{"id":62349,"date":"2017-08-07T19:59:21","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T23:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leonin.ca\/2017\/08\/07\/experience-sur-google-esports-quebec\/"},"modified":"2025-03-15T21:01:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T01:01:48","slug":"google-experience-esports-quebec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leonin.ca\/en\/2017\/08\/07\/google-experience-esports-quebec\/","title":{"rendered":"Google experience: esports quebec"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I decided to dive back into the world of gaming over five years ago, I knew from experience that it was imperative to update myself on the Quebec scene to understand what clans, guilds, LANs, communities, etc. existed, to determine whether the players I knew still existed and who the newcomers were. Back then, I even created a table to track who had relationships with whom, to be able to see the cliques. This is very important information in all small areas, especially underground ones, where the players all know each other.<\/p>\n

A few days ago, I wondered if accessible information was still as difficult to find as it had been in the past, and what conclusions I could draw from it about the Quebec market and its various players. It is important to mention here that the exercise I had done in the past had been extremely useful in identifying the different organizations, but some of my conclusions about the interactions were wrong because, obviously, I did not have access to 100% of the information, public information is unfortunately often misleading, and there were at the time groups of individuals who took great advantage of the fact that it was small and unmonitored to secretly own multiple organizations at several levels where many conflicts of interest were present. In short, they would never have had a page like this: http:\/\/leonin.ca\/partenaires\/. This warning is important because, despite the fact that I 110% encourage you to do this exercise when you want to enter a new niche market, be careful not to take your interpretations and conclusions as absolute truths. This will create scenarios like the one I experienced a few months ago when an individual, who definitely didn’t recognize me, told me he wanted to be like the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise de sports \u00e9lectroniques (FQSE), which managed and sponsored the Sportifs du clavier (Keyboard Sport) team in addition to directly owning competitive teams… Before you start with rumors, NO, the FQSE doesn’t do that.<\/p>\n

Anyway, armed with loose paper, a pencil, and five blank screens, I decided to conduct a little experiment. In just one hour, I had to try to paint a picture of the Quebec esports scene. Since I already know all the players and am used to browsing their websites, here are some restrictions I set myself:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Use Modzilla Firefox, a browser I never use, to ensure my search results aren’t biased by Google’s dear Big Brother.<\/li>\n
  2. As soon as I arrive on a page, read the entire page to find the key information about the organization. If it’s not obvious, I should read the “About” section. Only then should I go to the “Partners” tabs.<\/li>\n
  3. If a link takes me to Facebook, I should look at at least the last five posts and prioritize returning to the websites.<\/li>\n
  4. I can ignore information more than a year old.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Here we go!<\/strong> From here on out, I’m forgetting all my knowledge about the industry and I’m just a recreational player who wants to play e-sports and maybe even start a team.<\/p>\n

    —————<\/p>\n

    Let’s type “Esports Quebec<\/strong>” into Google. Note: Google suggests I type “focus esports quebec” instead.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    The first link is that of the Quebec Electronic Sports Federation<\/em> <\/strong>(FQSE). I didn’t even know it existed! I quickly learned that Windstorm Gaming<\/em><\/strong> (Micha\u00ebl Ponsin, Mathew Carvalho and Guillaume B\u00e9langer are the founders) is a multigaming team, that the FQSE has relations with Cameroon and that there is a sports-study program that is being developed with Cortex Esports<\/em>. Navigating tab by tab, I come across the executive committee<\/a> of the FQSE, I note the names:
    \nPatrick Pigeon \u2013 CEO
    \nMicha\u00ebl Daudignon \u2013 CFO
    \nFran\u00e7ois Savard \u2013 CAO
    \nSteven Castelli \u2013 CIO
    \nAlexander Tanasie \u2013 CHRO
    \nDawei Ding \u2013 CLO
    \nMaryse Landreville \u2013 Executive Assistant<\/p>\n

    Browsing further, I discovered two resource pages with many organizations: the Members<\/a> (1)<\/strong> and the LCE<\/a><\/em><\/strong> page (2)<\/strong><\/p>\n

    (1)<\/strong> Via the Members page, here’s what I learned by visiting the links associated with the images:\"\"<\/p>\n

