What is e-sports and why should you care?

05 October 2016 - 17:02 By Staff Writer
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It’s a fair question to ask – a row of young men staring and shouting at their computer screens, vigorously tapping their mice and keyboards, can easily be laughed off.

But when those same men, now known as gaming professionals, are watched live by upwards of 20-million people as they compete for a $20-million prize in one particular game, the laughter is drowned out and the growing popularity of e-sports becomes apparent.

The term e-sports, or electronic sports, refers to organised, competitive gaming. There are teams, usually attached to an organisation or company, and there is often money – increasingly large sums of it – on offer to the winner of a particular tournament.

And the people who play the games? Those are the professional gamers. Before you scoff, consider that the experience, time, thought and skill to get to this level of competition rival the efforts of the world's best athletes.

Want to see the best South Africa has to offer in e-sports battling it out for R1-million, a prize pool never before seen in this country?

Then check out the rAge gaming expo this weekend, October 7 to 9, at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg.

Still not sure you care?

According to the latest research, the global e-sports industry is expected to reach all-time-high revenue of more than $493-million in 2016, according to Newzoo Research. Based on its report, the industry’s revenue this year will grow more than 50% compared with last year, and it’s not even close to peaking.

The local context is quite different. South Africa saw e-sports kicking off from about 2010, but it is only in the past year, with larger commitments by the likes of Telkom and its Digital Gaming League (DGL), that interest has spiked, with gamers able to consider a full-time commitment to the burgeoning sport.

Cumulative prize money at local e-sports competitions neared the R2-million mark in 2016. Gaming as a whole in South Africa, according to audit firm PwC, is now benchmarked at R2.6-billion, set to rise to R3.6-billion by 2019.

And when traditional sport channels the size of ESPN create their own hubs dedicated to e-sports, you know it is something to watch.

Jacqui O’Sullivan, managing executive of group communication and public relations at Telkom, says: “Telkom took the decision to back e-sports in January [2016]. Since the launch, we have seen tremendous growth in this sector, with new tournaments opening up and other large prize pools being offered.

“This is all good news for e-sports and we are excited by the future opportunities this gives the multi-gaming organisations and sponsors alike.”

The Telkom DGL Masters Final in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 will also take place this weekend at the rAge expo.

 

Keep an eye out for live-streams of the weekend’s games via TimesLIVE.co.za or watch on www.youtube.com/c/TelkomGaming/live.

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