For the last two weeks, I have had the pleasure of spending time across the Atlantic ocean with my best friends, celebrating my marriage in Amsterdam and Prague. It was the best 10 days of my life and an adventure I will never forget. We spent our first five days in Amsterdam enjoying the city for everything it has to offer. We saw sights and imbibed on every edible and potable substance for which the canal city is known. Just as my new wife and I were looking for new and exciting activities for all of us to enjoy, we were on the lookout for something to bring back to That Nerd Show’s readers.

We will be moving to Amsterdam next Spring, so we need to find a bar to call our own. As we were strolling down the road on the way to a local street festival featuring delicious delicacies and performance art of all sorts, we discovered Ranked eSports Bar, Holland’s first eSports-centric bar. I spotted the sign from across the street and nearly darted into traffic trying to get inside as fast I could. I had to know what was inside. Now, secretly, this concept isn’t new to me, as I’ve had this idea in mind for my own bar for quite some time. That isn’t to say that I wasn’t impressed with the originality of this bar and their concept in general. What isn’t a secret is that gaming takes up a large part of my life and is my true passion. I’m not good enough at anything to become a professional competitive gamer, no. However, I do believe you should be able to parlay any passion into a profitable venture.

Ranked eSports Bar is a small, quaint bar with a decent porch space and all the potential in the world. The owner, Bas Methorst, came up with the idea after spending time on Skype with his friends discussing eSports. They talked about the need for a place to go and share this interest with strangers. eSports is possibly the fastest growing sport in the world. There is a massive market as viewership is starting to rival all major global sports. Methorst rightfully recognized this market and has worked for over three years to realize his dream of combining eSports with a comforting bar atmosphere. His brother is in charge of the food menu and has put together a nice selection of bites including sandwiches, burgers, and other assorted appetizers. We were both impressed by the couple of dishes we shared.

That Sunday, while trying the hair of dog after a wild Bachelor/ette, we stopped by to check out the Super Smash Bros. Tournament. Bas told us the number 6 and 10 players in all of the Netherlands would be participating. We never got a chance to meet them, but we were able to check out tons of highly experienced and some obvious amateurs that were involved. Comically, Bas’s little brother was decimated in the opening rounds and attempted to open his own bracket of “super amateurs.” It was a bad ass time for the family and a great first tournament hosted by Ranked. They were able to bring in a ton of old school TVs and had just enough room inside to accommodate everyone on that rainy day. It lasted all day, which was too much for this hungover bachelor to stick around.

Bas’s concept is perfect for people like me who’re looking for a social space to share their love of video games with beers and cocktails to enjoy into the night. Their intention is to give an entertaining workspace during the day, and have a bar to enjoy gaming at night. On the walls all around you, you’ll see Twitch streams of popular games running at all times. It’s like an American sports bar, but with digital games rather than physical. It has already been proven with ventures like the Overwatch League, League of Legends, and the NBA 2K League that the audience is there. The people will come if the atmosphere is right. eSports doesn’t just mean money for the players and teams that are putting on the shows, it has become a full industry with multiple target audiences. It just takes a keen marketing plan and proper execution to exploit this booming industry.

I wish Bas and his bar all the best, because the world needs more places that are accommodating to gamers. It’s a creative concept with so much potential. He should have no problem reaching his demographic as it lies in an area populated heavily by students, expats, and travelers. The Ranked eSports Bar can be found at Waterlooplein in the Valkenburgerstraat 8H 1011 LZ Amsterdam. That’s just a short walk from Centraal Station so there’s no excuse not to check it out if you’re in town. They’ve even got an updated calendar of events taking place so you’ll never miss the big streams. Check them out on Facebook for news about new tournaments or anything else that might be going on.

As always, don’t forget to like us and share on Facebook if you like what you see! Till next time, NERDS!