The boom of eSports officially arrived in 2016, especially when it comes to traditional sports players, team owners and current and former athletes getting involved in the growing space. We saw media organizations like Turner officially launch its own eSports league, technology companies powering live broadcasts in virtual reality and the announcement of one of the biggest eSports projects still to come in 2017.
According to research firm Newzoo, eSports revenue is expected to reach nearly $500 million this year while the industry is projected to surpass $1 billion by 2019.
With all of the buzz surrounding the growing phenomenon, eSports players Timothy “autimatic” Ta and Jake “Stewie2K” Yip from Cloud9’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team along with Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell and Vincent “Biofrost” Wang of Team SoloMid’s League of Legends group chatted with SportTechie.
We discussed the evolving world of eSports, the blending of traditional sports with gaming, the current state of the non-traditional sport and sponsors like Buffalo Wild Wings, Snickers, and AXE Hair, which recently struck a deal with both Cloud9 and TSM.
Biofrost on the gaming evolution over the past few years and what it means for eSports: I remember a couple of years ago there wasn’t really a lot of media coverage on eSports. People didn’t really have any idea what it was, but they had a faint idea. They didn’t really know how successful or trending it was at the time. Now, more people are aware of it. It’s definitely a bigger part of the younger generations. A lot of people spend many hours on the computer playing games … and a lot more people are becoming aware of it now.
Autimatic on the differentiation between ‘gaming’ and ‘eSports’: Gaming meant it was just a hobby and now eSports is more of a lifestyle. That’s also why you’re seeing sponsorships that don’t just have to do with gaming — computers, technology — we’re getting more sponsorships from companies like AXE and more lifestyle products. It definitely represents us better.
Get The Latest eSports Tech News In Your Inbox!
Hauntzer on the increasing overlap between traditional sports and eSports: I think it’s definitely really exciting that a lot of mainstream sports are tying into eSports. You see owners coming in and investing in different teams. It’s healthy for the scene because since these owners are coming in, they’re increasing the money flow into eSports and also the coverage. For example, (former Los Angeles Lakers forward) Rick Fox with Echo Fox, bought in very recently. Because of his influence, a lot more people are becoming aware of eSports as a life choice and career. It’s definitely great in that sense.
Hauntzer on viewing yourself and team now as a business unit: Before it was mainly just focused on the gaming aspect, but now it’s being tied to many other things. On top of gaming, now there’s a lot of sponsorships like AXE. …. Sponsorships like this one help to illuminate that gamers are similar to traditional sports as well.