Gaming is not all a waste of time. Some skills are very much transferable into real life, like the many Gran Turismo Academy winners now enjoying a career in motorsports through their skills being spotted in a video game tournament. So Football Manager, a football simulation game accurate enough that scouts in real football clubs are using its data, doing something similar is a no-brainer.
The Football Management World Esports Championship (FMWEC), a tournament not affiliated by Football Manager (hence why it is probably called “Football Management”) was held at Insomnia 62, one of the largest gaming events in UK, and also one of the biggest events for the small, passionate, competitive Team Fortress 2 community. The winner was crowned, Dan Fry (pictured above, third from left), by playing against the competition in FM’s draft mode.
Fry is not just walking home with £15,000, but also the opportunity of the lifetime: be the manager of the Norwich City legends squad, made of the English club’s veterans and past stars, in a friendly charity match against Inter Forever, the veterans for Italy’s Inter Milan on May 20th. Not a permanent gig, but a one-off to be a manager of legendary players that graced Norwich City is still a big deal.
FM’s draft mode is currently the best way to play the simulator competitively. So to see the community running a tournament around it, and offering a pretty amazing prize on top, should get the ball going for more tournaments, or even an official esports movement, should it catch on.
Source: PC Gamer, Daily Mail