Esports Tournament: Winning Eleven 2019 (Pro Evolution Soccer 2019) U CUP at Arima Onsen
On November 27th, “Winning Eleven 2019 Arima Onsen U Cup” will take place at Arima Onsen – one of Japan’s oldest hot springs – in Hyogo prefecture.
Pro-Gamer Kohei Morita （player name: GENKIモリタ） from Osaka will also join the competition.
The competition will be held by the “Onsen Machizukuri Kenkyuukai” as an event promoting the spread of esports in Japan. The same organization will hold a forum in regard to the development of hot spring towns the next day.
Licensed JeSU (Japan esports Union) player from Arima Onsnen’s very own team, “Tres Corvos Arima”, GENKI Morita and many other pro esports players will gather at the event to see who is the best player at the first annual U Cup.
Hot springs and esports?
Areas famous for hot springs are hoping to also be known as great places for esports, and as esports spread throughout the country, and people who visit the hot springs can have firsthand experience with what esports actually is. The other connection here is the relaxation and healing effect that the hot springs would have for the players. esports can be mentally tiring, so as a way for the players to relax and recover from their matches, hot springs can be helpful for that recovery.
Competing on the world's stage in esports, there is no doubt that mental and physical care have to be seriously taken care of, and what a better way to care for yourself than with a nice hot bath? Enter: “Hot Springs X esports”.
Arima Onsen’s very own esports bar
“Bar De Gozar” Offical web site
Open since May 30th, 2018, “Bar De Gozar” allows its customers to view personal and team game matches that are streaming on Twitch on its TVs, essentially acting as an esports bar.
“I hope it becomes a kind of thing where people can enjoy a drink after a hot bath, but also get the chance to experience esports during it all,” says Tsuneyasu Kanai (金井庸泰), one of the staff at the bar. The store was opened as a way to spread esports and give people a better way to access them overall. Especially with the U Cup taking place in November, there is no doubt that the bar will be overflowing with visitors in the coming weeks.
As esports are becoming a huge hit not just in Japan, but also abroad, here rises a great opportunity to expose an older generation that has a reluctance towards video games to a new part of the video game world and to draw in foreign travelers to Arima.