Denis Boissin and Sophie Gay [ex-directrice du PGE, NDLR].
On the other hand, we make sure to offer larger-scale tournaments externally. I am thinking here of the League of Legends ESC French Cup organized by SKEMA BS in which we obviously participated, but where we also have a key role in the organization. I am also obviously thinking of our latest big event: the SKEMA Esport TFT E-Cup by SHARP. It is a TFT tournament bringing together the best European players belonging to key esports structures such as Solary or Arma Team. Thanks to SHARP, we were able to offer 1,500 euros in prizes to be won. Everything was streamed and cast on our Twitch channel by Double61, the TFT world champion from Kameto Corp.
Do you see a growing interest in esports?
Yes, completely. From our association’s point of view, it’s pretty obvious. We have only existed since December 31, 2019 and we already have 400 active players. We are also seeing strong growth in demand as we scale.
How do I join SKEMA Esport?
Until then we were an association open to everyone. This was necessary because we needed motivated and, above all, competent people. From January, our association obviously remains open to all, but we will put in place a more complex recruitment process in order to benefit from motivated, but also motivating, students.
So, to join our association, simply contact us during recruitment periods, at the start of each semester, in order to have individual interviews. If you don’t want to have a position of responsibility in the association, but would just like to play and meet new Skemians, you can join our Discord!
Why would you advise a student to join SKEMA Esport?
I think that, for a student with an appetite for video games, esports or who is simply interested and intrigued by these fields, SKEMA Esport is a very good choice!
If you have the soul of a competitor, then you will have a lot of fun with us. We make sure to set up numerous esports teams and prepare them as best as possible for the tournaments that await them. By “preparation” I mean theoretical lessons given by our coaches once a week and practical lessons twice a week for at least two hours. Despite this busy schedule, our teams make sure to get together to train more than necessary to reach the best possible level.
If you just want to chill and meet Skemian people, then we’re here for that too! In fact, our Discord now has more than 400 members and, if you want, you will easily find students to play with you.
Finally, if you are interested in events, you can train with us to organize small and large esports tournaments. We operate in the same way as any structure operating in this environment and you will gain very valuable experience in this field.
Does SKEMA Esport open up professional opportunities?
Yes absolutely. For the moment we are making sure to use our network to allow our members to benefit from the different professional opportunities we have.
In the long term, we will set up a professional opportunities canvassing center in order to offer jobs in the field of esports every week, and why not sign partnerships with companies operating in the video game industry and the esports.
Finally, what has the SKEMA Esport experience brought you?
SKEMA Esport taught me a lot. We are a very young association and I have the ambition to develop it as best as I can. Thanks to that, I rediscovered the taste for the challenge that I loved so much in prep. From a professional point of view, I was able to gain real experience by organizing partnerships with companies like SHARP. Finally, SKEMA Esport is fortunate to be an association represented by a multitude of profiles and students of different origins and nationalities. It’s a real opportunity and enrichment to meet people like them and I thank Anthony Jorda for creating this association and allowing me to meet all these people!
The testimony of Denis Boissin, deputy director of the SKEMA PGE in charge of L3 and the competition:
“ The field of esports is a booming economic sector which is leading to the emergence of many new professions, from esports, recognized in France since 2016, to all associated functions: sponsorship, events, image rights, training… Beyond stereotypes, esports, in a reasoned practice, allows you to develop a number of soft skills expected of managers and overcomes physical distances while relying on innovation technological: present through courses and competitive activities, it fully carries the vision of the SKEMA Business School Grande École Program. »
Article written by SKEMA Esport
