MCV887 eSports Pro by Future PLC

Publication

Friday 29th July 2016

ISSUE

eGAMES, THE PINNACLE OF COMPETITIVE GAMING

RIO SHOWCASE 15 &16 AUGUST 2016

egames.org

British House will be the UK’s home away from home at Rio 2016, the place to celebrate our sporting performance and a showcase for London and the UK. As such, we are delighted to be hosting the inaugural eGames as part of our exciting event programme. Conrad Bird, Director, GREAT Britain Campaign.

The UK’s video game industry is world class, a result of the incredible pool of talent and innovation that exists within the sector. I’m delighted that the eGames event will be held at British House at a time when the world’s eyes will be turning to Rio, and wish all the competitors the best of luck.” Ed Vaizey Former Culture Minister.

RIO PROVIDES GLOBAL STAGE FOR DEBUT eGAMES The International eGames Committee is delighted to be hosting the eGames showcase as part of a two-day pop up on Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th of August. This inaugural event will take place at British House, Parque Lage, Rio, Brazil. Situated at the foot of the iconic Corcovado, home to Christ the Redeemer, The British House will be based at the historic residence in Parque Lage, which is a public park in the Jardim Botanico of Rio. It was designed by the British landscaping artist John Tyndale in 1840 and the mansion is the former residence of Enrique Lage. Launched on April 6th 2016 as part of the London Games Festival, the eGames is an international eSports competitive video gaming tournament where national pride is the prize. In line with other globally established sporting

events, the eGames will be a medal-only competition, with no prize money, but the opportunity to take home gold for your country. 7KH ƓUVW IXOO H*DPHV ZLOO EH KHOG LQ Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018 and Tokyo, Japan in 2020. They will be taking place when there are no other major sporting events. During non-eGames years National 4XDOLƓHUV ZLOO EH KHOG GRPHVWLFDOO\ to determine each country’s participants for their eTeam i.e. British Championships - London 2017, Australian Championships - Melbourne 2017 etc. The showcase event will be broadcast to eSports fans globally and also mainstream audiences. egames.org

IN THIS ISSUE THE BIG INTERVIEW: EA GAMES ----------------------------------------Electronics Arts discusses the challenge of bringing eSports to the mainstream

TWITCH, HITBOX AND GINX ON THE FUTURE OF VIEWING ESPORTS

DISCOVER OUR SELECTION OF THE BEST ESPORTS ACCESSORIES

EDITORIAL LEADER ESPORTS HAS TAKEN OVER MCV

o not adjusts your sets. We’ve just decided to give your favourite trade weekly a rare few days off… and no, it’s not because we were fed up of writing about Pokémon Go. This one-off magazine (with a complete redesign, might I point out), is dedicated to MCV’s popular spin-off: eSports Pro. What started as a newsletter, written by a freelance eSports writer, has slowly evolved into a bit of a monster – and over the next six months, you’ll be seeing a lot from us when it comes to the world of competitive gaming. For starters, eSports Pro is breaking away from its MCV home to form its own dedicated website. We’ve even expanded the team. The site should be ready in September, all going well. Then, on November 21st, we will host the eSports Industry Awards - live from The Brewery, hosted by Julia Hardly and Jason Bradbury, and celebrating all things pro-gaming. Finally, that will be followed by the Future

eSports has fast become an industry all to itself. Games Summit, a two day event which – on day two – will be entirely dedicated to the challenges and growth opportunities within the world of competitive gaming. It’s a lot, but then eSports has fast become an industry all to itself, one with its own unique challenges and opportunities. That’s why we felt able to dedicate more than 40 pages to the subject, featuring discussions around viewership, regulation and making money. We’ve even spoken to the organisers behind the upcoming eGames in Rio, plus EA shares its vision for this growing sector of the business. I hope you enjoy what we’ve put together. Normal programming resumes next week.

