The eLions, Belgium's elite Esports basketball team, put on a valiant effort in the second eFIBA European Qualifier but came up just short of advancing to the next round.&nbsp;<h2 style="text-align:justify;">The eLions are Determined to Bounce Back in Future Qualifiers</h2>It was a nerve-wracking day for the eLions as they competed in the second eFIBA Season European Qualifier. Placed in Group B, the team faced off against some tough competition in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Cyprus, and Lithuania.Despite winning against Cyprus (68-38) and Lithuania (60-49), the eLions were unable to secure a spot in the next round, losing close matches to Portugal (62-58) and Germany (47-74) and falling to Spain (52-70). The tension in the air was tangible as each game came down to the wire, leaving the fate of the eLions in their own hands.Players Bryan Badjie, Julien Leitner, Emrecan Orhan, Bilal Raddouh, and Shawn Vervaeke all put in strong performances for the eLions, but it wasn't enough to advance. Despite the loss, the team remains determined to improve and come back stronger in future competitions.<h2 style="text-align:justify;">FIBA and BESF, a calculated 3-pointer!&nbsp;</h2>The partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the Belgian Esports Federation (BESF) started two years ago with back-and-forth meetings between Mark Bogaerts and Samy Bessi. The meetings seemed successful as the eFIBA European Qualifier was hosted by the Belgian Esports Federation (BESF) at the Gare Maritime Base Camp in Brussels. The event was live-streamed on Twitch and had over 100 live viewers in attendance at the base camp, adding to the already high-pressure atmosphere.&nbsp;Currently, a captain has been chosen by the BESF to form the team, but the federation is optimistic that as the number of NBA2K fans in Belgium increases, it will be able to host a Belgian Cup in the future as a way to discover and nurture local talent.The successful event marks a big step forward for the FIBA in the world of Esports, and the eLions will be sure to be back to compete again in future tournaments.

The eLions, Belgium's elite Esports basketball team, put on a valiant effort in the second eFIBA European Qualifier but came up just short of advancing to the next round. 

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eLions Roar in Close Defeat during the eFIBA European Qualifier.

