08 Aug TLP Tenerife: a key event for the future of eSports?
If you’re planning on coming to Tenerife on holidays, maybe you should consider bringing some basic notions of eSports (as well as sun protection, because the sun can be pretty strong depending on the time of year).
Throughout the year, the island holds several events under the brand TLP (Tenerife Lan Party) eSports, providing an opportunity for companies and followers of this up-and-coming sector to meet and enjoy the passion they share for eSports.
The last of these meetings was the TLP Tenerife 2019. It took place during the month of July in the island’s capital and brought together more than 60,000 spectators interested in the wide variety of tournaments that were held: from national competitions for amateurs to international leagues for professional eSports teams. A wide selection of electronic sports that places Tenerife in a favourableposition in the eSports sector.
TLP: eSports tournaments galore
Had the organisers of the Tenerife Lan Party 2019 been told at the start that one day they would host the final of an international league, they probably wouldn’t have believed it.
However, that is what happened this year. Tenerife gamers were able to enjoy the live final of the Spanish ESL Masters ‘Counter Strike: Global Offensive’.
The group of professional players Offset Esport won the title of the fifth season of the tournament promoted by ESL, the largest eSports company in the world; and globally sponsored by Movistar. A victory for Offset Esport, but also a way of highlighting Tenerife’s involvement in the eSportssector.
The Tenerife Lan Party also holds important competitions for the national biggest eSports leagues. Under the name Island of Legends, Tenerife players had the opportunity to be part of the Circuito Tormenta, the largest amateur eSports competition in Spain. People in Santa Cruz de Tenerife could connect withmultiple tournaments held all across Spain, thanks to the collaboration with Riot Games, the League of Legends videogame developer.
But we don’t have to only speak in the past tense. The next big eSports event to be held in the Tenerife capital is the grand finale of the Orange ‘League of Legends’ Super-League. We don’t know what it is about Tenerife that gets people hooked. This is the fourth time an LVP tournament is taking place on the island.
TLP Innova
The Tenerife Lan Party has not overlooked the growth possibilities of the eSports games.
The large number of videogame companies established on the island, and the increasing number of Tenerife professionals who are highly qualified in the field, has led to training becoming an important pillar for the TLP Tenerife.
“All the companies are seeing […] that young people are no longer watching and playing football, and are becoming the ‘masters’ of a team in charge of a computer/console”. Pablo Canosa, sponsorship director of Team Heretics.
Under the brand TLP Innova, internationally renowned and prestigious companies such as Google and IBM have organised training days related to programming, answering questions about software application development and other disciplines that are essential for the future of eSports.
These collaborations have given very positive results. Not only for eSports professionals in the Canaries, but also for companies from the videogame sector to see the potential of the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
Eon Reality, a multinational from Silicon Valley specialised in the training of new technologies, recently chose the Canary Islands as its headquarters from all regions of Spain.
Without question, this choice is a great boost for the development of virtual reality apps and AR (augmented reality) videogames. The improvement in the training of Tenerife residents will qualify them to create the virtual elements of eSports which will create the gamers paradise of the near future.
Will Tenerife play a role in the creation of this future?
It already has the talent and the opportunities; it just needs to make the most of them.