E-sport consists of playing video games on the internet or in a local area network (LAN). It indicates the practice in competition of video games. Players compete alone or in teams. The phenomenon brings together millions of fans around the world.
E-sport is the contraction of the term “electronic sport”. It has exploded in recent years, notably with the frequent organization of amateur and professional tournaments. They take place online or at increasingly important and spectacular events.
What is e-sport?
At the crossroads of sport and network video games, E-sport is taking on a phenomenal scale. With more than one hundred million monthly players, players earning almost 25,000 dollars per month, a broadcasting platform bought out for a billion dollars by Amazon, E-sport is gradually gaining in importance daily. For players, playing E-sport is almost the same as playing casino online. They have opportunities to get a lot of money.
Brief history of e-sports
In the beginning, LANs, parts of a physical network, then online gaming. The practice of e-sport really developed in the early 2000s. Players meet and compete in tournaments such as the ESWC (Electronic Sports World Cup), which appeared in 2003 and the MLG (Major League Gaming ), from 2004. For many people, E-Sport is not considered a sport, but more like a leisure, because there is no “physical activity”. But for the most popular games like Starcraft or League of Legends, the regularity of the competitions implies a healthy lifestyle and regular training.
Professional gamers are people who make a living playing video games. Alone or in a team, professional players regularly train in a specific game to be at the best level. Professional players participate in LANs around the world. If they win, they win a large sum of money. Beyond the lucrative aspect, they also gain in reputation. An aspect that may interest sponsors and other teams.
As with “traditional” sports television broadcasts, E-sport has commentators during current matches or for a real-time event. These people are good at commenting precisely on the actions of players during the highlights of the games. They are similar to sports commentators in their roles and functions.
Who does e-sports?
E-sport is accessible to all and on all supports, at home in front of your console, your computer, during sporting events, but also on your smartphone or tablet. Competitive video games are many and varied, in their style and in the difficulty of handling. But the rise of E-sport and the multiplication of tournaments with more and more important rewards led to the creation of semi-professional and professional teams.
Imitating sports structures, teams bring together players on one or more games, as well as coaches, strategic analysts, and even commentators for the broadcast of live matches. They are sponsored by computer brands, such as Intel and Orange.
E-sport, a sport in its own right?
E-sport is not only experienced by playing video games. In recent years, the biggest events have taken place in concert halls or stadiums in front of thousands or even millions of viewers. In early September 2017, the AccorHotels Arena in Paris was the final of the League of Legends competition. An event that brought together thousands of people. Each competition benefits from communication that highlights players and coaches.
If E-sport has only recently taken on this dimension, it is thanks to two players in the industry. The first one is Twitch, a streaming website created in 2011 and bought by the giant Amazon in 2014. It makes it possible to broadcast worldwide the competitions that take place every day, reaching a large audience. The second is Riot Games, the publisher of League of Legends, one of the most played titles in the world. The latter established a regular championship in 2013, similar to the NBA championships in the United States. Riot meets his fans every week to see the best teams compete against each other, whose players receive a salary and who can thus make a living from their passion.
An intercultural sport
In addition to having become a sport in its own right, E-sport has its success because it is open to everyone. Steven “Hans Sama” Liv 18 years old, Enrique “xPeke” Cadeno Martinez 25 years old or Jarosław “pashaBiceps” Jarząbkowski 29 years old. They all have different ages, but only one passion, high level competition. There are many games, but among them, some are used as a reference, and fans do not hesitate to move by the thousands to even hope to see their idol in action behind the keyboard.
Streaming, a democratizing activity
Beyond the stage and these thousands of fans, we find an activity that imposes itself day by day. Today she comes to a point where we have all watched one or more parts of her favorite game on different broadcast or replay platforms. Among them are YouTube, Dailymotion and the current leaders in live game broadcasting.There are hundreds of them who share the audience share in the world, but they all have the same passion for video games and sharing. They all add up to thousands of listeners.
E-sport streaming channels benefit from strong audiences
The advent of streaming platforms such as Twitch or Dailymotion has given birth to numerous web TVs, which, with their commentators and hosts, allow loyal viewers to follow each competition of their favorite games.
An important financial issue
With technological advancement and millions of listeners and spectators monthly. E-sport has managed to anchor itself in mentalities. It has also managed to develop enough to allow the most ambitious to be able to live on it today. It is very likely that in the years to come, E-sport will enter a new dimension by integrating the Olympic Games.
