Phygital Pankration in Belarus

Unique competitions combining sports and modern digital technologies, called the “Sport of the Future” tournament, took place in Minsk. Participants of the tournament, athletes aged 12-13 from different regions of Belarus, competed in matches of the computer game Mortal Kombat, and then fought in its physical analogue – according to the rules of mixed martial arts called pankration. The final result was determined by the sum of points.

The Falcon arena, one of the most modern complexes in the capital, became the venue for the first stage of the tournament. Eight teams competed for the first place and valuable phygital prizes from the organizers – one team representing each region and the capital, with two teams representing Minsk region.

Here is how the rankings were distributed according to the results of the competition:

Team standings:
1. Regional team (50 points)
2. Minsk region team – 2 (48 points)
3. Pinsk team (44 points)
4. Oshmyany team (42 points)
5. Mozyr team (16 points)
6-7. Minsk region team – 1, Minsk team (14 points)
8. Brest team (13 points)

The next stage of the phygital pankration competition will be the competition of athletes aged 14-15, followed by boys aged 16-17, and finally, the adults will compete according to the rules of the new discipline, and an international stage of the competition will take place in 2024.