eSports Explosion! League of Legends and Their Celebrities?

The Explosion of eSports

It would be easy, with the rhythmic foot stomping, near deafening applause, bright lights and arena setting, to feel disoriented. You would be forgiven for looking to the center staging area, and wondering “did I take a wrong turn and end up at some pop star concert?” If you have not personally contributed any of the 10 Billion YouTube views to PewDiePie's channel, I suppose you could be forgiven for asking... ”who” and “what” is eSports?

“What is an eSport?” Our buddies at wikipedia  describe an ‘eSport’ as any sport that involves primary aspects “facilitated by electronic systems.” As clear as that definition may be, for most of us, eSports is the entertainment and excitement in and around competitive gaming! The most popular eSport game titles would include League of Legends, Dota 2, Starcraft 2, CS:GO, and Super Smash Brothers.

Season 1 of Riot Games’ League of Legends marked the birth of what we consider eSports today. In the blink of an eye, eSports has evolved into a global phenomenon. The eSports business and entertainment industries now thrive in their rapid expansion to meet today’s demand of the hundreds of millions of global gamers.

Riot Games thrives with the explosion. They continue to invest aggressively to find new ways to engage and nurture this ever growing tribe of rabidly enthusiastic gamers. Already, their investment has paid off handsomely (reporting nearly $1 billion in micro transaction revenue alone). As their audience grows and their returns become even more pronounced, can we safely assume Riot will continue to pour fuel on the already blazing fire?

Who is eSports?

Worldwide, more than 100 million gamers tune in monthly to watch their favorite celebrities compete in their favorite video games. It would be fair to say that the "who" of eSports are your friends, family, neighbors, and perhaps even YOU, dear reader. By the end of 2015, experts anticipate that as many as 200 million gamers will have either watched or participated in eSports this year.

What happens when consumer attention accumulates to such a scale? The titans of industry flock to the action!

Billionaire Mark Cuban at IEM San Jose 2015

2015 marked the year the world took notice of eSports as notable business titans, billionaire Mark Cuban (Shark Tank reality TV star) and former NBA commissioner David Stern (the legend of basketball who brought NBA mainstream), entered the eSports action.

Cuban joined the action in a $7 million Series A round with Unikrn, today’s leader in eSports betting (a company that happens to also count Ashton Kutcher as an investor).

With his experience owning and running the Dallas Mavericks, does Cuban make a connection between eSports and traditional sports entertainment?

David Stern, Former NBA Comissioner

David Stern seems to see the similarities. Stern entered the world of eSports with an early investment in AlphaDraft (fantasy eSports) and saw a fast return on its acquisition by FanDuel in September 2015. Although, Stern may yet question his decision with conservative estimates already projecting over $23 billion to be wagered on eSports by 2020.

What is eSports entertainment?

League of Legends Worlds (Season 5)

Today’s eSports entertainment includes multi-million dollar competitions attracting millions of viewers, eSports Celebrities behaving in “virally engaging” antics, and a host of eSports media coverage.

The entertainment, though, is not limited to eSports celebrities. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich says that, for him, being directly “in on the action” is what makes eSports so engaging.

Most recently, under the guise of raising awareness and support for CyberSmile (a foundation aiming to end cyberbullying), Mark Cuban challenged Brian Krzanich to a 1v1 League of Legends showmatch battle! Cuban did not stop to think twice that neither he nor Krzanich had any experience with actual gameplay of League of Legends, so IEM quickly provided each with four teammates, all former eSports Professionals. The result?  Quality eSports entertainment!

Cuban fined for inappropriate language. Twice.

Who is the eSports Celebrity?

With the rise of eSports entertainment driven by media channels including Twitch, YouTube, Intel’s IEM, and ESPN, there are two categories of the eSports Celebrity, the Professional and the Personality.

The Professional Celebrity earns his primary income competing at the highest level. He competes at elite events including Riot’s League Challenger Series, holds one or more sponsorship deals, and is generally a household name in the world of eSports.

The Personality Celebrity includes the likes of YouTube’s 10 billion view PewDiePie and Twitch’s 118 million view Nightblue3. These Personalities offer scheduled streaming and programming to deliver unique and engaging content to their millions of fans.

How does eSports entertainment move beyond today’s traditional sports entertainment? The media channel platforms, including YouTube and Twitch, offer a level of celebrity-fan engagement that could not exist before the wide adoption of social media, allowing eSports Celebrities to attract and engage with fans on an unprecedented scale.

Quite often, eSports Celebrities engage in fun and entertaining antics that have a tendency to go viral. Recently, two League of Legends’ Professional Celebrities (DoubleLift and Reginald) sparked community buzz with an impromptu 1v1 League of Legends contest of machismo. One diehard fan captured the video during the stream and posted it to the active League of Legends Subreddit. Almost instantly, their 1v1 video went viral.

The eSports Gold Rush

What drives the explosive pace of the industry? Perhaps we can thank the many entrepreneurs rushing to stake their claim in the eSports gold rush. Specifically, we can thank the entrepreneurs of those organizations bringing the competition of eSports to the gaming consumer, including Vulcun (fantasy eSports), eSportsQ (1v1 League of Legends), and World Gaming (Cash Challenges and eSports Tournaments).

Despite current shaky legal grounds, fantasy sports (eSports and traditional), attracts millions of fans. With the recent billion dollar valuations of the eSports industry’s two newest unicorns, DraftKings and FanDuel (traditional Fantasy Sports), the world (and Wall Street) now pays close attention to the business of eSports.

One final gauge that indicates the business of eSports is here to stay? The influx of eSports professionals (attorneys, consultants, etc.) who now offer specialty services to support the growing needs of the eSports entertainment and business. Some might say an industry becomes “official” when the supporting service professionals take notice.

What’s next for eSports?

Ultimately, the most remarkable thing about the eSports explosion is the impact on the gaming consumer. Today, people want and expect to be able to touch, hold and otherwise CONNECT with the things they love. Gamers can now connect with eSports on a level never before possible.

Gamers today participate directly in the action through a variety of sites, including eSportsQ, where League of Legends fans battle head on with each other and their favorite streamers. Right there, among the ranks of the eSportsQ users, we are likely to find the next eSports Celebrities, sharpening their skills, connecting with their followers and just plain having fun!

Soon, every gamer will be either directly or indirectly participating in eSports. So, don't be the last kid on your block to know who PewDiePie is, or wait a moment longer to earn a following of your own, as the Professional or Personality we will all be talking about by this time next year!