    Student Association UdeM Gaming <\/strong><\/em>:
    \n\u2192 They also hold Smash events
    \n\u2192 There are playtests with Ubisoft Montreal
    \n\u2192 Ludos
    \nStudent Association Concordia esports<\/strong><\/em> \u2192 They have many teams
    \nStudent Association McGill ESA<\/strong> <\/em>\u2192 Also do events
    \nStudent Association Dawson esports association<\/strong><\/em> \u2192 Organizes LANs
    \nStudent Association EsporTS\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>:
    \n\u2192 QI Challenge<\/strong><\/em> \u2192 Dead link
    \n\u2192 Nexus<\/strong><\/em> \u2192 Dead link
    \n\u2192 GLOES Games<\/strong> <\/em>\u2192 Dead link
    \n\u2192 LAN Rosement<\/strong><\/em> \u2192 Page redirected to Global Gaming<\/strong><\/em>‘s Facebook. I registered on the Global Gaming website and while browsing I discovered a very long list of teams plus a Discord server     http:\/\/globalgaming.gg\/index.php?page=ListTeams<\/a>
    \nCPTN<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>:
    \n<\/em>\u2192 Nice to have an esports program at school! There wasn’t one in my day.
    \n\u2192 Team Sailor Scout<\/strong><\/em> \u2192 Fantasia \/ Geek Girl \/ Bootcamp at MVA<\/strong><\/em>
    \nCFPR<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0:
    \n\u2192 Nice another esports program at school!
    \n\u2192 Montr\u00e9al Gaming<\/strong><\/em>
    \n\u2192 Mirage Esports<\/strong><\/em>
    \n\u2192 Leonin.ca (Fran\u00e7ois Savard)
    \n\u2192Documentary on Team Sailor Scout
    \nStudent Association BBB<\/strong><\/em> \u2192 Discord Server
    \nEarthroot Gaming<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0:
    \n\u2192 Kore<\/em><\/strong>
    \n\u2192 Zone Gaming<\/em><\/strong> \u2192 Venue in Laval
    \n\u2192 FQSE
    \nMontreal Overwatch League<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0:
    \n\u2192 FQSE
    \n\u2192 MVA \u2192 The only gaming studio in Montreal
    \n\u2192 Faucons<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

    (2)<\/strong> Via the LCE page, I learned that there are 16 schools that have at least one Overwatch team and that Microplay<\/em><\/strong>, Loto Qu\u00e9bec, BCF Avocats d’affaires, and HyperX<\/em><\/strong> are interested in esports. The list of local partners gives me new names:<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Spordle<\/strong><\/em> \u2192 Appears to be a supplier
    \nEGN<\/strong><\/em> :
    \n\u2192 Northern Arena<\/em><\/strong> (An event at the Bell Centre!)
    \n\u2192 Meltdown Montr\u00e9al<\/em><\/strong>
    \n\u2192 FQSE
    \n\u2192 Team Sailor Scout
    \n\u2192 HSQC<\/em><\/strong>
    \nLvLOp<\/strong><\/em> :
    \n\u2192 RDS<\/em><\/strong> Have an esports section! What?! It’s hard to find on their site.
    \nMeltdown Montr\u00e9al
    \n\u2192 There is a Meltdown in Quebec<\/em><\/strong> and Toronto<\/em><\/strong>
    \n\u2192 Twitch Montr\u00e9al<\/em><\/strong>
    \n\u2192 Cydonia<\/strong><\/em> is a professional Hearthstone player from Quebec
    \nSkyzo<\/strong><\/em> \u2192 Cortex esports<\/em><\/strong> \u2192 Cryptus<\/em><\/strong> \/ MSI<\/em><\/strong> \/ La Planque JV<\/em><\/strong> \/ Gamers Potions<\/em><\/strong> \/ LvLOp<\/em><\/strong>
    \nCryptus \u2192 Graphic designer<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    END OF THE HOUR<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Here is the complete list of organizations that may have a connection to gaming and esports that I managed to find in an hour:
    \nReference (1) :<\/strong> FQSE
    \nTeams\/Players(14 & +):<\/strong> Windstorm Gaming, UdeM Gaming, Concordia esports, McGill ESA, Dawson esports association, EsporTS, CPTN, Team Sailor Scout, CFPR, Mirage Esports, BBB, Earthroot Gaming, Faucons, Cydonia and other teams on the website of Global Gaming
    \nOrganizers(5) :<\/strong> Cortex eSports, Ludos, Ubisoft Montr\u00e9al, Global Gaming (GG), HSQC
    \nVenues (8) :<\/strong> MVA, Gam1ng Caf\u00e9, Nexus, Zone Gaming, Meltdown Montreal, Meltdown Qu\u00e9bec, Meltdown Toronro, La Planque JV
    \nEvents (4) :<\/strong> LCE, QI Challenge, LAN Rosemont, Northern Arena
    \nOthers(12) :<\/strong> Kore, Geek Girls, Spordles, EGN, RDS, Twitch Montreal, Cryptus, MSI, Microplay, HyperX, Montreal Gaming, Gamers potions<\/p>\n

    Observations and analyses of the results with an informed eye:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The scene is much more diverse than it was five years ago, which is reassuring and shows that progress is being made.<\/li>\n
    2. It’s impressive that so many schools are represented in the LCE and that esports-study programs are being established. I would have loved that when I was younger.<\/li>\n
    3. One hour of research isn’t enough to fully understand the Quebec market.<\/li>\n
    4. This type of research absolutely needs to be supplemented with more specific research based on the desired field, but it’s the best way to see an organization’s involvement in the global esports scene. For example, LAN ETS and DreamHack Montreal are sporadic, super fun but extremely self-centered events that generally don’t interact much with other stakeholders throughout the year except for a brief period a few months before their event.<\/li>\n
    5. Despite the fact that several important players are missing and that the FQSE site has not been fully covered due to lack of time, the current list clearly demonstrates the majority of organizations that I see present at the activities and that add daily life to the esports scene in Quebec.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      What to do next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      The next step would have been to fill out a list in Excel with more specific information about each organization to better understand where they stand relative to their competitors.<\/p>\n

      Here is a list of relevant information to gather to gain the most accurate picture of the industry:<\/p>\n