CONTACTS Christopher Dring

Stuart Moody

Andrew Wooden

Editor cdring@nbmedia.com

Head of Operations smoody@nbmedia.com

Content Director awooden@nbmedia.com

Ben Parﬁtt

Sam Richwood

Conor Tallon

Associate Editor bparﬁtt@nbmedia.com

Designer srichwood@nbmedia.com

Senior Account Manager ctallon@nbmedia.com

Alex Calvin

James Marinos

Lesley McDiarmid

Senior Staff Writer acalvin@nbmedia.com

Production Executive jmarinos@nbmedia.com

Senior Account Manager lmcDiarmid@nbmedia.com

Marie Dealessandri

Mark Burton

Mark Rankine

Staff Writer mdealessandri@nbmedia.com

Managing Director mburton@nbmedia.com

Sales Director mrankine@nbmedia.com

Please address all enquiries to: Newbay Media, MCV, Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford, SG14 1JA. Printed By: Pensord, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood, NP12 2YA

© Newbay 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher. The contents of MCV are subject to reproduction in information storage and retrieval systems.

Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England SG14 1JA Newbay specialises in trade-dedicated print and digital publishing for entertainment and leisure markets. As well as MCV, Newbay publishes Develop, PCR, ToyNews, Music Week, MI Pro, Audio Pro International and BikeBiz. It also has two onlineonly brands: Mobile Entertainment, dedicated to the growing mass market smartphone sector, and Licensing.biz, for everyone in the global licensing industry. It also runs a number of events including the MCV Industry Excellence Awards, the London Games Conference and the Games Media Awards.

July 29th 2016

NEWS

NEWS:

MCV owners to launch eSports Pro website New online publication set for September launch O eSports to form part of Future Games Summit

Top: The Future Games Summit will feature an entire day dedicated to eSports

MCV and Develop owners Newbay will launch a new B2B website dedicated entirely to eSports. eSports Pro started as a newsletter distributed via the MCV website in February 2015, but from this September it will spin out to become its own product. The website will feature breaking news from the eSports world, with coverage of teams, leagues, players, trade bodies, developers and publishers. It will also feature in-depth analysis, opinion pieces, interviews, plus a full schedule of upcoming pro-gaming events. The eSports Pro website is only one part of Newbay’s eSports plans for the remainder of the year. The eSports Industry Awards kicks off on November 21st, hosted by Julia Hardy and The Gadget Show’s Jason Bradbury. The first batch of finalists of the awards can be

found on page 30. Later that week, beginning November 23rd, we will host the Future Games Summit. The Summit is a two-day event, with the second day devoted entirely to eSports – featuring speakers from around the world. Drop us a line if you would like to speak at the event, or take part in proceedings.

PROFESSIONAL GAMERS NEED INDUSTRY-WIDE REPRESENTATION By Alex Calvin THE head of competitive gaming body eSports Integrity Coalition has said that players must band together to influence industry decisions. Speaking to eSports Pro, Ian Smith said that pro-gamers are the main draw for eSports events, yet they have little say in any part of the sector. Furthermore, if a corruption scandal kills the game they are playing, they stand to lose more than anyone. “My biggest issue in eSport is the lack of representation for players by players,” Smith said. “They really need to get organised. The players, the people at the bottom of the heap, are the product. They’re the ones with the fanbase, the ones signing autographs, the ones people come and fill stadiums to see and watch for hours on Twitch. Yet they don’t have any organised say in any part of the industry. They really need to get

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organised because you get people like me coming along and saying: ‘Hey, the new rules about anticorruption code is X’ and I get zero feedback. “It’s players’ careers that are at risk here. Who is going to suffer most from, for example, a major scandal in a particular game? It’s the players of that title. “If a game dies because of a scandal, a tournament organiser carries on. A major team will survive because it has people playing in other games. But it’s the players of that game that will lose their jobs, their fanbase and their ability to make a living doing what they love. They have the most direct interest in the integrity of eSports. And yet, they have no voice. And I’d love to have somebody to talk to on that front.” There has been calls before for an eSports players union, which prompted ESL and several teams to form the World Esports Association (WESA) in May.

