Interview with Jonathan Tilbury, Head of VCT EMEA: “Tactical Shooters Are My First Love”

In the world of esports, competition is fierce, and every match holds the potential for exhilarating moments that captivate fans worldwide. Fragster recently had the opportunity to sit down with Jonathan Tilbury, the Head of VCT EMEA. With a passion for esports dating back two decades, Jonathan has witnessed the evolution of the industry and now plays a vital role in shaping the future of competitive gaming.

During the interview, Jonathan Tilbury reflects on his personal journey in esports, from his early days as a competitive player to his transition into event organization and community projects. He shares his experience working on the Insomnia gaming festival and his strategic role in envisioning the future of esports. Jonathan also sheds light on his role as the Product Lead for VCT EMEA, where he strives to align different teams in the league to deliver an exceptional experience for fans.

Who is Jonathan Tilbury?

Fragster: Jonathan, let’s start with an introduction for our readers. Can you tell us something about yourself and your journey of becoming the Head of VCT EMEA? What does your role as the Product Lead entail?
Jonathan: My journey in esports began about twenty years ago when I discovered Counter-Strike. I fell in love with the social side of esports and the need to constantly push boundaries to stay on top. I played competitively throughout my teens and early twenties but over time found myself gravitating towards organising events and community projects.

My first full-time position in the industry was working on the Insomnia gaming festival around the time esports really began to gain momentum. I led a few big projects before moving to a strategic role where I could do more blue sky thinking about the future needs of players, teams, and fans.

Who will rise to the challenge, ascending to claim their place amongst the elite? 💥#VCTAscensionEMEA kicks off June 30th! 🔜 pic.twitter.com/Gt77LrtRBR

— VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA (@valesports_emea) June 28, 2023

I joined Riot in 2021 after several years building a university league start-up in the UK. My first role was focused on developing amateur competitions and local communities across Europe. Tactical shooters are my first love and when the opportunity to lead VCT EMEA came up, I knew it was for me.

As Head of VCT EMEA, my role is to develop our vision for fans and ensure the different teams in the league are working together harmoniously to deliver it. The league has a lot of moving parts. Some of these are very obvious (e.g. the broadcast & content), while some aren’t (e.g. visas & team economics). My day-to-day is making sure these parts are aligned to deliver the best possible experience for fans.

Fragster: How would you say the inaugural season of VCT EMEA has gone? Is everyone satisfied with the new studio?
Jonathan: We’ve loved the studio and the team here did an incredible job designing it. Something we’ve talked about a lot internally is how we want VCT EMEA to feel different from our big global events. In a regional league like ours, the story unfolds at a slower pace over many weeks which gives fans an opportunity to get to know the players on a deeper level. The studio was designed to create a sense of intimacy between players and fans that helps foster this and let their personalities shine through. Because they’re so close, you can really see players responding to the energy of the audience.

When designing the space we wanted to ensure that we were enhancing the experience for both fans in attendance and fans watching from home, and we’ve achieved this in many ways. Our co-streaming booths have seen a carousel of familiar faces from across the region provide their perspectives on all of the action and with casters for three broadcasters on-site (English, Turkish, and Spanish) at the venue, we’ve really pushed ourselves to deliver the best experience possible for fans across EMEA.

Impact on Local, National and Regional Communities

Fragster: What do you think the new studio has brought to the local, national, and regional communities?
Jonathan: The new studio has brought the local, national, and regional communities the opportunity to watch the best plays, moments, and competition that VALORANT esports offers in EMEA. At a local level, we’ve ensured that VCT EMEA is a place where fans can enjoy themselves, cheer their team on, connect with the players and feel a sense of belonging. While the majority of fans that attend are local to the area, we’re also committed to trying to bring as many people from around the continent that have a vested interest in VALORANT Esports to experience the event. A great example of this was when we brought a bus full of Polish fans and content creators all the way from Poland to watch KOI and Heretics, where each had a Polish player competing that day.

At a national and regional level, we ensure that our broadcast is of the highest quality and can reach as many fans from across EMEA as possible. Whether that’s through our co-streaming booths, hosting broadcasts or through the many creative and analytical segments. I’m proud that we can offer this to our fans across EMEA.

Fragster: Rivalries are an inseparable part of any competition, but can you talk more about the importance of such rivalries for the league, its events, and the regional scene in general?
Jonathan: Rivalry and igniting these rivalries is incredibly important to our league. We’ve cultivated many great rivalries across our league. For example, during the last week of the regular season, our two Turkish teams, BBL and FUT, both hosted incredible watch parties that were attended by many fans as they battled it out to become the best team from their country.

These types of activations really add an extra dimension to the match-ups. We want rivalries to be present in all of their forms throughout the league, as they offer excitement for the fans of the teams, and for the neutral fans too.

A Thrilling Atmosphere

Fragster: The match between NAVI and Giants in week 1 was one of the most impressive of the VCT EMEA main season and proved to be one of NAVI’s most difficult matchups. Can you describe the atmosphere in the Coliseum during matches like that?
Jonathan: That match is definitely one of the most memorable from this season and showcased what the Coliseum is like from a fan perspective. Despite only having a capacity of 150 at the arena, having rival fans sit across from each other ignites fandom in the venue and brings out the passion from the community and whenever a game goes to overtime, it makes it feel like there’s significantly more spectators. While the NAVI and Giants match really showcased this, this has been the case for many matches we’ve seen during the tournament.

Fragster: In your opinion, which matchup was the most entertaining game of the regular season?
Jonathan: The KOI and Karmine Corp matchup was definitely a highlight. The atmosphere in the Coliseum and online was incredible. Knowing how passionate KOI and KCorp fans are, we put a lot of work into making it a special moment for them by including hosting Ibai and Kamet0 as part of the show, and it certainly paid off.

Finally I have to mention the Fnatic and BBL match from super week. Many fans didn’t expect the match to be as close as it was and I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of the third map.