<h2>Thursday, January 5th – Seminar Esports performance and coaching: the ins and outs&nbsp;</h2>After a short introduction of the BESFs 5 Pillars and a general outline by Jos Verschueren, the director of postgraduate sports at the VUB and BESF commissioner for education and research, the seminar began by discussing various topics related to coaching and performance in the esports scene.<h3>Markus Moëckel about the working of the Esports Bund Deutschland (ESBD)&nbsp;</h3>Markus, the head of the German Esports Federation's academy, spoke about the creation and goals of the ESBD and its academy. As a sports scientist and sport psychological coach, Markus emphasized the crucial role that coaches play in esports at every level, from grassroots to the top 0.01%. However, he noted that there is still a lack of awareness and expectations for coaches in the field. In response to this gap, the ESBD established its academy to provide a curriculum for coaches at all levels. The aim of the ESBD academy is to increase awareness of the importance of coaching in esports and to have more educated coaches in the industry.&nbsp;<h3>Matthew Watson &amp; James ‘Torok’ Thomsen about the International Federation of Esports Coaches (IFoEC)&nbsp;</h3>Matthew Watson, director of Learning and Development at the International Federation of Esports Coaches (IFoEC) and James Thomsen, Coach and student of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick performed a well-coordinated duet between the two, continuously altering between theory and practice. Matthew shared his concerns about the lack of focus on player development and the shift in motivation from intrinsic (playing for fun) to extrinsic (needing to win to keep one's job) in esports organizations. He also discussed the physical and emotional toll this shift can take on players, including the risk of burnout and depression. Parallel to this, Matthew's studies have proven that there is a lack of clear career paths for coaches, who often must focus on short-term goals in order to prove themselves worthy rather than on long-term development. James, a coach since the age of 16, corroborated many of Matthew's observations and provided personal insights from his own career. He also expressed a desire for more support in reaching the top levels of coaching in esports.&nbsp;<h3>Anton Van Gorp his findings as a Complexity CS:GO analyst and assistant Coach&nbsp;</h3>Following a short coffee break, Anton, the CS:GO analyst and assistant coach for Complexity, shared his expertise as a coach and analyst for the team. Anton highlighted the importance of team balance in achieving success, stating that the right combination of egos, roles, and personalities is necessary for a team to perform at its best. He emphasized that it is not always necessary to have the best players individually, but rather the right mix of players who can work together effectively. Continuing the theme of team balance, Anton emphasized the importance of team balance and the role of the coach in achieving it. A good coach should listen to and adapt to the needs of their players, rather than imposing a playstyle that does not fit the team. Anton noted that a coach who is willing to learn and adapt is crucial for success, while a bad coach might hinder it by forcing a mismatched playstyle.&nbsp;<h3>Matthias Dewilde on battling game addiction with gamechangers&nbsp;</h3>Matthias, the co-founder of GameChangers, an organization dedicated to addressing game addiction, started his presentation that began with a personal biography about his own experiences with gaming. As a young man, Matthias found himself increasingly isolated and consumed by games like FIFA and World of Warcraft, neglecting other hobbies and relationships. However, a power outage forced him to confront his own loneliness and lack of social skills, and he began working on himself and building relationships outside of gaming. This led him to start GameChangers, where he provides support and coaching to people struggling with similar issues, using a structured approach. Matthias also helps (re)connect parents with their children and help them navigate the world of online gaming.&nbsp;<h3>Rudy Heylen wrapping up esports in brief&nbsp;</h3>Rudy Heylen, a mental coach and owner of Heavy Mental, concluded the seminar with a summary of the presentations given by the other speakers. Rudy described coaches as having a presence in every aspect of the esports industry, like a centipede with many legs. He also emphasized the importance of coaches being open to concept of “not knowing” in order to handle situations effectively and help their players perform to their full potential. Rudy encouraged coaches to listen to their players and adapt to their needs rather than imposing their own ideas on the team. Overall, the third Esports seminar on performance and coaching, hosted by BESF, VUB, and EGO, was a success. Topics covered included the role of coaches in esports, the importance of team balance, and strategies for addressing game addiction. The seminar featured speakers who provided insights and expertise on these topics. Overall, the seminar offered valuable insights and discussion on key issues related to coaching and performance in the esports industry.

Learn about the crucial role of coaches in esports and the importance of team balance in achieving success at the Seminar on Esports Performance and Coaching. Hear from experts on the German Esports Federation's academy, the International Federation of Esports Coaches, and more.

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BESF and VUB to host third Esports seminar on performance and coaching 

After winning his first eFootball match against Djibouti (3-2, 3-2), Mikail 'FETIH1453ElTurco' Gonen defeated the Maldives (7-1, 5-1). He did well to beat Great Britain (2-0, 1-1, 3-1) in the round of 16, but lost unfortunately against the tournament favourites: Brazil. Then, Brazil won against Turkey and will play the tournament final against Iran tomorrow.&nbsp;In <a href="https://www.besf.be/teams/street-fighter">Street Fighter</a>, our Lotto Team representative Richard 'PiKaH' Donders won his first match against Libya but lost to Ghana.&nbsp;Congratulations to Mikail for joining the top 8! A great experience that will be remembered for a long time, see you at the next competition with the Belgian eSports federation!

A great experience that will be remembered for a long time, see you at the next competition with the Belgian eSports federation!  

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Mikail Gonen in the eFootball top 8 at the GEG 2022

The Belgian eSports Federation (BeSF) and the Lotto national team players have arrived at the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti where the Global Esports Games 2022 will take place. Richard 'PiKaH' Donders will compete in <a href="/teams/street-fighter">Street Fighter</a> while our new representative, Mikail 'FETIH1453ElTurco' Gonen, will compete in <a href="/teams/eFootball">eFootball</a>.&nbsp;Our eFootball representative, Jon 'Milan7Jon' Bruno, was unfortunately unable to join the tournament due to a broken wrist. We wish him a speedy recovery.&nbsp;The first stages of the festivities start today: PiKaH will face the island of Guam under the Belgian tricolour flag and Mikail Gonen will face Djibouti in a BO3 format.&nbsp;Let's wish the best to our Lotto National Team!

he Belgian eSports Federation (BeSF) and the Lotto National Team players have arrived at the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti.