“Since we debuted the eSports Pro newsletter in 2015, the reaction from our readers has been emphatic, and we’ve been inundated with requests to turn it into its own dedicated site,” said Newbay content director Andrew Wooden. “With eSports Pro, the eSports Industry Awards and the Future Games Conference all coming this year, Newbay will establish

NEWS

We can unlock big sponsors for pro gaming, says EA Publisher believes FIFA and Madden are accessible enough to attract non-games companies to eSports

By Christopher Dring EA says its games can win over big name brands such as Coke and Visa for the pro-gaming industry. Although there has been an increase in non-games brands investing in eSports, many big firms have held off advertising or sponsoring major events – despite the huge audience of young people that the market attracts. EA suspects that the industry may seem impenetrable and confusing, which is where mass-market titles such as FIFA and Madden can help. Already football clubs are investing in the market, with the likes of West Ham and Manchester City signing their own eSports players. “For non-endemic brands, this is a new space for them, and when you look at the types of games that have risen to popularity, these are not accessible titles, they’re not easy to understand and maybe they don’t match perfectly from a demographic stand-point with the audience they are trying to reach… or they are not consistent with the investments that these brands have already made outside of competitive gaming,” said

Todd Sitrin, SVP of EA’s Competitive Gaming Division. “This is a space where EA has a special opportunity. Our brands are definitely more accessible, they are PEGI 3, anyone can play these games… that’s not true of a lot of eSports titles that have risen to popularity to-date. “Our IPs are safer for them to invest in and we are already mainstream. Also, a lot of these brands have already invested in the real world of sport and they see there is a complementary area that they can invest in. We have had a relationship with these types of brands

worldwide for a decade, where we have had them integrated into our games, our marketing activities, and they have been chomping at the bit for EA to increase its investment in this area. “Now that we have, we are working with many of them to bring them into the space for the very first time. The games we have, and the relationships we have with these non-endemic brands, is going to unlock the part of the eSports puzzle that has yet to be solved by others.” You can read more from EA on page 11.

Top: West Ham recently signed pro-FIFA player Sean ‘Dragonn’ Allen

GLOBAL ESPORTS SPONSORSHIP TO SMASH £500M THIS YEAR By Christopher Dring SUPERDATA expects advertising to account for more than half a billion pounds in eSports revenue by the end of 2016. The data firm says sponsorship and advertising will account for the vast majority of money, far outstripping prize pools (£60m) and betting (£45m). In fact, sponsorship now accounts for almost three quarters of all the revenue made by eSports businesses. SuperData estimates that the worldwide revenue for eSports will reach £680m by the end of the year, with growth predicted every

Competitive gaming needs discipline and a sense of accountability. Joost van Dreunen, SuperData

year until 2020 – when the market will reach £1bn. By 2019, the company says eSports will have an addressable audience of 302m. However, SuperData analyst Joost van Dreunen warns that the eSports industry must continue to ‘grow up’ if it wants to secure more money and reach mainstream audiences. “To grow out of its adolescent struggle, competitive gaming will need discipline and a sense of accountability,” he said. You can read more from van Dreunen on page 9. SuperData’s full figures are printed on page 20.

