Any gamer will know how esports has transformed the way that we appreciate video games. Far from being a solitary affair, competitive gaming has helped many top gamers turn professional, and it’s also transformed the way in which we play our favourite games.
Many news stories love to focus on how esports has helped video games become a spectator sport. And whilst stories of thousands of people watching events like DreamHack in massive stadiums, and many more viewing live streams via Twitch.tv might be impressive, it’s also clear that esports isn’t just a passive viewing experience.
You only have to load up the Twitch.tv site when a big tournament like ESL One is on to see how interactive this esports resource is. Whilst the chat room might devolve into a free-for-all of all manner of outspoken opinions, it’s clear that visiting sites like this helps us understand how the pro gamers have managed to develop the skills necessary to make it to the top of their field.
Most of us probably also follow our favourite esports teams like Fnatic and G2 Esports via their social media channels so that we don’t miss out on their next bout of gaming action. And with pro LoL gamers like Bjergsen commanding over 1.4 million followers on Twitter, it seems as though many of us are keen to see how to emulate some of these esports all-stars.
We all know how many of these esports stars are able to earn huge amounts of money through some massive sponsorship deals. Whilst this might not directly affect what kinds of soft drinks we choose, we have seen how esports teams like Chaos Theory, Team Queso and Mortality have all benefited from a nice Razer sponsorship deal that could tempt us all into upgrading our gaming tech.
Some of us might also want to take a share in the incredible profits generated by the esports revolution. Whilst we might not be able to take a share in the multi-million dollar prize pools, many of us love to go to betting resources like http://openodds.com/ to see how we can land a winning bet on our favourite esports team.
So whilst watching esports might initially seem like a fairly passive activity, it seems that there are plenty of ways to enjoy a more active manner of keeping up with all of the chaotic gaming action.
