Jerseyman to compete at gaming world finals... virtually

Wednesday 29 August 2018

A Jerseyman is hoping to kick, sprint and conjure his way to first place in the world finals of a top gaming competition... but there's one catch: he'll be doing it virtually.

Tim McGuinness will next month be competing at the VR League World Finals in San José after his Team Gravity came on top at qualifiers for all three games they play in, taking the lead in Europe.

His professional Virtual Reality eSports team will be flying out to the US to compete live on stage in front of thousands, for their share of a $120,000 prize pool.

Established in 2017 by Tim, Team Gravity secured sponsorship from JT earlier this year and has sincegrown from strength to strength. It welcomed two new members, Rick ‘Flushgogo’ Bos and Dennis ‘Affenterror’ Ahrweiler, who are respectively among the top players in the world in Unspoken, “an Oculus Touch‐enabled VR action game that pulls players into a hidden world of spellcasting and magician’s duels,” and Echo Arena, a fast-paced game which mixes basketball and tennis and takes place in space. They join Tim, who both manages and competes with the team, and Philipp ‘Viatrex’ Rietdorf.

Tim explained: “This has been our first season and we are really excited to take part in the World Finals. This season was a bit different. Last year, to qualify for the World Finals it worked a bit like the Premier League where you added points earned each weekend. This year, there was an on-going tournament to quality for a one-day tournament.

“We will be competing in three different virtual reality games. They all have different movement and systems, which is why having team support is really important.”

For those that might think competing in e-sports might be relatively easy, a quick conversation helps dispel the myth as it turns out most games requires as much physical strength as understanding of the techniques. “Swimvector is a racing game where you are racing and sprinting using your arms. It all depends on how fast you move with your arms. You build a sweat in a matter of seconds. I don’t play, I don’t now how Flushgogo does it!

“For Echo Arena, you have to develop your accuracy at throwing, otherwise you end up being all over the place.”

To reach top level in eSports also require regular practice and the team plays at least three or fours hours a day. “It’s the same for a professional footballer, even if he’s not in a big team or has a full-time job. If you don’t practice regularly your ability drops and you are not as good as you can be. We train every day of the week. It can be challenging, it really feels like a sport!

“They are so many parallels in sport and with games, yet you get a better engagement with people you like sports. Gamers understand what eSports are about, but they are not as interested.”

The team is excited to join the World Finals on 26 and 27 September in San José. At least 1,000 people will be in the audience to watch the players compete in four different games, with thousands, if not millions, expected to tune in online to watch. They will be part Oculus Connect 5, which Tim describes as one of the most important conference for VR in the world.

Founder and CEO of Virtex Studios, a local start-up specialising in virtual and augmented reality services, Tim is delighted that he will competing on the same stage where Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook, will delivering a keynote presentation. “It’s the perfect situation and I am really looking forward to it.”

The team is hoping to perform as well as they did previously and “to do the best they can” at the competition. Nabbing part of the a $120,000 prize pool would also be a bonus. 

Pictured: Team Gravity will be competing in three out of four games at the World Finals.

Tim says: “It’s been a bit of a journey to arrive here. Competing in VR was a dream by itself for me.

"Pot gains is obviously a benefit for me and the other players. We are trying to set up something for the future and be at the top of eSports. We want to continue to do more and grow our social following to be able to attract even more sponsors.”