"We are really focused on creating something special for Asian Counter-Strike": eXTREMESLAND Organizer

eXTREMESLAND 2024 came to an end a couple of weeks back with an electrifying six-day LAN event in Shanghai, China. This was the first eXTREMESLAND iteration after the COVID-19 pandemic to include regional qualifiers. The LAN brought sixteen teams from different regions through qualifiers. These sixteen teams locked horns across four groups, leading into an eight team single elimination bracket playoffs.

After nearly five years, the Indian slot was reinstated at eXTREMESLAND and it was Gods Reign who represented India after booking their slot through the regional qualifier where they took down True Rippers on LAN at LXG, Bengaluru. However the Indian team crashed out of the LAN in Shanghai with a 1-2 record in the group stage. XO Esports from the Middle-East took down Chinggis Warriors, Rare Atom and ATOX in the playoffs to win the event.

After the event we got a chance to be involved in a conversation with eXTREMESLAND's Manager in China, Frank who is also involved with Zowie and Joshua who is in-charge of eXTREMESLAND's overseas division. The duo spoke about what makes eXTREMESLAND special, what they aim to deliver for the Asian Counter-Strike scene and how they connect and align their goals with potential sponsors.

How do you ensure that an event stands out in a competitive calendar? What makes the event memorable?

Since the first eXTREMESLAND (2016) we have made it our focus to make it different from other tournaments. For instance, if we look at the teams, they all come from different regions through qualifiers and not all these teams have made a name for themselves or are famous in the Counter-Strike world but soon people will know who those players are, what teams they play for and what they do best. That's what eXTREMESLAND is all about, we want to give a chance to all Asian gamers to step up and prove themselves on an international stage, competing against world-class teams like Rare Atom, TYLOO, etc. We think that Asia's tournament ecosystem as compared to the US or EU is not that advanced and that is the gap that we want to bridge, that is why we do eXTREMESLAND, that is why gamers remember eXTREMESLAND.
Frank, Manager, eXTREMESLAND China

What are some of the challenges you face when working with teams and sponsors from so many different regions and then bringing them all together for a LAN like this?

Each sponsor has their own requests for a tournament like this. Zowie is our biggest sponsor, we are from Zowie as well and a lot of sponsors will try to get maximum exposure for their products but Zowie just focuses on making the Counter-Strike scene better in our region because the products are made to cater to Counter-Strike gamers and with the scene we thrive. That's probably the difference between Zowie and others, we try our best to satisfy everyone who is involved in the event.
Frank, Manager, eXTREMESLAND China

Adding to what my partner (Frank) said, in order to have these sponsors they need to believe in us that we will deliver and most importantly we should share the same values to strengthen the Counter-Strike community in these regions. The thing about eXTREMESLAND is that we are closing the gap between Asian tournaments and the big ones in Europe like ESL, IEM, etc. We are really focused on creating something special for Asian Counter-Strike and once we connect with a partner and align these goals, that's when we have them onboard.
Joshua, in-charge of eXTREMESLAND overseas

When asked about the innovations being implemented towards enhancing the overall eXTREMESLAND experience, Frank goes on to mention how the league constantly evolved starting out as a small studio event and eventually making arrangements for audience to visit and witness these games offline. Joshua then goes on to support Frank's statements and adds that eXTREMESLAND aimed to provide fans and players with the experience of being under a big banner such as ESL or IEM.

What innovations are you implementing to enhance the overall experiences for players and fans?

This is like that ninth Asian event we are hosting and when we started it was just a small tournament in a studio environment. It was step by step improvement to get where we are now, we started expanding the area first, then we invited audience to watch these games offline. These things can be as small as the screen positions in the arena, we make sure that the players have it out of their vision to maintain integrity while giving audience a view into these players reactions while playing the game. Unlike previous events we've put commentators (Chinese and English) in the arena itself to capture the ambience and the crowd, giving fans at home a much more authentic vibe of what's happening.
Frank, Manager, eXTREMESLAND China

Like Frank said, it's about elevating the player experience. We want to make these players feel like they're in a very professional event. They may not be able to play under huge labels like ESL or IEM but at eXTREMESLAND we give these players the same experience and event by event we are closing the gap. We have a lot of watch parties for these games in the APAC region.
Joshua, in-charge of eXTREMESLAND overseas

Can you talk us through what happens behind the scenes when suspicious activity is detected on stage?

In my experience we have found from a long time that tech and tools keep evolving so firstly we want to make the stage open and fair, making sure that the players are competing on a level playing field, that's our main goal every time. All players have SSDs that are properly scanned and then we check the gaming gears of all the players. There's a constant online platform check running to see if everything behaves as expected and an offline referee who has vision on the player's screen at all times, ready to communicate anything suspicious. I cannot say them all, but this is the structure we work around to keep things fair.
Frank, Manager, eXTREMESLAND China

As you know, we organize the last leg of the local qualifier as a LAN in that particular region. This increases the cost by a big margin but that's the distance we're willing to go make sure that everything is fair by using our cameras to keep track of everything and out staff at the venue makes sure that the players have no software in their peripherals and no assistance on their monitors.
Joshua, in-charge of eXTREMESLAND overseas

When asked about steps being taken to support integrity and fair play, Frank goes on to explain how they thoroughly check and scan players' SSDs and peripherals for unwanted software. Joshua adds to the statement by mentioning how they go the extra mile by conducting the last phase of regional qualifiers in a LAN environment to ensure fair play and integrity.

Speaking about the infamous Forsaken incident that scarred the Indian Counter-Strike scene, Joshua points out the way it was handled, how it showed eXTREMESLAND's attitude towards such incidents and how seriousness towards such issues.

After something like the Forsaken incident, what steps have been taken to increase trust and integrity?

I think Forsaken was symbol that we at eXTREMESLAND strictly forbid this kind of behavior. We keep doing one thing, we don't try to improvise too much on it but we stick to it. He has played a lot of tournaments before but it was us at eXTREMESLAND who caught him. For us it is all about principles and making sure that all gamers compete in a fair environment. It was the only instance of cheating at eXTREMESLAND and hope that it will be the only instance.
Frank, Manager, eXTREMESLAND China

Once we figured out that he was cheating, we really showed out attitude. As soon as we found out, we instantly issued a lifetime ban for Forsaken from eXTREMESLAND events. Other big labels like ESL, IEM also noticed this and handed out a ban. So yeah, we showed out attitude that we never allow any unfair activity and if incase someone tries, we take it very seriously.
Joshua, in-charge of eXTREMESLAND overseas