E-sports: a revolution in sports?

E-sports, or electronic games, are the online competition platform for video games in the most diverse categories such as cars, fighting and shooting. With access to the latest technologies, the video game industry has grown exponentially, having the opportunity to innovate the concept of gaming and provide a personalized and exciting experience for its consumers. E-sports has seen an explosion, with the age range of users becoming more and more extensive, the numbers of adherents increasing every day and games being released more frequently.

Millions of people turn to streaming platforms like Youtube and Twitch to watch tournaments for their favorite games. Video game related events are gaining popularity to the point where football stadiums or national pavilions are required to accommodate the thousands of visitors who travel long distances to be part of major esports events. Tournaments usually take place at these events, but thousands more watch the games live via streaming platforms.

Games have certainly increased in popularity due to the large demographic they reach. Gaming geeks from the 80s and 90s are still intact on the internet, not only because of the continued interest in the video game community but also because developers have focused on remakes or continuity of 2000s game sagas, such as Spyro, MediEvil, Fallout 76 and Red Dead Redemption 2. Unlike other physical sports, e-sports allows individuals of any age or physical condition to participate in tournaments and test their tactical skills, teamwork and reflexes against their opponents. From teenagers to middle-aged adults, video games are designed for any individual who enjoys competition without having the physical and athletic character that other sports require.

Watching an Esports tournament can be compared to watching a football game. A person ends up being able to set their preferred football team to watch and support, a feature that also happens in esports games. Fans are dedicated to learning the different individual characteristics of each team that competes in Esports tournaments to the point where they feel confident to bet on Betway on possible winners of gaming events.

There are several headquarters of esports teams around the world, covering different continents, among the biggest teams of global reach we have, for example, Fnatic, Cloud9, FaZe, Team Liquid and SK Gaming. Teams recruit some of the most talented players around the world in specific games, with the most popular today being Fortnite (one of the most popular battle royales today), Counter Strike Global Offensive, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, League of Legends and Call of Duty BlackOps 4.

In 2017, discussions began on possibly including esports in the 2020 Olympic Games taking place in Japan. Everything indicated that we could come to watch esports tournaments in Tokyo in some of the most popular games of the moment, however, in early September 2018, Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, declared that due to the violent nature of the video games included in E-sports, this tournament could not be incorporated into the program for the 2020 Olympic Games. The committee chairman pointed out that games that involve "killing enemies", such as shooting games (CS:GO, PUBG and Call of Duty) encourage violence and even discrimination, a message that the Olympic Games do not want to convey during the international tournaments that are held every 4 years.

Tip: Read more about Games

But the "battle" to include e-sports in the world's biggest sporting event is not yet at a dead end. New discussions are taking place to possibly include e-sports in the 2024 Paris Olympics as a demonstration to study public reaction and interest towards video games. This possibility demonstrates that games are still an open option to be included in future sporting events, especially given the attention they have received. Schools and universities around the world have included computer games in the school curriculum either as group activities to develop social skills, such as teamwork or communication, or even university courses designed to develop the numerous skills essential to transforming a video game player. into a professional quality player.

Games have come a long way since early consoles like the Nintendo 64 or Atari, with increasingly immersive and realistic games being released so often. Older generations may still have some prejudices about the potential of esports, but it is hoped that in the near future video games will receive the attention they deserve and can be seen as the multi-million dollar industry that they really are.