On the 27th of April 2022, it was announced that the Republic of Gamers (ROG) organization had merged to become Kon10DR Esports.
In a bid to get more information about the arrangement and the general vision of Kon10DR Esports, Nexal Gaming decided to have an interview with the founder, who is no other person than Sidney Esiri A.K.A Dr SID.
Stephen: WHY KON10DR?
Dr SID: When I got into gaming with Sidizens, I felt that there was a gap in Esports in Nigeria that needed to be filled. My first instinct was that it was about players and getting into teams but in the process of getting players across titles, I realized that I probably picked up more than I could handle.
I had to revamp and look at the Esports model in Nigeria, and I realized that I was just trying to create Manchester United without a Premier League. I realized that, while there were tournaments, there was no Premier League to ensure the highest quality of performance. Big shoutout to Gamr Africa and other organisations that are doing things to change this.
Kon10DR was formed to create premium Esports tournaments and to encourage players to compete and do things at a professional level. While on the consumer side, it is to create content that is watchable and up to standard.
Stephen: WHAT HAS BEEN THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE IN KON10DR’S JOURNEY SO FAR?
Dr SID: On the positives, we have done well to create awareness, as people are excited about what we do.
On the difficulties, it will be majorly around putting together the right team and this is due to the fact that Esports is something that is not mainstream in Nigeria. This is why finding people with the right expertise to handle certain aspects of Kon10Dr has proven difficult.
We are currently reverted to training and we are currently for different roles at Kon10Dr Esports. We are looking for content creators, community managers and game masters who are specialists in specific games.
Fan engagement has also been a difficult thing to navigate, as we want fans to be as invested as players.
Stephen: WHAT CAN BE THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF FAN ENGAGEMENT?
DR SID: We are spending a lot to ensure that we create watchable contents that fans can consume. In doing this, we have to ensure that the viewers watch also.
To this extent, we will love it if viewers can follow us on our social media platforms so that they do not miss out on the content.
Stephen: WHY ROG AND WHY THE ROUTE OF ACQUISITION?
DR SID: I want to first of all give a round of applause to the guys who ran the Republic of Gamers (ROG) in Chikere and Eric. They handled the Call of Duty Mobile qualification for the Kon10DR Esports championship last year and it was impressive.
I would like to call what we did more of an alignment instead of an acquisition because aligning with them allows us to give them more resources to do the fantastic job that they have been doing and on our end, it takes a massive load off us, as they are specialists in the game.
Stephen: IS THERE GOING TO BE ALIGNMENT/ACQUISITION FOR OTHER TITLES?
DR SID: Yes. We are definitely looking to expand across titles and it serves us well to align with the current communities rather than build another community from scratch. We are open to discussing with existing communities so that we can come together as one movement.
Stephen: WHAT DID THE ALIGNMENT WITH ROG COST?
DR SID: We are building a strong brand with ROG and as such, I will not call it an acquisition but rather, it is an alignment.
There are some financial arrangements going on, but ultimately it is not about the numbers.
Stephen: WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR THE KON10DR ESPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP
DR SID: It was initially slated for August, but we had to move it to December so that we can plan better. I have been distracted due to my commitments to filmmaking, as my movie comes out in June.
We are in discussions with 10N8E because we would love to use their leaderboard to give points to teams that will be invited to the KEC. We will also be putting out events and Scrims up until October, which will give teams points for the invitation to KEC.
Stephen: WHAT ARE THE LESSONS LEARNT WITH SIDIZENS GAMING SO FAR? AND WHAT IS THE REVAMP PROCESS LOOKING LIKE?
DR SID: One major thing to note about the current structure of Sidizens Gaming is that I stepped down as the CEO, due to an obvious conflict of interest. The new CEO is Arthur Ngwube, who is an avid gamer. Due to this change, I have no input on the day-to-day running of the company.
The team is currently streamlined, as we have a very active PUBG team. The team is involved in major tournaments like the PMCO, and NPL. The unofficial motto now is to build slowly.
We currently have top FIFA players like Imaji Faruna and Arogs on our roster, and we want to make sure that we give our players the support they need to compete.
We are trying to bring on talents that understand what it means to be a professional athlete and understand the long-term value that is in it.
Stephen: WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THE EMERGING AREA OF BLOCKCHAIN GAMING?
DR SID: We are still trying to fully understand the blockchain gaming space, as I think that it is a good idea but I still have certain reservations.
It is definitely something we can look into.
