Three Questions to: Play Bay - The new eSports hub

January 19, 2022

Three Questions to: Play Bay - The New eSports Hub

Play Bay is a new eSport training centre at the heart of Hamburg, established in 2021. Open to experienced players and total newcomers, their goal is to create a welcoming space for everyone. They offer individual training sessions and coachings, slots during which visitors can play their favourite games on PS5s or high-end PCs, and LAN parties. They also offer booths for streamers and team building events. On top of that Play Bay is also hosting tournaments. We took the opportunity to do a quick three-question interview with the co-founders Laurens Ahlring and Patrick Bauer.

As Gamecity Hamburg we might be a bit partial about the potential of this city, but why did you choose Hamburg as the location for Play Bay?

Hamburg is home to many professional eSport players, eSports Organisations and some of the biggest German game developers. The very open, multicultural, and international city attracts talents from all over the world and has become a top breeding ground for game related start-ups. The density of like-minded companies makes it possible for companies to cooperate and push one another.

What’s your vision for Play Bay (and the eSport industry in Hamburg) for the next couple of years?

Play Bay wants to contribute to Hamburg being seen internationally as the leading eSports hub in Europe. As an eSports Center we are supporting pro players, young talents and organisations or clubs with all the necessary resources they need in order to develop their skills. We are planning a Europe-wide expansion with Hamburg being the headquarter.

eSport has been around for some time now and is widely successful, however, there are many enthusiasts and gamers that haven't tried any of the popular titles for themselves yet. Which game would you recommend to newcomers who want to try out eSports?

It depends on whether people prefer Moba games like League of Legends or first-person shooters like Counter Strike. At the moment we would recommend Valorant by Riot Games. It is still relatively young but already enjoys rapidly growing player numbers and is a unique mix of Counter Strike and Overwatch. Our community loves this game and we think it will have a firm place in eSports in the future

Want to know more about Play Bay? Visit their Website or Twitter.

A Look into Play Bay

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Patrick Bauer and Laurens Ahlring, Co-Founders of Play Bay

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