February 2023 Check In With The Chair

Content Meets Competition

If you're looking for positive news from the esports world, look no further than OpTic Gaming's incredible success with the recently-launched Scump Watch Parties.

The team that has proven themselves time and time again as both competitive champions and kings of content has pivoted in a remarkable way, following the surprising retirement of Team Captain, arguably the greatest competitive Call of Duty player of all time, Seth "Scump" Abner.?

It was well documented that the 2023 Call of Duty League season would be the finale for The King of CoD. Fans were caught off guard on January 17th by a congratulatory post across OpTic social media channels thanking their long-time star for his decade-long competitive career. While many have prognosticated about the individual success that Scump would realize as a streamer post-retirement, questions immediately arose as to what this meant for the org.

In response, OpTic made a move that was impressive, but not surprising. Understanding the brand’s knack for content, launching watch parties alongside Call of Duty League Majors, featuring Scump, CEO Hector Rodriguez, and other highly followed members of the org. In the first broadcast, OpTic x Scump Watch Party eclipsed 100,000 live concurrent viewers! This viewership is higher than the official League of Legends LCS broadcast, the Call of Duty League broadcast, and the popular streamer, xQc. Not dissimilar from the ManningCast, supporting Monday Night Football, these streams provide unique access into interesting conversations, seamlessly connect content with competition, and present a fantastic sponsorship opportunity for brands looking for high awareness and alignment with some of the most beloved personalities in esports.

As esports teams continue to search for sustainable business models and reliable revenue streams, this move and early success begs the question - Is this concept one that can drive revenue and be successfully duplicated to benefit more than one org? Success breeds imitation, so we will no doubt discover if this formula can be replicated effectively. Can other personalities engage their fanbases in the same way that Scump and H3CZ attract the attention of OpTic’s Green Wall, one of esports most passionate fan bases? One could argue that the aforementioned ManningCast would not be nearly as successful with hosts other than the accomplished and affable Super Bowl-winning QB’s.?

Many esports orgs compensate for the costs of player salaries and franchise fees through content creation, but none to date have combined both concepts as continuously as Texas’ Call of Duty League team. As the pursuit of profitability continues for professional teams, keep an eye on OpTic and other innovative orgs that are changing the game for long-term sustainable success.