Category Archives: Blog

Come to the BDO Esports Winter Gaming Festival in Purmerend from January 4-8

Esports players from around the world will gather from January 4 to 8, 2023 for the BDO Esports Winter Gaming Festival in Purmerend. Professional gaming tournaments will be played at the H20 Esports Campus for three days.

Visitors with a day ticket (12.50 euros) may spend 3 hours doing everything H20 has to offer. This includes arcade gaming, simracing, PC gaming, console gaming (Nintendo and Playstation) and Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality gaming.

See what visitors can expect here:

Gaming is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and is now bigger than the music and movie industries combined. Although almost all young people are gaming every day, stadiums are sold out and more and more companies are investing large sums of money in gaming and esports, gaming still has a negative image among many people.

Using gaming to get people moving

H20 Esports wants to change that. "We believe gaming is a bridge to all kinds of new forms of tech and education. In esports, people are always looking for new innovative ways to push boundaries. H20's vision is to bring the best out of esports players. The H20 Esports campus is specifically designed to make the most of the talent of these top athletes," said Martijn van der Craats, CEO H20.

BDO commits to the gaming festival as name giver. "From our Top Sports Desk, we are ready to relieve top (e)sportsmen of worries in the field of administration and taxation, among other things, so that they can be as busy as possible with what it is really all about, top (e)sports," emphasize Maaike Waaijer and Michel Pattiasina of the Technology, Media and Telecom branch group at BDO.

The professional gaming tournaments will be played at the Rabo Esports Stadium of the H20 Esports Campus in Purmerend, a permanent venue for esports and gaming events. For more information or to book your tickets visit h20.gg/festival.

New at H20 VR Gaming: VR Escape Room in Purmerend

New at H20 VR Gaming: VR Escape Room

Do you dare to take on the challenge with your colleagues or with a group of friends? Step into H20's VR Escape Room together and choose between 2 games. La Casa de Dinero, the game based on the Netflix series La Casa de Papel. Rob the bank in Madrid together and escape! Or would you rather solve the murder of chef Herman den Kijker in the game Hotel Homicide.

The contemporary craze of the Escape Room is combined with the most advanced technologies such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. This makes the Escape Games even more exciting and adds an extra dimension to the experience. Did you think that a "normal" Escape Room was already nerve-wracking was? Then you haven't tried a VR Escape Game yet. A virtual reality escape game is an escape game where the experience is experienced with VR glasses.

VR Escape Room

This Escape Room is a fun team builder and it is important to communicate well. One person has the VR glasses on and must be able to tell what he sees. The people in the room have to solve puzzles based on the items in the room that the person in VR sees. The VR Escape Room is for 4-6 people.

Do you want to take on the challenge with your colleagues! Book now at https://h20.gg/escape-game/.

Black Bananas enters partnership with H20

H20 Esports Campus enters partnership with Black Bananas

H20 Esports Campus is closing a multi-year partnership with Black Bananas, the clothing brand that turned sports-inspired street style into a global household name. All of H20's gaming staff will be dressed in Black Bananas' shirts and sweaters.

H20 Esports Campus has entered into a two-year partnership with Black Bananas with the goal of developing apparel that should be comfortable for the wearer and for the gamer. As part of this partnership, all of H20's gaming staff will be dressed in Black Bananas' shirts.

Turning sports-inspired street style into a global household name is what Black Bananas stands for. By combining their exploration of street style culture and signature sports designs, we are revolutionizing Black Bananas supporters and community around the world. Inspired by the concepts of transformation and renewal, the Black Bananas Transformer Monkey logo was born, representing strength, power and leadership.

Wesley Balnikker, founder Black Bananas: "Our goal is to educate, inspire and motivate future generations. Evolve and grow in your own strength while wearing our innovative designs. Feel comfortable in breathable fabrics with colorful details and experience feeling on top of the world. Join the Nation, Transform the Generation.

Matthijs Vink, Co-founder H20 Esports Campus: "We want to be relevant and innovative in as many areas as possible, Black Bananas is a very popular brand among young people and of course we want to go along with that. I know Arnold de Bruin for years from multiple collaborations that have always been very valuable and successful and I ended up with Wesley Balnikker through this way, I am looking forward to the fun activations."

Check out the entire collection from Black Bananas here!

