Los Angeles Western Esports Hub

Los Angeles - the hub of esports in the West

AUTHOR: Adam Fitch  @byadamfitch

sports is a distinctive industry in that it’s almost entirely digital. Everything can be done online, from practising to competing, to scouting new players, to cultivating an incredibly large audience. That doesn’t mean there’s no significance in physical locations, however. Prominent and respected leagues and tournaments take place in the same location and countries have their own unique involvement in esports. E

Los Angeles has cemented itself as a hotspot for the esports industry as it has grown over the past 20 years. From game developers being located there to organisations setting up shop in the sunny City, to competitions heading there; plenty is going on.

If you believe projections - or simply have observed its growth over the years - it’s clear that esports is poised to be a huge industry, and Los Angeles has pitted itself as a prominent location. The city has been the home of many entrepreneurs, start-ups, and successful enterprises for many, many years, so this makes complete sense.

So, which companies and organisations are responsible for such a reputation in this industry?

Well, there are a whole host of esports organisations whose headquarters and training facilities are housed in the City of Angels. If you were to head there, you’d find the likes of Cloud9, Team SoloMid, Immortals, FaZe Clan, 100 Thieves, Counter Logic Gaming, FlyQuest, NRG Esports, and Echo Fox. Team Liquid’s Alienware Training Facility - which is described as “state-of-the-art” and quite ground-breaking for esports - can also be found there.

The Overwatch League was the first large-scale, geolocated tournament that requires competitors to buy a franchise spot. This meant esports organisations, investors, and figures from traditional sports bought a position in the league and made a particular city its own. Los Angeles, out of all 20 franchises, is the only city to house two brands. Immortals own the Los Angeles Valiant, and Stan and Josh Kroenke own the Los Angeles Gladiators, which is operated by Sentinels.

Photo by: Blizzard Entertainment photographer

The Overwatch League is pushing towards home, and away games being played out of franchises’ own venues, but that’s not coming until 2020. From its inception in 2018, the matches in the league have been played out of the Blizzard Arena which - you guessed it - is located in Los Angeles.

When the Overwatch League does incorporate home and away games, that means popular franchises will no longer be present in Los Angeles on a consistent basis, and the only time fans can head there to watch the competition is when the Valiant or Gladiators are playing at home. Even then, it will be divided, and it’s just a huge risk in general.

Activision Blizzard’s ambitious project isn’t the only competition that counts L.A. as its home. Riot Games, the

developer of League of Legends and operator of numerous leagues, is based in the city and also hosts the LCS - it’s North American franchised league - there too.

A number of tournament organisers also have offices in Los Angeles, including major players in the industry such as ESL, FACEIT, and Major League Gaming (MLG). These companies’ position in esports is vital, they support the ambitions of the developers and even run the competitive scene of an entire game themselves - MLG operates the Call of Duty World League, for example. Even some investment groups and venture capitalists such as BITKRAFT Esports - the firm co-founded by Jens Hilgers, the entrepreneur who also co-founded ESL, G2 Esports, and DOJO Madness - are established in Los Angeles. It truly houses companies from each vital component of the industry. This doesn’t mean Los Angeles is the only place to go if you want to be big in esports, of course. North Texas is quickly building up an esports presence of its own, with OpTic Gaming, Team Envy, and Complexity Gaming - who just opened its headquarters, the GameStop Performance Center - all setting up shop there. The Esports Stadium Arlington is also based there, and it’s quickly making a name for itself as a solid venue for a variety of titles and needs.

So while L.A. is currently the hub for esports in North America, Texas could well take over in the future. For now, however, it’s indisputable that it’s leading the charge as the industry attempts to reach new heights.