July 29th 2016

OPINION // DOMINIC SACCO

OPINION:

eSports can become a force in the UK,, but there’s still a long way ayy to o go g Competitive gaming on our shores is promising romising omising mising ising sing ing ng g yet ye yett underdeve underdevelo underdevel underdeveloped. u un underde und unde underd under nderdevelope derdeveloped erdeveloped. developed. eveloped. veloped. loped. ped. ed.. Our O r eSports eSpo eS Sports orts expert ex exper D Dominic ominic Sacco acco argues that university leaguess and nd d the th he e new ne n ew w Br Brit British Britis Briti British tish sh h eSport eSp eSpo eSports e eS Sports ports orts ts Association Associati As Ass Assoc Associa ssociation ociation ciation tion n can can make make it a force f in the future f

UK Premiership had a prize pool of £10,500; the World Championship had more than $2m (£1.52m) up for grabs. The UK has attracted some global tournaments, granted, but these are usually one segment of a competition, such as the quarter-finals or the finals. While these events are popular at locations like the Wembley SSE Arena, most of the ticket sales will go to the studio, organiser, venue and so on – a lot of it bypasses the grassroots level.

ast year, there was just one British pro eSports player in the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) – one of the most followed eSports leagues in the world. Today, there are two (although there is a third player, who wasn’t born in Britain but has lived here most of his life). There could be another early next year, with promising teenager Barney ‘Alphari’ Morris close to qualifying for the LCS with his team: Misfits. The UK also has some of the best SMITE players, including Nathaniel ‘Ataraxia’ Mark, and fighting game pros like Ben ‘ProblemX’ Simon. We have some brilliant FIFA players, too, such as Spencer ‘A Huge Gorilla’ Ealing and West Ham’s very own Sean ‘Dragonn’ Allen. So for all the internet memes and general lack of self-belief within the UK eSports scene, there is actually a lot of talent here. It’s highlighting that talent and supporting it which, in my opinion, is a bit of a problem.

L Dom Sacco: The UK games scene is slowly developing

July 29th 2016

While six-figure eSports sponsorships and million-dollar prize pools are becoming the norm around the world, there is a lack of funding for competitive gaming in the UK specifically. Most grassroots UK-based organisations can’t afford to pay for players, but will usually cover their travel and accommodation fees at events. Player poaching, internal disagreements and roster changes are frequent. It’s sad to see many talented players abandon a potential career in eSports because they can’t afford it. Some simply drop out to focus on their studies, while others change games or teams to have another crack at making it big. One League of Legends player – Cliff Vlahos – is now making his own music and beats instead. While there are brands sponsoring local tournaments like the ESL UK Premiership and various Gfinity competitions, the money just doesn’t compare to the big global events. The most recent League of Legends ESL

LOCAL SUPPORT Thankfully, there are some promising signs emerging, including the recent formation of The British eSports Association. This will act as a national governing body for eSports in the UK and will work with the Government. It aims to represent players at all levels, nurture talent, develop the grassroots scene and ‘provide the infrastructure to create future British global champions’. It even aims to open a national training centre. Countries like South Korea have shown how successful this kind of support can be. The Korea eSports Association does a similar job, and has done for several years now. The results don’t lie: Korea has some of the world’s best and highest-paid eSports players. UK grassroots organisations like the National University Esports League (NUEL) are also making an impact. The firm works with UK universities so that they play against one another (and other European teams) across various games. GAME even sponsored its National Championship. Earlier this year, Gfinity’s head of partner relations Martin Wyatt told me that UK eSports is a ‘sleeping giant’, and I agree. Get involved now, because it is only going to grow and grow.

INTERNATIONAL DAILY 2016

17th, 18th and 19th of August

Return of the hugely successful MCV @ Gamescom Daily The daily print & online resource for visitors to Gamescom Championing and promoting the international video games companies at Gamescom 2016 Latest games business news, insight from the trade show and company spotlights Delivered to 35,000+ games industry professionals at Gamescom Promoted to a global audience of 450,000+ via MCVuk.com

To be involved please contact Conor Tallon ctallon@nbmedia.com or Lesley McDiarmid lmcdiarmid@nbmedia.com

0207 354 6000 Deadline for inclusion: July 20th

OPINION // SPIKE LAURIE

OPINION:

