World Gaming Magazine

17 WGM #62 2018/09 wgm8.com 方兴未艾 澳门的其他博彩营运商，最近也开始对电竞表示感兴 趣，包括澳门博彩控股；隶属澳门博彩控股的新葡京曾于 去年十二月赞助刀塔2 澳门MDL新葡京杯赛事。刀塔2 是 多人在线战斗竞技场游戏，亦是全球最受欢迎的电竞项目 之一。于去年十二月举行的赛事，吸引了来自中国、美 国、俄罗斯、乌克兰、菲律宾和秘鲁等九个国家的队伍参 加，争夺高达30万美元的奖金。 美高梅中国等博彩营运商，亦开始密切注视电竞的发 展趋势。去年，联席主席及执行董事何超琼曾表示，科技 将在未来澳门电竞发展中发挥重要作用。 出席2017年度澳门休闲科技展时，她说：「我们当然 意识到人们对电竞的兴奋之情。」 「电竞是崭新的领域，本身亦在经历演变。随着新科 技的出现及专用场地的落成，我估计在未来段时间里，将 会出现翻天覆地的突破性改变。」 话虽如此，何超琼还是希望澳门能发展成亚洲电竞中 心。 她解释说：「现阶段，与其急不及待地举办一两项赛 事，我宁可集中精力做好基础设施并加强自身能力，以便 在时机成熟时把握机会，进而发展成亚洲电竞中心。」 美狮美高梅刚于年初开幕，旗下的美高梅剧院大有可 能在不久的将来举办电竞赛事。美高梅剧院可容纳2,000 人，场内设有十多种不同配置，并配有举行900平方米4K 超高清LED屏幕，其规模之巨大，相当于三个网球场。 何超琼说：「这将自然地成为电竞项目的首选场所。」 On the rise Other gaming operators in Macau have also shown an interest in eSports in recent times, including SJM whose Grand Lisboa Hotel sponsored the MDL Macau Dota2 International Elite Invitational last December. Dota2 is another MOBA and one of the most popular eSports titles on the planel. The December event attracted nine teams from China, the USA, Russia, Ukraine, Philippines and Peru to battle for a share of the US$300,000 prize pool. Others, such as MGMChina, are keeping a close eye on developments with Co-Chairperson and Executive Director Pansy Ho stating last year that technology would play an important role in the sport’s Macau future. “Of course, we know that everyone now is very excited about eSports,” she said at MGS Entertainment Show in 2017. “It is the new game on the block. But even eSports is going through an evolution and I anticipate there will be many new generational developments in a very short space of time with new technologies and more specialized architecture.” Nevertheless, Ho is keen for Macau to become Asia’s eSports hub. “At the moment, the best thing to do is, rather than jumping into making one or two events, I would rather spend more effort on enhancing our infrastructure to enhance our capabilities so that when the time is right we will be positioned to step forward as the preferred base for eSports in Asia,” she said. Don’t be surprised to see MGM Theater at MGM COTAI – which opened earlier this year – host its own eSports events in the near future. The venue, with capacity for 2,000 people, can be arranged in more than 10 different configurations and features a giant 900 square meter 4K (ultra HD) LED screen equivalent to the size of three tennis courts. “This can automatically become the venue of choice when it comes to eSports,” Ho said.