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The Belgian delegation has arrived in Istanbul for the Global Esports Games 2022!

The Global Esports Games 2022 will be held from 15 to 17 December in the megalopolis of Istanbul!&nbsp;Istanbul 2022 Global Esports Games will welcome athletes from all over the world, proudly representing their home nations and territories to compete at the highest level.&nbsp;Players from the national <a href="/teams/street-fighter">Street Fighter</a> and <a href="/teams/eFootball">eFootball</a> scene will fly to Istanbul to claim the title that is at stake.&nbsp;Let's wish the best to our Lotto National Team players : Richard Donders aka PiKaH and Jon Bruno aka Milan7Jon!

The Global Esports Games 2022 will be held from 15 to 17 December in the megalopolis of Istanbul

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The Global Esports Games 2022 will be held in Istanbul 

The CS:GO national team and the representatives of the Belgian Esports Federation were honourably received in the island city of Bali. 31 nations including Belgium were represented in this world-class competition.&nbsp;Belgium was in the qualifying group E with Germany, the Czech Republic and Montenegro. Belgium finished second in the group with two wins and one loss.&nbsp;Then came the play-offs: the first opponent, Mongolia, defeated our national team and went on to reach the quarter-finals with Germany.&nbsp;The Belgian team left with a wealth of experience that will help them in future competitions!

31 nations including Belgium were represented in this world-class competition.  

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Belgian CS:GO team reaches the play-offs

Our national CS:GO team flew to Bali this Wednesday morning accompanied by the Belgian Esports Federation (BeSF).&nbsp;The 14th World Esports Championships will take place from 1 to 12 December. 500,000 dollars in cash prizes will be awarded to the best athletes from 106 different countries.&nbsp;As for the CS:GO competition, the festivities will start on 2 December at 3 am. Will our Belgian players be able to stand out among more than 600 e-athletes? That's what we'll see.

The Belgian delegation flies to Bali with representatives of the Belgian e-sport federation

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The Belgian delegation flies to Bali

BeSF organised a meeting with the residents of the Acacias nursing home on Monday 21 November. The seniors were able to discuss topics such as e-sports and video games.&nbsp;Three activities were proposed to them: a game of Just Dance, a Mario Kart on Nintendo Switch and a test of the Oculus Rift, the latest virtual reality headset.&nbsp;The meeting was a great success and allowed the seniors to live a new experience through activities different from their daily life.

BeSF organised a meeting with the residents of the Acacias nursing home on Monday 21 November.

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BeSF welcomed the seniors of the Acacias nursing home 

The BeSF organised the Esports Family Day on 20 November.&nbsp;The event brought together parents and children on the themes of video games and esports and allowed them to spend a convivial day.&nbsp;Actors and representatives of the Belgian esport world were present to answer their questions.&nbsp;The day was a great success!

The event brought together parents and children on the themes of video games and esports. 

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BeSF organised the Esports Family Day

It has been a month since the IESF qualifiers have ended and our four national teams had qualified themselves for the Finals that will take place in the upcoming days in Eilat, Israel. An amazing performance that we never managed to achieve before.&nbsp;Nonetheless, it is with great sadness that today, we have to announce the withdrawal of the competition for three of our teams (CS:GO, DOTA 2, eFootball).&nbsp;Despite the immense work of the differents teams and the BESF to make all of this possible, the travel and entry restrictions on Israeli territory resulting from the health crisis are forcing us to make this decision.&nbsp;As a result, we inform you that only our TEKKEN player, PikaH, will represent Belgium’s colors at the event. Thanks a lot to all our fans and sorry for those of you who expected us there.&nbsp;We will come back stronger next year.

