The 1st M(U)INI eSports Conference: Project Evaluation, Implementation, and Future Improvements
Vol.20,No.1(2026)
This conference report presents the outcomes of the 1st M(U)INI eSports Conference (MeSC), held on 28 November 2025 at Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. The event aimed to establish an interdisciplinary platform connecting faculties of Sports Studies, Informatics, Law, Economics, Social Studies, and Arts to address the fragmented nature of esports research. The morning academic programme featured six student presentations in English and Czech, while the afternoon session at the Czech National Championship in Computer Games enabled direct engagement with professional players and coaches from the partner team SINNERS. Key findings confirm that serious esports scholarship requires integration across legal, economic, psychological, and physiological perspectives. The conference demonstrated that university–industry collaboration, particularly with professional teams serving as “lead users,” provides unique research opportunities unavailable in laboratory settings. Tangible outcomes include consensus on establishing an institutional esports platform at Masaryk University and the publication of this collection of student abstracts. Areas for improvement identified include earlier submission deadlines, broader faculty involvement, hybrid delivery formats, and sustainable financing models. The report concludes that Masaryk University has significant potential to become a key node in Central and Eastern European esports research, bridging academic inquiry with professional practice.
esports; conference report; interdisciplinary research; university–industry collaboration; Masaryk University
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