Ten years ago … Yes, 10 years ago! Competitive gaming and eSports was already a pretty mature industry. They already had league tables, regional competitions and major cups. Gaming teams such as Fnatic, receive huge sponsorship deals from big brands, such as MSI and Steelseries. Not surprising, especially when the prize money, from major eSport events can be in excess of USD $1,000,000. Team members extremely focused on their gaming, and if their team win … they’ll become like super stars in eSports arena. Who wouldn’t want to play games and get paid for it?
eSport events now attract a huge amount attendees and spectators, more than most major US sporting events. Take for example Dreamhack (Sweden), QuakeCon (US), Intel Extreme Masters (global). Think of it like the tennis ATP World Tour.
“Could video gamers become as big and famous as footballers? A new governing body is being introduced to the eSports industry to regulate the professional video games scene, much like Fifa does for football.
The World eSports Association (WESA) has been announced to bring “traditional ruling” to this rapidly growing industry.
eSports’ largest event in 2015 drew more than 35 million viewers. That’s more than most major US sporting events.”
Source: BBC
