The future of PUBG Esports: Everett Coleman on PCS4, format changes and more

PCS4 Americas has now wrapped up, with favorites Soniqs continuing their winning run. Now, we turn our attention to what’s next, and NA’s head of PUBG Esports, Everett Coleman, told Dexerto what they’ve learned from the past year, and what’s in the pipeline.

Some of these risks pay off big time, and others inevitably fail. Everett explained that the team has no fear of trying new things, but that feedback from the community is also crucial.

Dexerto: The PCS4 Americas Grand Final marked a return to in-studio production for this online event. How’s it been having your entire team under one roof, and how does this help the team as a whole? The obvious being production value, but are there any other pros and cons to this set-up?

EC: Being in the studio has definitely helped us improve the quality of our broadcasts. As you mentioned, having everyone under one roof helps massively, but it’s also been great to see the whole team in person and working closely together again to pull off a successful Grand Final at the PUBG Santa Monica studio. While players still compete from home, there are some capabilities that aren’t possible to replicate with our team members remotely, so having the studio back has definitely improved the polish of the production as well as our chemistry with the talent.

When PCS4 was announced, the primary area of critique centered around the Winner Winner Chicken Dinner format. Two weeks into the Grand Final, how do you feel about this format and the feedback you’ve received from Players. Coaches, and Fans? Are there any plans of adjusting this format for future events such as ESL PUBG Summer and PCS5?

We’re always looking for ways to innovate and improve when it comes to PUBG Esports, and we’ve never been afraid to continue to evolve and experiment with time. We’re very fortunate to have passionate fans and players, and their feedback will always be at the core of our decision-making process. PUBG Esports has been a pioneer in the battle royale esports space, so we’re continuing to learn more as we progress. We’re excited to see how PUBG Esports will continue to evolve and grow in the future.

The Soniqs have extended their dominant season with another PCS title. What does it mean for this region to have some of the best teams from around the world in one lobby?

As PUBG Esports continues to mature, it’s been really amazing to see each region continue to develop their own playstyles and to grow their roster of talent. Seeing PCS Americas have its own talent emerging on the competitive world stage has been especially gratifying to see.

Soniqs

Soniqs continue to dominate the region, crowned PCS4 Americas champions.

Last year the pandemic presented PUBG Esports with many unique challenges. What were some of the lessons learned last season, and are you looking forward to getting PUBG Esports offline again sometime in the near future?

The challenges of the pandemic meant that we had to remain flexible and very quickly learn how to put together a quality broadcast together for the fans. Our team worked incredibly hard, and we even planned out the entirely new PUBG Continental Series from scratch to fit the new format. Even though we could no longer put on events like we were planning to, it was important for us to not leave the fans, teams, and players behind no matter how difficult things got. We will always strive to have amazing global in-person events be a part of PUBG Esports, and we are as eager as everyone to make sure they happen again. At the same time we have to make sure that the process is safe and appropriate for our players. Looking at the overall events ecosystem, I think it’s safe to say that online events also have a part to play in the PUBG ecosystem moving forward, and we can look forward to a good mix of offline and online events.

The PUBG Esports Americas region recently saw an influx of new teams/organizations, how does this improve the region’s competitive ecosystem overall? What about these announcements are you most excited for?

It’s gratifying to see organizations and players so actively engaged in the competitive PUBG scene in the Americas. We think of PUBG as a borderless esport with universal appeal, so it’s especially great to see all of the regions thriving, particularly when it’s our own! We’ve also been so impressed with the collaborative spirit of these esports organizations that have joined the scene in the Americas, we’re excited to see how they will continue to grow, and we’ll work closely with them to ensure their success however we can. Part of that includes our continued support for the Pick’Em Challenge and in-game esports tab, which has opened further opportunities to continue to see the PCS prize pools grow from last year.

PUBG Corporation

The new Tiger map will feature dedicated player respawns.

Aside from the recent format change, is PUBG Esports working on anything to reinvent the competitive player’s in-game experience? Perhaps a new map in the rotation?

PUBG Esports is always looking for ways to improve the competitive player experience. Evolution and change is a natural part of what we do here, and we’re always on the lookout for ways we can break new ground and bring something more for our players. Rest assured we are looking for ideas everywhere and that includes listening to new ideas from our passionately engaged community.

We really just want to thank the PUBG Esports community for staying so engaged. We are always listening and learning as we continue to expand what competitive battle royale will look like in the future.

If you missed out on any of the action or just want a recap, check out our PCS4 Americas hub.