Mainstream brands are at risk of being g left behind by the digital tal all generatio generation eneration neration eration ration ESL UK’s co-managing director Spike Laurie aurie urie rie dis discusse discuss discus discu disc discusses scusses cusses usses sses ses ess the th the e new ne n ew w media m med dia a behavior behavio b beha be havior vior of o the t next n generation, and why mainstream eam am m me med media medi edia dia ia a and a an nd d bra bran brand brands brrands b ands nds ds must m mu mus ust st pay pa ay very, ver very, y, very ve ery close close attent attention att

still take some relish when I reel off the statistics of this phenomenal industry, despite it being the umpteenth time I’ve invoked these well-rehearsed, yet astounding numbers. 235m people engaged with eSports in 2015, over 160m hours of ESL content was consumed on Twitch last year, over 27m unique viewers tuned in to watch ESL ONE Cologne… Inevitably it dawns on people that eSports is not an up-and-coming niche, but it’s here, and it’s huge. How could they have missed this zeitgeist? What can they do to ‘tap into’ this opportunity? It certainly isn’t bold of me to say society in general has undertaken a massive tectonic shift over the last decade. The media channels that we once derived our information and content from now hold little power over us, and what was once a teeming and vibrant landscape of TV and print lies dead and barren to an entire generation. The digital generation thrives on channels like Reddit, YouTube, Twitch and Snapchat, consuming and learning from these new media, media which, to the non-digital native, seem impenetrable and enigmatic. It is within this digital realm that eSports prospers. It is as much part of the DNA of a millennial today as traditional sports are of our parents. I can remember far more vividly defending a six pool rush in Starcraft 2, or AWPing down banana on de_ inferno in Counter Strike 1.6, than I can one of the many West Ham matches I witnessed as a kid (OK, maybe apart from Julian Dicks stamping on that other player’s head). Heaton, Fallen, WhiteRA, SonicFox, all names which hold as much meaning today as any professional sportsperson or celebrity. Names that have captured the

I Top: Spike Laurie, ESL UK’s co-managing director, says eSports (right) are part of the the DNA of millenials

July 29th 2016

imagination of millions inspiring them to aspire. And herein lies the rub, ‘mainstream’ media and brands are in danger of becoming irrelevant to the eSports generation. Not because they are unable to harness this digital movement, but because they have been blind to it, unable to comprehend the very material of its being. LOSING TOUCH One of the inevitable questions one receives at eSports or video games conferences is from traditional broadcasters, and it boils down to how traditional sports are delivered to the consumer. The company pays a large amount of money for exclusivity around a sport or event, and then charges the end user to access that content. A completely viable business model, yet completely anathema to the digital generation. A generation that doesn’t remember Napster, a generation that grew up with fibre

broadband, a generation that doesn’t own a single CD or DVD yet can access any film or song at the click of a mouse. I even once had someone from an anti-piracy company come up to me and tell me they were happy to do a scan for us on one of our events to determine how many people were accessing our content for free. Where does one begin? What I’m not saying is that it’s too late for the mainstream, in fact I wholeheartedly believe there’s no better time than now to dive into eSport. But that’s exactly what it requires, a deep dive, for unless one really immerses oneself into this incredible world, the rewards will always seem elusive and gossamer. 2016 has been a bold and pivotal year for eSports, despite the absence of the big brands and media, the question is, with 2017 set to be even more impressive, do they want to be left out again?

OPINION // JOOST VAN DREUNEN, SUPERDATA

OPINION:

eSports needs to o grow row ow w up. up p SuperData’s Joost van Dreunen en n discus discuss discusses discusse discu disc dis scusses cusses usses sses ses ess tth the he ec ch cha challen challe challenge challenges hallenges allenges llenges enges nges gess th tthat at c cou could ould d hold h d back b ck competitive compe co ompetitive g gaming g

