Most professional sports teams to soon have an eSports presence
United Kingdom based professional eSports organisation Fnatic has predicted that it is only matter of time before most professional sports clubs have an eSports presence.
With the eSports sector predicted to attract global revenues of more than $2 billion, Róisín O'Shea, Senior Partnerships Manager at Fnatic, believes that eSports provides a huge opportunity for brands and sports organisations, stating “it's only a matter of time before most clubs have an esports team.”
Organised, competitive computer gaming that can be staged in front of a live audience and millions more online, it's no wonder that top professional sports teams are already seeing the value in creating their own esports teams.
O'Shea adds "eSports – the 'new world sport' as we like to call it at Fnatic, is one of the most impactful things happening in the world of sport and entertainment.
"Millions of people tune in online to the tournaments, hundreds of thousands watch players stream their games online, and social media engagement is bigger and better than any other sport. Prize money in some titles can reach US$21 million, and the pot is getting bigger.
"There are a number of sports teams investing in teams across a number of titles, predominantly FIFA. This makes sense to football clubs right now, to create a FIFA team attached to their club for reasons including the fact that so many football fans are also fans of the FIFA game.
"Offering your fans another way to engage with your team is important, and it also adds another revenue stream of course."
Click here to read the full article on the Calculus.com website.
The rise of eSports is a feature in the May/June 2017 issue of Australasian Leisure Management.
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