SAP organizes e-sports tournament

Sports and entertainment

E-sports is a rapidly growing industry. Virtual gaming - and e-sports as its competitive form - is increasingly becoming a global cultural phenomenon. Sold-out arenas, tournaments in front of audiences of millions, and athletes who play for millions in prize money and are revered like pop stars. The corona pandemic has significantly accelerated the development and popularity of e-sports. In 2020, global revenue growth picked up sharply and the industry was able to crack the one billion US dollar mark for the first time. As early as 2018, SAP has been cooperating with a professional e-sports
team and is sponsor and official innovation partner of Team Liquid.

SAP Labs Berlin now hosted the first e-sports tournament of its own. SAP wants to show that the Group can not only be part of the e-sports ecosystem, but also help shape it. Also on site was Jürgen Müller, Chief Technology Officer and member of the Executive Board of SAP, who shared the enthusiasm for e-sports and gaming with the participants: "It's fantastic! The arena is full, you can feel the excitement, it's loud and a lot of people are having a lot of fun. SAP and e-sports are a great fit. As a technology company, we use our expertise in data analytics and innovation in e-sports just as we do in any other business area to help players tell the story behind their data.

“It's fantastic! The arena is full, you can feel the excitement."

Jürgen Müller, Chief Technology Officer, SAP

I am very happy about the great interest of our customers, partners and the students on site." Dota 2 was played: The name is an abbreviation of the predecessor Defense of the Ancients. Two teams compete against each other with the goal of destroying the opponent's main building - the so-called Ancient - and defending their own. Each team consists of five players, each of whom controls a "hero" from a bird's eye view. In total, there are over 120 "heroes" with different abilities. This ensures that every game is unique.