sponsors that work together on making the spectacle of games a better, more rewarding experience for its fans. Worldwide earnings for eSports remain tiny compared to the $104bn in global games revenue. To grow, it has to overcome one of its biggest struggles in digital media today, which is the lack of credibility and reliability in assessing the ‘true’ eSports audience. This is not an issue exclusive to pro-gaming because brands all around the world are clamoring for more transparency when it comes to digital ad spending. Channels and publishers play an especially important role here: Despite their usual reluctance to disclose anything to anyone, the major players are going to have to own up if they expect to earn. t’s not often that you get a chance to be part of an emerging industry before it becomes mainstream. Today, 214m people worldwide regularly watch competitive gaming, and the market is worth $892m, made up of 74 per cent sponsorship money and the remainder directly from consumer spending. Many investors, advertisers, publishers, and networks have placed bets on the future growth of this segment, hoping to catch the wave as it builds momentum. But it isn’t going to be quite so simple. Traditional media tends to hold a rather naive perspective on eSports’ emergence. With young audiences proving to be elusive when it comes to effective ad targeting, networks and broadcasters seek to increase their appeal by ‘getting into eSports’. In the process, they reason they are graciously legitimising gamers and gamer culture. This is an arrogant strategy as it is the incumbent’s staple audiences that are shrinking, with the Major League Baseball, for instance, seeing viewership of its World Series reduced to half what it was 30 years ago. In reality, eSports doesn’t need TV; TV needs eSports. But to grow out of its adolescent struggle, pro-gaming will need

I Top: eSports is now attracting the attention of mainstream TV channels like the BBC

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discipline and a sense of accountability. Intoxicated by the last two years of sudden mainstream media coverage and a growing list of celebrity suitors like Marc Cuban and Rick Fox, the various participants in eSports are starting to feel the repercussions of its step into adulthood. After years of scraping by, investment is more readily available, and the line of curious new sponsors is getting longer. The growth potential of this market seems to suddenly have taken flight with hundreds of millions now regularly watching competitive gaming. But the biggest concern for eSports is sustainability, not size. WHAT THE UK TEACHES US A country like the UK is not unfamiliar with this process. The UK games industry originated in the bedrooms of a generation of ambitious teenagers, some of whom became leaders in the field. After a period of local, entrepreneurial success, large American and Japanese publishers started employing the British innovative spirit, which, in turn, had to professionalise. What the UK industry learned then is what progaming is learning now: it should focus on establishing a healthy network of professional teams, publishers and

THE CHALLENGE AHEAD From a historical perspective, the importance of transparency and the relationship with sponsors cannot be understated. Almost ten years ago the Korean eSports industry was thriving. But as audiences moved to mobile screens and away from televised programming, advertisers pulled away, triggering a decline. Other problems that will hold eSports back include: doping, gambling, the exploitation and abuse of female pros, preventing teams from selling merchandise at events, a lack of transparent rules that determine team participation, an unfair and unnecessarily strenuous tournament schedule, region-blocking, and generally poor communication between platforms, publishers, and players. Now that pro-gaming has moved into the mainstream, all its petty problems are coming to light. At the same time none of the issues are insurmountable. Already we see the emergence of self-regulatory industry bodies like the eSports Integrity Coalition. It presents eSports’ first step toward becoming a respected, sustainable industry. All it has to do from here is grow up.

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THE BIG INTERVIEW // TODD SITRIN

EA presents Eric Berry with his trophy at Madden Bowl earlier this year

THE BIG INTERVIEW:

EA: “We don’t use the word eSport” EA has launched a division dedicated to competitive gaming, with the mission of driving eSports into the mainstream. Christopher Dring meets the firm’s senior VP and GM of Competitive Gaming Todd Sitrin minutes into our interview with Todd Sitrin, the senior VP of EA’s new Competitive Gaming Division, and we realise that he hasn’t used the word ‘eSports’ once. “We purposely do not use the term,” he tells us. “eSports is that shiny execution that is getting a lot of hype. We want to focus on competitive gaming, which encompasses eSports, but it is a much bigger thing. “Our vision is simple: We want to make stars of all of our players, and the key word for us there is ‘all’. We are trying to create a deeper relationship with our community, and one way of doing that is to watch the premium gamers playing. But even more important is to have the community play in their own competitions no matter what their