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BESF and Belgium will only send one team to Eilat for IESF World Championship 2021

This year’s Belgian Game Awards was particularly important for us as we presented the esport award with a jury of experts in the domain. You might have seen the TV show but we have some behind the scenes for you. Imagine yourself as an avatar, appearing on the shore of the Belgian Game Awards Island ! Yes events can now be held on a fully online basis as we have seen. On a website called gather.town you’ll be able to create an entire city,island or whatever social place you want to be visited by your collaborators or fans.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/BGA_island_map_2fa4f5303a.png" alt="BGA_island_map.png"></figure>&nbsp;Once in here, use your microphone and camera to talk to the other characters and people around you. In private spaces or on the other hand in plain view for everyone to hear your speech ! In the end we passed a few hours there enjoying the content. Mainly the nominees being interviewed live on the Island, but the whole show you saw on TV with the discussions around us. A little exotic trip out of our homes with esports fans and friends ! Congratulations to our Esports awards winners :<figure class="table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Tarmac Online Session (Event of the Year)</td><td>Targmas (Esport Player of the Year)</td><td>Targmas (Esport Rookies Player of the Year)</td></tr><tr><td><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/Tarmac_Online_Sessions_2_4419089cc8.png" alt="Tarmac_Online_Sessions-2.png" srcset="https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/thumbnail_Tarmac_Online_Sessions_2_4419089cc8.png 140w,https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/small_Tarmac_Online_Sessions_2_4419089cc8.png 450w,https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/medium_Tarmac_Online_Sessions_2_4419089cc8.png 675w," sizes="100vw"></figure></td><td><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/Targamas_Esport_Player_of_the_Year_2_a636db627c.png" alt="Targamas_Esport_Player_of_the_Year-2.png" srcset="https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/thumbnail_Targamas_Esport_Player_of_the_Year_2_a636db627c.png 140w,https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/small_Targamas_Esport_Player_of_the_Year_2_a636db627c.png 450w,https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/medium_Targamas_Esport_Player_of_the_Year_2_a636db627c.png 675w," sizes="100vw"></figure></td><td><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/Slyex_Esport_Rookie_Player_of_the_Year_2_e69ff908ad.png" alt="Slyex_Esport_Rookie_Player_of_the_Year-2.png" srcset="https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/thumbnail_Slyex_Esport_Rookie_Player_of_the_Year_2_e69ff908ad.png 140w,https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/small_Slyex_Esport_Rookie_Player_of_the_Year_2_e69ff908ad.png 450w,https://besf-prod.s3.nl-ams.scw.cloud/medium_Slyex_Esport_Rookie_Player_of_the_Year_2_e69ff908ad.png 675w," sizes="100vw"></figure></td></tr></tbody></table></figure>&nbsp;

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The Belgian Game Awards 2021 online

Since last week was held the european qualifier for the 13th IESF World Championship. Belgium was one of the participants in the 4 game titles, counting Efootball PES, Tekken 7, CSGO and Dota 2.&nbsp;Our national teams already knew the IESF qualifiers as last year they tried their best but ended not playing in Eilat as the Offline stage was cancelled due to sanitary reasons. At that time only PiKaH, our Tekken representative, managed to qualify. But each year is a new history yet to be built !&nbsp;And so we did. All our rosters entered this year’s qualifier with a fresh and determined mind ! Even going through problems such as connection instability or tight planning, esport finds its ways.&nbsp;One week later all the teams are qualified and we are really proud of their work and engagement for their country. Representing something of this scale can be stressful and the level of competition being at its highest, there isn’t much room for error.&nbsp;But it is now official, we’ve broken a new national record as Belgium managed to qualify all their rosters to Eilat ! Maybe even an international record, but for that we will have to ask for a confirmation from the IESF archives. The Belgian era is now officially on the table.&nbsp;Wishing now the best of luck to all our athletes. See you next November at Eilat in Israel, we are hoping for the Belgian esport community to follow us there !

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