‘Fragadelphia’: St. Clair College students help run premiere Esports tournament

An Esports tournament took place at St. Clair College over the weekend, run by students.

A high-level Esports tournament played out in Windsor with the help of students at St. Clair College.

The school hosted Fragadelphia 19, a tournament focused on 5v5 first-person shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS-GO), at the Nexus Arena on St. Clair’s main campus.

Play featured 35 teams vying for cash from the $35,000 USD prize pool, which featured a grand prize of $18,000.

The tournament marks U.S.-based Fragadelphia’s first event held in Canada as the prominence of Esports continues to rise globally.

“It started really small, right, hotel ballrooms, people playing at home online, and now we’re seeing venues like this spring up around the United States and Canada that are essentially how collegiate sports is going to enter e-sports,” explained Stephen Csikos, founder of Fragadelphia.

Since Thursday, the four-day production has been livestreamed with the help of students on campus, hoping to break into the industry.

Opportunity

Of the 40 staff needed to run the event, about half are students, mostly from St. Clair, according to event organizers.

Roles include administration, stage management, production, directing and broadcasting.

Evan Johnson, a commentator for the event, is entering his second year in the Esports Administration and Entrepreneurship program at St. Clair.

Throughout his first year, Johnson said they helped organize a series of large events and show their talents.

“This is definitely the biggest thing we’ve ever done, so it is really nice to see at St. Clair,” Johnson told CTV News.

On the mic, Johnson said preparation was lengthy to ensure he was equipped with accurate information to never leave a moment of silence.

“So doing research on the teams, on the players, making sure that the storylines are accurate, you know, trying to set up the drama, like this is why you should care about these players, like this is why this player is special,” Johnson explained.

It’s Johnson’s hope that opportunities provided at St. Clair, such as hosting Fragadelphia 19, will help set him up for a career in Esports.

Self-defined as a “semi-professional” event, Csikos said they embrace an environment where staff can make mistakes and learn without facing repercussions.

“We want to make sure we’re as close as we can to being a professional event, but I would love for kids to make mistakes,” Csikos remarked.

“I just want the students to have a really good time doing something.”

Through the exposure, students receive experience in a high-level setting, which can be used when looking for job opportunities.

Why Windsor?

For Csikos, Windsor presents itself as a “sister city,” where it provides an affordable market with a large city in Detroit nearby.

“We are right next to a large metro airport, and Windsor has the appeal that we need, where it’s like the players can come here and have affordable housing, especially on the college campus in the summer.”

Part of the venture, Csikos noted, is choosing a market where attendees who lose can still find stuff to do, whether it be attending a restaurant or visiting a casino.

Presented as an “entry-level” tournament, organizers focus on an environment that allows anyone to participate without barriers.

“We want to make sure that places we go aren’t cost-prohibitive to them and are affordable.

From an infrastructure standpoint, the college’s existing setup for Esports meant organizers could travel with less gear.

While Windsor marked Fragadelphia’s first venture into Canadian-hosted events, Csikos expects it won’t be their last in the city.

“If it goes really well, we want to lock in because we’re not full-time and we want to put our efforts into the more of the sales cycle, or the business side, or we were trying to get sponsors,” he explained.