The growth of Esports has been quite phenomenal over the last few years, none more so than 2020 as people looked to find sources of entertainment away from the likes of football during a period when the sport was put on hold.
For Esports though the show went on, with gameplay being enjoyed online, and it could have a significant impact on the future of both sports as they really do start to compete for the limelight.
The growth of Esports has led to many conversations, particularly as it becomes more aligned with the traditional forms of sport.
The Similarities Between Esports & Traditional Sports
Today Esports is in the position where it is starting to challenge some of the more traditional sports in terms of viewership and popularity, and it’s no real surprise. For the most part they fall very much in line with traditional types of sport…
It’s a team game
Like many traditional sports, Esports are often team games, whether that be playing tournaments such as League of Legends, CS:GO or DOTA 2, giving fans the opportunity to back a team just as they would in football or rugby.
It gives fans something to invest in emotionally and that’s welcoming more fans to the sport.
You can watch every event live
Just like Premier League football you can watch your team and every tournament live, with a number of TV stations having the rights to major events, while Twitch.tv and YouTube also live stream events meaning you can watch all the action and not miss a thing.
TV in particular is helping the sport reach out to new generations of player and in turn is only strengthening its position, just as Premier League football did back in the early 1990s.
Sponsorship deals aplenty
This is matched with commercial activity. While you’ll find plenty of partnerships with brands across the likes of the Premier League, the NBA and NFL, from household goods to betting channels, it’s the same with Esports.
K-Swiss shoes have signed an official sneaker partnership deal with Immortals, while many bookmakers are now sponsoring events and teams, creating official betting partners.
You can bet on events!
Perhaps one of the main things that links Esports to more traditional sports is that you can indeed bet on them. And the Esports betting markets are becoming more popular by the day.
On the Bookies Offers website you’ll find the vast majority of brands now offer betting markets on events across League of Legends, Warcraft and FIFA and players are taking them up on it.
The spring and summer of 2020 was particularly popular for betting on Esports, with it being introduced to traditional sports fans who found Esports as an alternative during the suspension of many traditional leagues. And Esports really hasn’t looked back.
Could Esports Overtake Traditional Sports?
To the point where now Esports could realistically take over more traditional sports, including football as the most watched and most popular type of game.
Such has been its rise to prominence that there have been calls for it to be included in the 2024 Olympics. This would be an even bigger gamechanger.
For many sports fans, and athletes in particular, the main inspiration comes from the ability to win a World Cup or Olympic Gold, and given that could be a possibility in four years’ time, it will see more people inspired to pick up a controller and start playing.
What traditional sports need to do is embrace this revolution rather than compete. Football is certainly doing that. Many footballers have helped found Esports teams and academies, including Leicester’s Christian Fuchs and Liverpool’s Diego Jota, while the Premier League has even launched the ePremier League, an online tournament using FIFA 21.
This allows anyone to register and enter, with a series of qualification rounds and play-offs before a live finals in Spring of 2021. The aim is to bring the league and Esports closer together so they operate in perfect harmony rather than as rivals, and that could be the best move for everyone in order to see them both thrive across the next decade.
