So let's take a step further, here's the complete eSports guide - learn more about the history of eSports, how it has become so big, the best teams, players and more!
What is eSport and where can I see it?
In short, eSports is a multi-player video game that is usually played by professionals and usually by a wide audience. Like non-digital sports, the most popular electronic sports are computer games played in leagues or tournaments. The market is mainly composed of first-person shooter (FPS), real-time strategy (RTS) and online multiplayer games (MOBA).
eSports can be easily delivered online through websites such as Twitch, Mixer or YouTube Gaming home page, all with free mobile apps for Android and iOS. Just like non-digital sports, eSports events often happen live at sports venues such as the Blizzard Arena, which has repeatedly been filled in by the League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Events. The Newzoo Data Analysis Service describes eSports as "the biggest thing that has hit the technology industry since iPhone was launched in 2007.
eSport Memory: How popular has eSport become?
While eSports began at the end of 2000, the first competition for a video game started in 1972, when students from Stanford University took part in the Intergalactic Space Olympic Games to win the Rolling Stone annual subscription. In 1980 Atari established the competition as a popular choice, winning the Space Invasion Championships, the first major video game competition that attracted more than 10,000 participants in the US.
But the real cange in the game came in 2002 with the release of xBox and the introduction of online games for consoles. Halo 2 was the first match broadcast on the national television for the main league in 2004.
The best eSporting eGames
League of Legends
The League of Legends is today the most popular eSports game in which teams fight for a bond with their opponents. During the 2017 World Cup, the last competition of the Legendary League season, 24 teams were invited to play for a prize of $4,596,591.
Call of Duty World
The Call of Duty World League organizes monthly events crowned with the Call of Duty World League World Championships, in which 32 teams will play the final round of the Call of Duty franchise: World War II and compete for the prize in the amount of 1.5 million USD.
Benefits of the eSport relationship
According to SuperData Research, eSport generated sales of USD 1.5 billion in 2017 and is expected to grow by 26% by 2020. These revenues include large investments by large companies and stars such as Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Alex Rodriguez, Steve Aoki and Rick Fox (who currently own all the shares of the e-Sport Team), sponsorships, cash prizes, games of chance and tangible assets. Since players and teams create a lot of content that can be distributed through streaming communities (like Twitch), eSports is also ideal for advertisers and brands.
Benefits of the eSport relationship
According to SuperData Research, eSport generated sales of USD 1.5 billion in 2017 and is expected to grow by 26% by 2020. These revenues include large investments by large companies and stars such as Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Alex Rodriguez, Steve Aoki and Rick Fox (who currently own all the shares of the e-Sport Team), sponsorships, cash prizes, games of chance and tangible assets. Since players and teams create a lot of content that can be distributed through streaming communities (like Twitch), eSports is also ideal for advertisers and brands. Also, as in sport, the sponsors will promote their brand on the jerseys of players and thus will constitute an important part of the overall prize.
eSport is also very profitable for the athletes themselves, who will receive cash prizes of up to $ 24 million and a salary. For example, Riot reported that every player in the League of Legends Championship Series has to pay a minimum of $12,500 for a 28-month season, but many players receive a much higher bet.
The future of eSport
Electronic sports fans can expect a lot in the coming years. According to Superdata's report, by 2022 the global eSport economy will have reached the value of USD 2.3 billion. Traditional sports organisations and the media increasingly rely on eSports and take it seriously. In 2016, the ESPN launched its vertical online service for competitive games and the NFL would employ an eSports manager.
Also, after a successful Olympic debut in South Korea, eSports is fortunate to be included in the official Olympic program in 2024. He announced that "the Olympic programme for the 2024 Olympic Games in 2019 will start with a final decision on the additional events that will take place sometime after Tokyo. By then, eSports will have been a showcase sport already at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, which will have proved to be an important testing ground for emerging international sports. With unprecedented growth, fans of eSports have much to offer in the coming years, with the possibility of eventually mainstreaming video games.
