See you next year

Dear partners, colleagues, friends, during this year's Gaming Festival – Czech Championship I experienced a whole range of feelings. But one was missing this time. The tense anticipation I usually feel during the first hours of the event, as the hall is only starting to fill up, didn't come. Not because I didn't care — quite the opposite. I just didn't get the chance to feel it. The moment Pavilion P opened we went from zero to a hundred and slipped straight into full festival mode. That's how eager people were. I'm genuinely proud of everyone who contributed to the Czech Championship — whether that was my colleagues, or you, the festival's partners and your teams. In this special newsletter, let's go over together once more what this year's landmark 15th edition of the Gaming Festival – Czech Championship delivered, so you can feel proud right along with me.

The booths were packed — and I know why

Every time I walk around the pavilion, it makes me happy to see how creatively you all work with your booths. At one I check out an exhibition on the history of Czech gaming, at the next I test new computers and peripherals, then I take a swing at a hammer strength tester and finally grab a hot-dog for 10 crowns. I could list dozens more activities like that. We ask visitors on the spot what they like about the Czech Championship, and everyone tends to be drawn in by something different. It's this variety that lets us reach new visitors together — visitors who then become regulars.

A sinful title, dark horses and a title defence

Glory to the winners, honour to the defeated. Congratulations to everyone who took part — especially those who've written themselves into the history of the championship. A record-breaking fourth title from Czechia's most prestigious esports competition, the Tipsport Czech CS Championship, goes to the SINNERS organisation. The return of League of Legends brought a surprise gold for team HELLA FUEGO, and in virtual football, Dominik "Seron" Čermák once again claimed first place at the FC 26 Brno powered by Hyundai tournament — for the second year running. To me, the spectators are also winners. Every year we expand the grandstand, and it's still not enough for the Tipsport Czech CS Championship finals.

Rap and games

The Gaming Festival – Czech Championship is, above all, about fun. That's why we're glad we could continue the tradition and offer a music programme too. I also really value our partnership with the Warhorse Studios team. The Friday evening chamber orchestra performance of music from Kingdom Come: Deliverance II drew in hundreds of people. On Saturday we then teamed up with the band erem for a rap party that ran into the early hours of the morning. All these concerts help us grow our community organically and present your brand and values to new audiences.

Millions of views

On our social media alone, we published more than 300 posts and stories around the Gaming Festival – Czech Championship — half of them live, during the event itself. Together they racked up over 2 million views. On socials we cross-shared and amplified each other's content. Thanks to that, our videos from the individual booths reached higher view counts and got in front of brand-new audiences.

Top story of the weekend

The political situation in Czechia is shifting, I'd rather not get into the global one — and there, on the evening news, runs a report from the Czech Championship. And not just one, of course. My point here is that the festival is no longer just a community affair; it has a serious reach into the mainstream. For the very first time, we also appeared on the evening news on two nationwide TV channels: on Sunday in Hlavní zprávy on FTV Prima, and as early as Friday, the crew from Události dropped by. They put together several reports that aired throughout the whole weekend.