Samsung Innovation Campus and H20 Esports extend partnership

On Wednesday, October 12, at H20 Esports in Purmerend, the starting signal was given for the Samsung Innovation Campus. With this joint initiative of Samsung and H20 Esports, 75 young people aged 12 to 17 will have the opportunity to learn the basics of programming for free. In an intensive game-based program, they will get to work with Minecraft Code Builder, Scratch, Gamemaker and RUR-PLE, among others.

Official launch Samsung Innovation Campus with students from Bladergroen from Purmerend and the Don Bosco College from Volendam and, from left to right, June Park, President Samsung Benelux, Jan-Willem Flohil, Director of Economic Affairs and Arts and Culture of the Municipality of Amsterdam, Dirk Tuip, founder H20 Esports and Vincent Tuijp, Alderman for Social Domain and Youth of the Municipality of Edam/Volendam.

Course learning programming through gaming

The courses will take place this fall at H20 Esports in Amsterdam/Purmerend, Utrecht and Rotterdam. Each course consists of ten intensive three-hour sessions and is led by a top trainer. For this project, we are working closely with youth organizations in the regions. This is important, because every child deserves the same opportunities.

Labor shortage in ICT sector continues - solution through gaming and esports?

The Dutch ICT sector is still having very great difficulty filling its thousands of vacancies. More than half of IT vacancies are proving difficult to fill. However, employers are increasingly realizing that good gamers also have skills that they can put to use in tech careers.

June Park, president Samsung Benelux

June Park, President of Samsung Benelux says of the initiative, "With the Samsung Innovation Campus certificate in their pocket, the young people can build on their future, for example in ICT. The program lasts for 10 weeks. We hope that the participants discover where their talents lie through play. A good player in Minecraft might also have a talent for programming. Today's gamers are the tech professionals of the future."

From left to right Dirk Tuip (H20 Esports Campus), Vincent Tuijp (Alderman Edam/Volendam), June Park (President Samsung Benelux) and Thomas Conijn (Head of Legal Samsung)

Dirk Tuip, founder of H20 Esports Campus, added: "We are pleased to continue our valuable partnership with Samsung. In doing so, we allow the Dutch Esports and gaming world to play an important social role. It enables us to give more young people a push in the right direction and prepare them for a possible career in ICT."

Healthy lifestyle through gaming workshops

The workshops are organized in a responsible manner. For example, the amount of screen time is taken into account and young people get enough exercise. There are also healthy snacks and drinks.

Shenandoah University Formalizes Partnership With Netherlands-Based Esports Company

Shenandoah University's esports program signed a memorandum of understanding with the Amsterdam-based esports and tech company H20 on Friday, Sept. 16, outlining the ways in which both institutions will work together to provide students with a far-reaching educational experience in the fast-growing field.

Shenandoah University President Tracy Fitzsimmons, Ph.D.; SU Provost Cameron McCoy, Ph.D.; Dean of the School of Business Astrid Sheil, Ph.D.; Shenandoah's Director of Esports Joey Gawrysiak, Ph.D.; and H20 CEO Martijn van der Craats participated in the MOU signing.

Start esports partnership in October 2021

The MOU formalized the cooperation between Shenandoah and H20 that began when six SU students and two faculty members traveled to the Netherlands in October 2021, to meet with esports professionals and help with an event at the H20 Esports Campus, one of the world's top esports facilities.

Since that trip, Dr. Gawrysiak has worked with Shenandoah administrators and H20's leadership to create the first international partnership of its kind, which will provide international experiences and opportunities for learners at both institutions.

"This partnership will continue to show how SU esports goes beyond gaming to offer experiences in and through esports that no one else can offer, as we prepare students to be successful upon graduation," Gawrysiak said. "Traveling and working with people from H20 will help our learners understand international esports business and global competencies that go beyond esports and gaming."

This partnership will include faculty and student exchange opportunities and collaboration on esports research and projects.

Esports Education

"For H20, education is an important pillar in our mission to get esports integrated into society," Van der Craats said. "Working together with the academic esports program at SU to reach these goals has been a great experience so far, and we look forward to seeing what the future holds. Signing the MOU is a big step forward to do great things."

In addition to hosting a large gaming venue, Rabo Esports Stadium, the H20 Esports Campus also includes Hogeschool van Amsterdam's minor dedicated to esports, virtual and augmented reality, and other creative technology. Shenandoah's intent is to work with H20 on events, production, esports performance and general tech business.

