Poles have it all to play for

Poles are among the best professional computer gamers in the world, having won the European Championships this year and last, and at times ranking second or third in the world. In the international gaming community they are well respected, but despite being at the top of their class, most do not even have enough money to buy a new computer.

Professional gaming has been developing since the 1990s. In 1996 Id Software released the first part of the cult game Quake. From that day, more and more multiplayer games have come into existence. In 2000 Samsung Electronics organized the first World Cyber Games, which is the gaming world's version of the Olympics.

Changing technology

A graphic card, sound card or LCD screen bought half a year ago can already be out-of-date. The hardware-components market is developing very rapidly and if someone wants to be a professional gamer, they have to keep up with the latest technology. In Western Europe, the US or Asia, sponsors - usually huge IT companies such as Intel, nVidia or AMD - are developing equipment for pro-gamers. Companies make sure the players they support have the best possible kit, with some even receiving monthly salaries.

This is a far cry from the Polish situation. "Unfortunately, only the best clan [gaming term for team] in Poland, Pentagram Team, and maybe A-losers.msi, are fully sponsored," says Piotr 'Skay' Lenczowski, manager of the United Forces clan, which is considered one of Poland's best. "The rest, even if sometimes almost as good as Pentagram, have minimal sponsorship, such as free hours in an internet cafe."

There are six or seven tournaments in Poland where players can win reasonable prizes besides the satisfaction of being the best. Usually the value of the prize pool in Poland does not exceed zł.10,000-worth of equipment. In the US or Korea players can win several hundred thousand dollars cash and lots of equipment.

Lack of support

"Big companies are seldom interested in the Polish clans. This is very irritating because we are better than the Germans, Swedes or Danes who get much more support from companies than we do," Lenczowski says. "Pro gamers in Asia are like oracles - if they say that something is good, kids buy it. They advertise a firm's products and therefore affect sales. In Poland few seem to understand that simple truth."

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers the value of the computer games market in 2003 reached $24 (zł.82) billion worldwide. Currently, it is close to $30 (zł.102) billion. In comparison, the revenues of the music market reach $36 (zł.123) billion. Companies' profits from computer games in 2005 reached $12 (zł.41) billion. In Poland four million people play computer games and more than 25 percent of them do it on a regular basis. Pro-gamers here say that they could have a major impact on consumer choices.

Brand names

"Many of the normal players from all around the world try to meet with pro gamers like me or my friends and to play against us. I have played with thousands of different people, so have my clan mates. They want to see how good we are and what equipment we use," says Janusz 'Hayabusa' Kubski, a member of the Pentagram Team. "Abit and Creative named some lines of products after an Internet pro-gamer called 'fatal1ty'. Sales levels instantly went up by several percent."

In Poland there are few companies who support e-sports. For the past five years Samsung Electronics Polska has organized the Polish qualification for the World Cyber Games and Heyah recently organized a cybersports event. Pentagram Connexion, also known as Multimedia Vision, is the main sponsor of the best Polish team but other firms seem unwilling to sponsor clans. TP withdrew from sponsorship just after the war in Iraq, with many believing the company was unwilling to sponsor gamers who mainly play games that have war and terrorism as a central theme. Gamers also say the Polish division of AMD received orders from headquarters to stay away from sponsoring Polish pro gamers.

A lack of funds in Polish pro gaming is forcing the country's top gamers to leave their clans here and play for foreign teams. After the next Cyber Games one of the best players from Pentagram Team will leave to become a member of a Greek team that will pay him a monthly salary and equip him properly. Until companies catch up with the level of professionalism among players, Polish gamers will keep joining foreign outfits. As a result technology companies are missing out on a major marketing niche.