Professional video gaming has made enormous advances over the last decade, but there are several common elements that the two markets share. Today, we’re going to delve into the links between professional video gaming and professional sport.
We’re going to uncover the growing mutual factors that are pulling them closer together, and explore how tech innovations and an interconnected global market are now bringing more eyes to each respective industry.
Table of Contents
Betting Markets & Their Growing Demand
We can’t talk about the link between professional video gaming and professional sports without talking about the vast number of betting markets that have emerged over the last decade. Initially, these markets started off as small, niche corners of betting websites.
Even though some eSports tournaments were bringing in millions of viewers online and generating prize pools that were in the millions of dollars, betting platforms were still reluctant to offer markets that captured this growing demand.
Unlike professional sports, many of the biggest eSports tournaments were not broadcast via traditional legacy media channels in the way professional sports are. Many eSports companies have leveraged the growing innovations of streaming sites like Twitch and YouTube, breaking down barriers and essentially leapfrogging the confines and costs associated with working with traditional cable companies.
Demand and consumer attitudes often drive quick changes in these markets. Within the space of a year or so, many of the top eSports now had deep, varied betting markets. Counter-Strike 2 was finding a huge market online, and because it is one of the most popular, CS2 odds at Thunderpick quickly became one of their most sought-after markets.
This is something that happened right across the board, with betting platforms shifting their focus toward niche markets like CS2 betting, rather than focusing solely on conventional sports betting markets. Due to the nature of their design, many of these eSports betting markets are similar to traditional sports, offering individual game, tournament, and live in-play betting, with the similarities increasing.
The Streaming Revolution
Professional video gaming may have started off as a small, growing area within the vastness of the digital entertainment universe. Still, it quickly became the target for huge investment from prominent celebrities.
Perhaps the most notable crossover here is Michael Jordan’s huge investment into the eSports sector back in 2018. Although his sports-focussed venture capitalist investment strategy has shifted focus over the last couple of years, it shows that there’s a strong crossover between these two realms of professional competition, despite their differences.
As prominent platforms like Twitch clamp down on viewbotting, which is what some streamers used to artificially pump up their viewing figures, it highlights just how integral views and engagement have become in the world of gaming.
In the US, even the world’s most popular sporting league, the English Premier League, has the live viewing rights spread across a number of channels. Games that involve the top teams like Arsenal vs Man City often bring in millions of viewers, with streaming companies now playing an even bigger role in how we watch professional sports.
However, in the early 2010s, when legacy media held all the cards, it was the ingenuity of eSports that demonstrated that professional competitions and tournaments could be successfully broadcast through new, contemporary streaming platforms.
Living The Life
If you are somebody who doesn’t know much about professional video gaming, it might sound like a hobby that a few lucky gamers manage to turn into their full-time job. While there is some element of truth to this, it is also reductive and overlooks the amount of training and strategy that often goes into the top eSports teams.
With such huge prize money at stake, teams treat their gaming as a profession. Some will spend a dozen hours a day, five or six days a week, in training rooms and areas paid for by those looking to sponsor them. The best eSports teams descend on these tournaments from all over the world, whether they are from the US, China, Japan, South Korea, or the UK.
Those gamers who do not treat it as a job, with a high degree of professionalism and training run the risk of losing their spot in the team, or costing themselves and their teammates big money – the stakes are high – and it’s another thing that pro eSports and pro sports teams have in common.
An Ever-Changing World
We live in a world where more modern sports and games are becoming universally recognized. Breakdancing is now an Olympic sport, and eSports are considered a lucrative vocation for those good enough to make their name in the industry.
Obviously, there will always be a market for professional, traditional sports, but in a world that is now so interconnected and digitzed, do not be surprised to see eSports continue gathering momentum, upping their prize money, and appealing to a much bigger audience as the dynamics of the audience shift to a more contemporary, digitally astute customer base.
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