Dr. Fitzsimmons expressed admiration for Gawrysiak's strength and vision in leading Shenandoah University's esports program, and praised H20 and the new partnership, which she said will help prepare SU students for careers in the rapidly growing field.

From MOU to partnership

"It's so easy to sign an MOU. It's harder to get to the agreement that leads to the signing. But the hardest part is yet to come. It's our learners making sure to hold all of us accountable to ensure that this is more than a piece of paper," Fitzsimmons said. "All of this work wasn't done for us to have a nice document signed. All of this work was done because this world in which we exist now relies so much on collaboration and on partnerships. We are very much looking forward to this partnership. H20 is trustworthy, ethical and visionary, and that's exactly the kind of partner we want because that's exactly the kind of institution and esports program that Shenandoah has."

Leeflang Virtual Sports is training more and more people in VR

Leeflang Virtual Sports has been active as a tenant and partner within the H20 Esports Campus for over a year. From their background in sports, personal training and specifically baseball/softball they are working towards the vision that gaming and then specifically VR gaming can contribute to getting people and young people moving.

Menno Leeflang: "We offer a new and fun way to exercise through Next Gen Personal Training. Next Gen Personal Training is, in short, gaming through exercise. You do this with all kinds of innovative techniques like Virtual Reality and smart fitness devices."

What does this look like specifically?

"When an athlete comes to train at H20 VR Sports we take an interest test in an intake meeting. This way we find out what the athlete likes. Based on this we make a schedule for the athlete in which he will play different VR games. For example, if the athlete is a fan of action movies then he will play games where a lot of action happens or if the athlete likes dancing and music, then there are rhythm games like Beat Saber in the schedule. We make sports so fun that you won't even realize you're playing sports!

Individuals and groups active in Virtual Reality

The people who exercise or have exercised with us have found the joy in exercise. Because they have fun, it's also easier to meet goals. And the location is of course unique. No one in the Netherlands does it like this anymore. And the great thing is that we don't only have an offer for individuals or small groups, but about 20 setups where people can train and move simultaneously. So complete sports teams or for example companies can be inspired by the possibilities of VR Gaming.

Are you interested in giving this a try? Then sign up through Leeflang's site:

https://leeflangvs.nl/.

PRESS RELEASE Invictus Games Foundation x H20 Esports Campus

The Invictus Games is about much more than just sport - it captures hearts, challenges minds and changes lives. H20 Esports Campus will feature in the Invictus Games with an esports activation zone.

The Invictus Games The Hague 2022, presented by Jaguar Land Rover, will feature 500 competitors, from 20 nations, competing in 10 sports - Archery, Athletics, Cycling, Indoor Rowing, Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge, Powerlifting, Sitting Volleyball, Swimming, Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby. The games will be hosted in The Hague, the Netherlands on 16 - 22 April.

In a special addition to this year's Games, the Invictus Games Foundation, in partnership with the Global Esports Federation, will feature an esports activation zone powered by Amsterdam esports initiative H20 Esports Campus.

Each entry into this year's games will be participating across a variety of esports titles, including: League of Legends, Rocket League, Mario Kart and sim racing. H20 Esports Campus will be supplying the tournament infrastructure and equipment from its partners in OMEN by HP, Nintendo, HyperX and sim racing by PlayseatⓇ.

The esports competitions will feature a two-hour live stream during the event, April 18-22, on the official Twitch channel of H20 Esports Campus and will be re-streamed on Invictus Games' channels. Prizes awarded to winners will be courtesy of H20 Esports Campus's range of partners.

Megan, the Sussexes will arrive next Friday for the international sporting event devised by Harry for servicemen who have been physically or mentally injured in missions. We hope they will play video games and esports at the H20 stand!

After a two-year delay due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the fifth edition of the Game's organizers are confident that competition will be safely hosted in The Hague, The Netherlands, 16-22 April. Most of the sporting events will be held in and around the Invictus Games Park (Zuiderpark).

Matthijs Vink, CEO of H20 Esports Campus commented: "Gaming and esports are inclusive to everyone across the range of physical abilities. H20 Esports Campus and Invictus Games share values in seeing competition as ways to inspire, motivate, and respect one another. H20 Esports Campus is proud to partner with Invictus Games The Hague 2022 to bring esports and active sports together in a pathway to recovery for the international community of wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women. We at H20 look forward to future events both offline and online where we will help grow an online Invictus Games community where there is a place for fun and competition."

