Last week the Sector One League of Legends team has gathered one last time this season to prepare for the Belgian League Country Finals. Consisting of the best teams of the Spring and Summer split, the Country Finals is the culmination of the first edition of the Belgian League, which was scheduled to be played online due to COVID-19. Despite that, the team consisting of Belgian and international players and staff assembled Friday October 9 in order to make one last push to ensure their status as best League of Legends team in Belgium.
At the brand new state of the art Qallo Performance Center in Kontich, our League of Legends team spent their last 10 days of this season preparing for the big finale of the year: the Country Finals. In partnership with Qallo we wanted to make sure our players were able to prepare in the best conditions possible for this event. Whereas ‘normal’ bootcamps consist of players spamming games, eating junk food and drinking energy drinks we wanted to take things to the next level. We believe that esports-players are full-fledged athletes, and thus deserve professional guidance.
The bootcamp helped us in getting the edge we needed to win the country finals, all of our players could use a change of pace and the Qallo guys did an amazing job accommodating us.
Tibo “Nissa” Nijs, League Of Legends analyst/assistant coach
The first step of our successful performance camp was choosing the right location. We wanted our players to be able to prepare in full privacy, with proper COVID-19 measures and state of the art equipment. All of this was found at the Qallo Performance Center. Located in Kontich, close to Antwerp, Qallo gave us access to their kingdom. Whereas good computers and a great internet connection is the basic standard of bootcamps, the Qallo Performance Center consists of much more. Our players had their own practice area with stage-like lighting and audio equipment, a private gym with shower facilities, a dining area and a relaxing zone. On top of that, the Qallo Performance Center has extra office space, a fully equipped podcast-studio and a spectators area where all games can be watched on a high-end setup. To top things off, the location has its own half-pipe and ping pong table!
The guys at Qallo are geniuses. Everything at the bootcamp was perfect. We progressed so much and everyone was feeling fresh. They were as invested as anyone in the team.
Vlad “Saviour” Dvorertskiy, League Of Legends player
The 10 day performance camp wouldn’t be successful without proper planning and scheduling. In cooperation with Qallo our players were guided through this week with a big focus on health and mental-wellbeing. Apart from the standard practice, 8 hours of sleep, morning walks and extracurricular ‘Qallo sessions’ were the main keywords here. During these Qallo sessions, under guidance by professionals, our players were trained on nongaming related topics, to improve their in-game focus and performance. This was accomplished by doing several breathing exercises, sleeping techniques, Yoga, core-stability training, stretching, etc.
The bootcamp helped us become better on an individual and team level. The Qallo sessions taught us a lot on how to become a healthier and more productive person.
Jeroen “Night” Segers, League Of Legends player
Finally, we wanted this performance camp to distinguish itself from normal bootcamps even more by monitoring our players’ diet. During this period, our athletes were withheld from caffeine, ate healthy and stayed hydrated. On top of that, our players benefited from the brand new Qfocus and Qsleep: two healthy supplements created by Qallo with focus on esports-athletes.
Our goal with the Sector One team during the bootcamp leading up to the Belgian League Country Finals was two-fold. First, we wanted to make sure they where ready to perform at their peak, both individually and as a team, at the night of the finals. Second, we wanted to provide them with insights and practical tips to improve and potentially prolong their Esports career. Both objectives were met through a mix of inspiration sessions and a transparent schedule. I was really impressed with the level of interaction and willingness to invest in themselves to increase their performance. We helped all the players on an individual level by tackling challenges concerning sleep, physical mobility, etc. We also helped the group on a team level by working on the group dynamics and setting.
Niels ‘Super1fly’ Peetermans – Esports performance coach & co-founder qallo
At the end of our performance camp all players reported great improvements in focus, and this for a longer duration. The perfect preparation which eventually led to us winning the Country Finals. With this, we completed the Belgian ‘Grand Slam’ by winning all three titles on home soil during this dominant year. An amazing ending to a turbulent year. After seeing the drastic performance improvements of our players, we can’t wait to see what the future brings for Sector One x Qallo!
