We had the opportunity to interview one of the leading minds behind the Snapdragon Pro Series, ESL FACEIT Group's Simon Eicher, about this competition's growth and, in general, the mobile esports scene.
Two years ago, we interviewed ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) to discuss the debut season of their ambitious new project – a global, multi-genre mobile esports competition known as the Snapdragon Pro Series. At the time, EFG wished to create “incredible experiences for our players, fans, organizations, and partners” and provide players with an opportunity to step into the world of professional esports.
Now, in its third year, the Snapdragon Pro Series continues to persevere in this mission of ushering in a new “era of everyone.” The competition has evolved into something bigger and better, with region-spanning tournaments across a vast catalog of games such as Clash of Clans and Free Fire. Earlier in 2024, EFG announced deepened partnerships with titles such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), Call of Duty: Mobile, and Brawl Stars to expand qualification opportunities and the competition itself across more regions.
Ahead of the Snapdragon Pro Series’ return to gamescom in Cologne for a series of esports action, we had the opportunity to sit down with the Director of Game Ecosystems Mobile at EFG, Simon Eicher. In our interview, we discussed the reasoning behind EFG’s venture into mobile games, the Snapdragon Pro Series’ prospects, and its relationship with other competitions. We hope you enjoy our conversation.
MobileMatters: The Snapdragon Pro Series began a few years ago and continues to grow year-on-year. How do you see it developing in the next five years? What’s the philosophy and the overall vision?
Simon Eicher: We are now in Year 3, with the planning for Year 4 having just been concluded. There’s nothing to spoil yet, but yes, we are working on the future a lot. I think, specifically in mobile gaming, the amazing part is that we see this exponential growth right now. The hours watched, the attendees at our events, etc. – People want mobile competitions. I think we, as an early mover in the area, from a global perspective, and being multi-genre, this is something that can contribute a lot to the continued acceleration of that growth. This also ensures that the Snapdragon Pro Series is, by far, the most relevant and most important esports tournament circuit around mobile competitions.
MobileMatters: Considering EFG’s deep and storied history of esports competitions in other games, what was the reason you dove into mobile gaming?
Simon Eicher: Historically, ESL’s competitions were always PC-heavy. That is correct. But, we have great teams who do great research and in that research, we identified a lot of potential in mobile gaming across the globe, especially in South-East Asia where PC and console gaming plays a secondary or tertiary role in terms of relevance. That’s something we recognized a few years ago and, step-by-step, have worked towards being able to create a product like the Snapdragon Pro Series.
MobileMatters: How does EFG try to differentiate the Snapdragon Pro Series from other competitions that also focus on creating esports tournaments around mobile gaming?
Simon Eicher: ESL has historically been very good at creating its products, and as ESL FACEIT Group that hasn’t changed. There are a lot of others who try to do that. I think we have a very long breath and a very detailed strategy. A few elements we installed while designing the program for Year 3 have fully worked out. That’s why we are confident that, while competition is healthy for the market, other game ecosystems can stare at the Snapdragon Pro Series and see the innovation, motivation, and drive to provide the best circumstances for players to compete in. This is something that we are more than excellent at.
MobileMatters: Do you see this generation of mobile gamers crossing into PC games? Is this overlap between mobile gaming and your traditional esports tournaments something you want to build on?
Simon Eicher: I think it’s probably too early to give a proper answer. I think all of this needs to grow. I think the view in the past few years was that mobile gaming has a lot of potential and I also think developers and publishers now recognize this opportunity. Consumer behavior is constantly changing, especially among the younger generations across platforms.
Yes, that [PC gaming] is a topic. But, we want to focus on mobile. It’s a different kind of lifestyle as you have the device with you on the go. It’s not just the playing aspect – it’s being a part of the community and creating content, social media posts, live productions, etc. It’s a 360 approach in terms of “this is a game that is on mobile, this is the competition, and the entertainment around it.”
MobileMatters: Live esports is a thing worth watching and the transition to mobile gaming is something EFG has been doing successfully. At some point, do you see this competition being bigger than other major esports competitions taking place such as the Esports World Cup? Do you anticipate a rivalry between mobile and PC games or do you think they will coexist peacefully?
Simon Eicher: The Esports World Cup had four incredible mobile titles as part of the lineup. So, it’s already integrated into that as being one of the premier and highest leagues of participation that you can have. I’m pretty confident that mobile gaming will continue to be even more relevant in the years to come.
Will it disrupt the market? I don’t think so. It’s an addition to it. People will probably convert to it. I’m originally a PC gamer and I play mobile games, but in a different capacity. Again, it’s about the device – it’s near you and I don’t need to commit, for example, to a League of Legends match that takes 45 minutes. An MLBB match takes 10-15 minutes and that’s the difference about it.
MobileMatters: Touching on the latest Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM), there were a lot of crazy moments there. Do you see something like this also happening for mobile games as well? Is that something you want to achieve?
Simon Eicher: It has already happened. We concluded multiple standalone events in Asia. There was a big BGMI event that took place in Delhi earlier this year. Last year in July, at Jakarta, we did our first big MLBB stadium standalone event. We have just been to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, two weeks ago. The numbers we achieved there for a small event were incredible. More than 40,000 people showed up over the course of a few days. Those numbers are really insane.
MobileMatters: These reception levels will surely give you a lot of traction for future Snapdragon Pro Series events.
Simon Eicher: I’ve been at the company fairly long and this was the same way of trying to be bold and just trying it out with Counter-Strike. When we went to the first stadium in 2013, we thought we were stupid and insane for doing that. There’s 10,000 seats – who’s going to come? And, it was full!
MobileMatters: What is something you want our readers to know about what you have planned in the coming weeks, months, and years ahead? Is there anything specifically they should keep an eye on?
Simon Eicher: Right now, we are entering Season 6 of the Snapdragon Pro Series in a few regions. So, watch out for announcements about when sign-ups take place.
In terms of the long run, we will continue to provide great entertainment and great opportunities for players to try out competitive play on a regular and controlled basis, rather than just casual competition. As we can see with other games, our motivation is to really fuel these gaming communities and support them in what they want to achieve. I think this is something that is also very fascinating at ESL FACEIT Group. We have a lot of nerds in the company who came from gaming. We are all passionate about it and we understand our audience very well. That’s why, especially for the younglings, who play mobile games a lot, it’s great to guide them and offer them opportunities in the esports space.
After our conversation, the stage was set at gamescom 2024 in Cologne for two major esports tournaments in the Snapdragon Pro Series’ competition cycle: the Snapdragon Pro Series Brawl Stars Championship 2024 Last Chance Qualifier and the Asphalt Legends Unite Season 5 Mobile Open Finals.
For more information on the Snapdragon Pro Series, visit the official website, and follow the league on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok.
MobileMatters is in partnership with ESL FACEIT Group, the tournament organizers behind the Snapdragon Pro Series.
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