Germany will be the next host nation for the Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023, followed by North America in 2025. The winning city will be announced during Invictus Games The Hague 2022's Closing Ceremony.

About H20 Esports Campus:

H20 Esports Campus Amsterdam is a platform for developing the next generation through gaming, esports and creative tech. The Rabo Esports Stadium is the first and largest permanent esports event location in the Benelux region and aims to become the esports hub of Europe. With a gaming arena, offices and esports stadium spanning over 10.000 m2, H20 Esports Campus is the place to be when it comes to all things esports and creative tech.

Young people strengthen digital skills through gaming during Samsung Sessions at H20 Esports Campus

Gamers of today are the tech-professionals of the future

Digital and social skills of young people further during gaming, that is the idea of the Samsung Sessions: hhe new initiative from Samsung and the H20 Esports Campus. From this month . they more than 350 young people Training with an intensive course programme where knowledge acquisition via the games Minecraft and Roblox are central. At the same time a course on game streaming. Onder guidance of top trainers young people discover that their game talents also outside the gaming world are also useful outside the gaming world.

From design to programming

Each course consists of consists of three intensive sessions of three hours and is organised under the guidance of a top trainer. Depending on the game, young people learn more about programming, digital design and game streaming. A number of young people will even be able to take home a game they have designed themselves at the end of the programme.

At home, the the participants A number of assignments and exercises will need to be completed in order to qualify for the diploma., which is given at the end of each programme. The programme is free of charge.

Menno van den Berg, President Samsung Benelux: "With the Samsung Sessions we help young people to become more digitally and socially literate, because through gaming you can develop digital, creative, and social skills in an accessible way. Samsung sees the positive effects of gaming and wants to contribute to the development of young people and support the gaming-community.

Labour market: large shortage of IT staff, but plenty of potential

Although the number of IT professionals in the Netherlands is growing, there is still a large shortage, according to the Technology Pact Monitor 2020. More than half of the IT vacancies turn out to be difficult to fill. Employers, however, are increasingly realising that good gamers also possess skills that they can put to use in a tech career. A good player in Minecraft might also have a talent for programming. Today's gamers are the tech professionals of the future.

Dirk Tuip (Founder H20Esports Campus):"The cooperation with Samsung is an important next step in professionalising the Dutch e-sports- and gamingworld. It enables us to educate more young people and to help them discover and develop their talents."

Equal opportunities

For this project, we work closely with youth organisations from the region. They encourage young people to participate in the workshops. This is important, because every child deserves the same opportunities, even if it is not obvious at home.

Healthye lifestyle

The workshops are organised in a responsible way. The amount of screen time is taken into account and attention is paid to the amount of exercise the young people get. are given. Healthy snacks and drinks are also provided. In addition, the guidelines of the RIVM are taken into account during the workshops.

Register

Young people between 12 and 24 years of age can register via https://h20.gg/samsung-sessions/.

Young people under 18 years of age require parental consent. Groups are divided by age.

H20 Esports Campus Amsterdam and Faber Audiovisuals enter into partnership

H20 Esports Campus Amsterdam and Faber Audiovisuals have entered into an intensive cooperation. Both companies are progressive and leading when it comes to innovative techniques and want to use the cooperation to strengthen their strength in working with these new technologies. Innovation and education are the key words for the partnership.
At this moment the first concrete steps are being taken to shape the cooperation. In the Rabo Esports Stadium within the H20 Esports Campus, Faber employees are building a new high-end virtual streaming studio. The new studio is equipped with the most modern techniques, which creates an infinite range of innovative possibilities for clients to make productions from the studio. Online, interactive, hybrid, streaming, the possibilities are numerous and the visual experiences impressive.
Both Faber Audiovisuals and H20 Esports Campus already explicitly link their innovation and creativity to training and education. The existing training courses will be optimally combined and will strengthen each other. The expertise brought in by both parties generates an even better connection between education and contemporary practical needs. Innovative techniques such as streaming, Unreal, AR and VR are used in Esports and Gaming, but also within event technology. The many possibilities of working in the event-technology are even better highlighted within the various courses by linking the expertise of both companies.

