Esports Insider is pleased to reveal the agenda and full lineup of speakers for our esports industry event ESI Washington DC.
The event, which is presented by partner LOOT.BET, takes place 16-18th May. As the first esports B2B conference in the US Capital, ESI Washington DC, in partnership with Events DC, will provide delegates with two and a half days of unrivalled events, content and networking.
Organised with support from Cultural Tourism DC, ESI will be hosting a first-of-its-kind Embassies Tour on May 17th where delegates will get exclusive tours of Argentina, Barbados, Saudi Arabia and South Korea’s Embassies. The tours will showcase the different approaches taken by each country’s government in the development and growth of esports.
The tours will then conclude with panels and networking at Eaton DC hotel, including a talent and agencies-focused roundtable courtesy of ESIC. The evening will transition into a social at uptown as well as a stylish diner Crimson DC with live music and trivia.
Hosted at the National Press Club, the conference day on May 18th will feature debates and discussions from some of the biggest thought-leaders from esports and beyond. Speakers at ESI Washington DC include C-Levels and executives, covering the esports teams and tournament organisers, and crossover sectors such as sports, betting and collegiate.
The agenda, which can be viewed in full here, includes:
- SPORTFIVE x Misfits Gaming case study
- Speakers: Hussain Moosvi – CSO – Misfits Gaming Group & Ryan Polun – Head of Esports & Gaming (Americas) – SPORTFIVE
- Open vs Closed – which model works best in esports? A 2022 update
- Speakers: Alex Inglot – Commissioner – ESL Pro League, Evan Frasca – Director of Talent Management – T1 Entertainment & Sports & Hai Ng – Integrity Ambassador – ESIC
- Can esports be a building block of real world communities?
- Speakers: Ben Feferman – Chief Gaming Officer – React Gaming Group, Mary Antieul – VP of Strategy – Vindex, Neil Johnson – VP and Managing Director of Gaming & Esports – HPN Global, Jared Serfozo – CSO – AXR Edge & Joanie Kraut – CEO – Women in Games International
- Esports and the collegiate experience – providing pathways and foundations
- Speakers: Sari Kitelyn – Executive Director, Esports and Project Development – Full Sail University, Joey Gawrysiak – Professor and Director of Esports – Shenandoah University, Grant Paranjape – VP of Esports Business – Washington Justice, Gerald Solomon – Executive Director – NASEF & Rebecca Brock Dixon – CEO – the*gameHERS
- How best can traditional sporting entities make waves in the esports space?
- Speakers: Andrew McNeill – Senior Director of Esports – Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Jordan Zelniker – Esports Strategy – New York Islanders, Ray Smith – Director, Gaming & Esports – NASCAR, James O’Connor – President – Pittsburgh Knights & Tom Zuber – Managing Partner – Zuber Lawler
- 2022 developments – esports betting growth in the USA
- Speakers: Dr Brett Abarbanel – Director of Research – UNLV International Gaming Institute, Martin Lycka – SVP for American Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Gambling – Entain, Vlastimil Venclik – CEO – Oddin.gg, Jason Chung – Counsel – Zuber Lawler & Cody Luongo – Senior PR Associate – JSA + Partners
- Esports ecosystem deepdive
- Speakers: Tahir Hasandjekic – Halo Esports and Viewership Lead – 343 Industries, Steve Csikos – Head of Programming – Nerd Street Gamers, Laurent Benezra – CEO – React Gaming Group, Moritz Maurer – CEO & Founder – GRID & Kye Browning – Director of Customer Success – Gameplan
- Media dollar margins: The oft overlooked revenue channel for esports rights holders
- Speakers: Justin Stefanovic – SVP of Partnerships – Misfits Gaming Group, Chad De Luca – Director, Twitch Properties – Twitch.TV, Rebecca Brock Dixon – CEO – the*gameHERS, Johnny Kutnowski – VP of Product – Blinkfire Analytics & Karen Franzino – VP, Operations – Thece
RELATED: ESI and Redd+E announce partnership and ESI Singapore in July
Sam Cooke, Managing Director & Co-Founder of ESI, commented: “It’s great to be able to return to the US and bring our ESI event to such an iconic location. We understand the essential part events play in building authentic relationships and having key discussions, and that’s why we continue to revive and refresh our offering.
“ESI Washington will play host to so many unique events like the Embassies Tour and I look forward to seeing everyone come together for our return stateside.”
Washington DC kicks off the ESI conference schedule for 2022, which includes three Major global events; the 2022 events brochure is viewable here.
Next on the agenda, ESI will head to Singapore on 5-7th July and London from 5-7th September. ESI Singapore is a joint venture with Redd+E and will showcase ESI’s signature top-notch networking, education and content in Southeast Asia for the very first time.
Alongside ESI Singapore, Esports Insider’s pitch investment competition The Clutch will also make its return in a physical format with applications now open, and closing on May 31st.