Over the last couple years DCAESC and GEXCon have been working more and more closely together. We have decided to formalize our relationship and it is now time to make it official. DC Area Esports Club is now a subsidiary of the company behind GEXCon, FIAD Entertainment Group, LLC, and will now operate under the name GEX DC Area Esports. This arrangement will allow for constant collaboration and sharing of resources resulting in more frequent events and expanding our gaming communities.
Since starting the group at the end of 2014 we have held or helped with dozens of events and tournaments. How will things change? First of all, we will be working closely with GEXCon to share hardware resources to have a more consistent LAN setup as well as the ability to hold some non-byoc events.
Our group’s focus has been on in-person events since that is what was lacking in our region. We have also had our biggest successes with CSGO so with limited resources (time) that has been our focus. Moving forward we want to improve the group’s overall consistency across multiple games, add online activities and bring more exposure to successful members of our community.
Consistency
In the past, event scheduling has been dependent on availability of group leaders. At times events have been monthly but then large gaps occur after personal, community and venue scheduling conflicts arise. Our goal from here on out is to have a consistent approach to events and each game community that we choose to focus on. This will be achieved by having community leaders for each game, an online community platform where everyone can share their thoughts, and regular online activities to keep the community engaged between events.
Online Platform
The original focus of the DC Area Esports Club was exclusively in-person events. However, we believe that in order to keep a community active there needs to be a central place for everyone to communicate, see updated info on the community, ask questions, and organize for online and offline events. For these reasons we are launching a communities section of our new website based on the Discourse forum system. After joining you will be able to indicate your interest in specific games and topics then receive notifications about just those areas. We will be constantly updating and tweaking how the platform works to best fit the needs of the community.
Local Community Coverage
Our area has a wide range of esports competitors as well as streamers, casters, analysts and businesses. Just around 495 could be the next up and coming pro, down 95 could be a top streamer and the district could be home to a couple of pro teams in games you would not otherwise follow. We will be producing articles and interviews about members of the community to bring to light the amazing people working their way up in their competitive career or professionally in the esports industry. There will also be a streams area where, in addition to our live and recent event broadcasts, there will be spotlights on local streamers and other streams important to the community.
Community Leaders
One area where the group has been lacking for many years is consistent planning of activities for every esports game we would like to support. We will be forming a group of local players to act as leaders for their game. They will advise on how best to serve their community, assist in moderation of discussions and support online activities. This group will be the primary pool for tournament admin at event and have an opportunity to staff larger events.
GEXCon 2018 at Dulles Expo Center Aug 31st to Sept 2nd
Many of you have been to FIAD’s annual gaming events in Fredericksburg Virginia. First with the League of Legends East Coast Convention (LEc²) in 2015 and then the last two years of GEXCon, the Gaming and Entertainment eXperience Convention. This year, GEXCon 2018 will be held at the Dulles Expo Center! The convention is now just a quick drive, or uber ride from the metro, for those in the DC area.
We will be assisting in multiple areas at the event and hope to see a huge turnout. N3rd Street Gamers will be hosting the Cougar $10,000 CSGO DC Open. There will also be a big Rocket League prized tournament, free play tournaments for our other games and much more to be announced soon!
What now? Join the community, online activities and upcoming event dates
Sign up on our communities area to discuss the past and future of the group. Enabled notifications and subscribe to your community. We will be releasing info soon about online community nights soon.
Keep an eye out for news and upcoming events…
June 9/10th – Celebrate Fairfax – Rocket League Tournament @ PSIStorm Cup VI
June 16th – CSGO Bootcamp and more
June 17th – Overwatch Stage 4 Finals watch party
July 28th – Overwatch Season 1 Finals watch party
Aug 25th – Dota2 Championships – The International watch party
Aug 31st – Sept 2nd – GEXCon 2018 @ Dulles Expo Center
Aug 31st – Sept 2nd – Cougar $10,000 CSGO DC Open @ GEXCon
Sept 23rd – CSGO FaceIt Major Finals watch party
We will be transitioning our social media and other pieces over throughout the summer.