According to Matthijs Vink of H20 Esports Campus Amsterdam, the extended partnership with Faber provides a great innovation within the H20 Campus . "An innovation based on VR and AR technology that is applicable to TV, streaming as well as Gaming and Esports. The aim is to offer added value to parties who want to offer a unique viewing experience to their fans, customers and business relations. Together with Faber, we will also educate young people and those who are interested. Students will be trained in the latest technologies and in this way prepared for the jobs of the future, in both broadcasting as well as Gaming and Esports."
Cees Jan Faber, ceo of Faber Audiovisuals endorses this. "The youth has the future. In the new world of technological developments, we need young talent. The techniques of Esports and Gaming perfectly match the current developments in event technology. The opportunities for jobs in this sector are still too unfamiliar to students. We would like to change this. To make young people enthusiastic for this wonderful profession. In addition, in an innovative environment like the H20 Campus, the studio is a fantastic venue to serve clients."
For questions about this collaboration or possible use of the studio, please contact us at contact formor send an e-mail directly to matthijs@h20.gg.

This is how the second TOP weekend looked like!

The H20 Esports Campus Amsterdam was the location of the second TOP weekend on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 May. In the Talent Development Programme (TOP) we train nine talents to become professional esports players.

Saturday 1 May

Saturday 1 May, it was time again for the second TOP weekend in which we trained nine talents to become professional esports players! All the talents had brought lots of extra stuff with them because they had to stay overnight.
Before we started, of course, everyone had to undergo a little quick test and fortunately everyone tested negative. Then it was time for the real thing! The day started with a Wim Hof workshop. The method of the same name was of course invented by the Dutch Ice Man, Wim Hof.

In this workshop, the talents had to do exercises in which they learned how to push their own limits. It was a lesson in not giving up, but continuing no matter how badly you want to stop. Finally, the talents' willpower was put to the test when they each had to sit in an ice bath for two minutes!

After a nice hot shower, the talents had to go straight to Senaptec where, just like the first TOP weekend, their reaction skills were tested in the Esports Vision Lab. This happened with a number of 'reaction games'. After the talents were physically and mentally exhausted, it was time for a hearty lunch. Good nutrition is of course very important for top talents.
After lunch it was time for a presentation by an esports legend. Former professional esports player Sander 'Vo0' Kaasjager took the talents into the world of a professional esporter. The former Quake champion talked about his experiences, travelling and how it really feels to be an esporter. Our nine talents were very impressed by the presentation.

Afterwards, the talents enjoyed a delicious portion of home-made pasta. After dinner, they had to work on their own goals. The professional ex-soccer player Dirk Marcellis from the Talent Academy took care of this workshop. At the end of the day, the talents could of course play free games and then go to bed early.

Sunday 2 May

On the morning of Sunday 2 May, the participants were lovingly woken up at 6.45 a.m. by a cheerful tune played on a boom box, with the volume turned up nice and loud. This sweet, gentle approach helped a lot, because 15 minutes later our talents were already ready to work out.

This sports session was given by Michel van Halderen of fitness centre Wellness Profi Centre on the grounds of the H20 Esports Campus. The session consisted of a combination of condition and strength training. Despite getting up early and the surprise of a sports session the talents did great! Therefore they deserved of course a good breakfast. During the breakfast they also discussed what they had learned in the past weeks.
After breakfast, it was time for a presentation by Damn Good Nutrition about how important nutrition really is for a professional. Our talents should of course pay attention to what kind of nutrition they take, what kind of nutrition is best for them and how healthy is what they consume. Of course, our talents were very hungry after the presentation, so it was time for a nice lunch.

After lunch, Dirk Marcellis gave a fun but educational chaos training that looked at how the talents would deal with changes in situations. They had to work together in this game in order to win.

The last activity of the TOP weekend was ´Gaming under resistance´ in which the talents had to play an official game in their respective video games but with a big twist. In their own video games they are of course very focused, but do they stay focused when people try to distract them?
The talents were bombarded with loud noises from all sides while gaming, bright lights were nearby and a shoutcaster was chatting in the background so it seemed as if they were in a full esports stage. The top players had trouble concentrating in the beginning, but eventually it went a lot better. After the chaos training, they reflected on how they had experienced it. With this, the second TOP-weekend was also successfully concluded!

Interested in the TOP track?

Do you think you have what it takes to become a professional esporter and do you want to be the next TOP talent?
Go to h20.gg/talent/ to register for the Autumn edition!
The current course runs until the beginning of the summer and the next TOP weekend will take place on 5 and 6 June.

Partners

We would also like to thank our partners!
Talent Academy Group, Damn Good Nutrition, Senaptec, Grenade, BodyResults, Stanno and Gladiator Esports, thank you very much!