20 July 29th 2016

skill level. When I think how big competitive gaming can get, I am not just thinking about other people watching professional people play, I’m thinking about how we can get tens of millions of people to compete - even if they don’t stand a chance of getting to that premium level. That is at the heart of what our vision is for competitive gaming at EA.” EA launched its Competitive Gaming Division late last year, led by industry veteran Peter Moore. It is a statement of intent from the publisher, although it’s certainly not the first time it has dabbled in this field. “The very first competitive gaming we did was the Madden Challenge, which was 14 years ago” continues Sitrin. “I was part of the team that created that and we’ve had a long rich history with the FIFA Interactive World Cup, and Battlefield and all those sort of names. But it was a lower priority in the company at the time.

It was also somewhat fragmented, because different regions were tackling it in different ways. We saw an opportunity here to really engage our consumers and not just from a spectator viewpoint, but as players. We saw that really towards the beginning of last year, and we decided that it was time for us to really ramp up our investment.” But this isn’t a pure money making exercise. Sitrin continues: “This is about deepening that relationship with our players, and making sure that they are playing more often and for longer. In terms of the revenue, this is consistent with EA strategy overall - if we engage our consumers, then the finances tend to take care of itself.” BATTLEFIELD, MADDEN AND FIFA At the heart of EA’s competitive gaming vision sits three massive franchises: FIFA, Madden and Battlefield.

THE BIG INTERVIEW // EA

All three are obvious choices as they are EA’s biggest brands, and there are already tournaments running for them, too. Yet there are other games that seem like the ideal fit for the eSports treatment – EA’s UFC titles, for instance, or Star Wars, Titanfall… even Plants vs Zombies. In fact, if you look at EA’s back catalogue, you’ll see titles that already has a competitive gaming scene, such as Command & Conquer. “We are supporting other titles,” Sitrin says. “For instance, we are working with the UFC team - which you mentioned – on a special execution. We are experimenting and these are opportunities to learn what people want. It is not 100 per cent exclusive to FIFA, Madden and Battlefield, and we are also looking at other games within our portfolio. Again, another great opportunity for EA is the fact that we have a lot of diversity in our games. So we are looking broader.” It’s that ‘broad’ appeal that EA hopes gives it a unique edge over its rivals. Its sports games, Sitrin says, are immediately more understandable than complex MOBAs. “I have seen comments, even from folks within EA, who say: ‘Are people really going to watch others play FIFA?’ But when folk watch a FIFA game, I’m getting loads of people say to me: ‘Wow, I just got sucked into the experience.’ I think the reason – and this is a place where EA has a huge opportunity – is because unlike other competitive games in the market, people already understand the rule set of these sports titles. They also have an emotional tie to the teams and the players that are on the screen. That is a huge step up over trying to process and understand something like League of Legends or DOTA. Those are great games, but that is a hardcore experience that requires so much more out of the viewer. “This is not about matching the real thing, because these are two different sports. What we are finding is that people who enjoy real sports are the easiest to convert to watching the virtual version.” SPORTS STARS In fact, it’s the real world of sports that could unlock an entire new market for eSports. Football teams are now getting involved. West Ham has signed Sean Allen as its eSports player (he was a runner up in the 2016 FIFA interactive World Cup), while Schalke have invested in an eSports team

July 29th 2016

(Manchester United is also rumoured to be in talks with a competitive gaming group). “People being signed by actual clubs… talk about a dream come true,” says Sitrin. “You have a person who has been playing FIFA and loving football in their living rooms for years, who can now wear the kit and train next to athletes that are of equal skill, just in a different venue… man, that’s incredible.” He continues: “We have a lot of relationships with clubs all around the world, and we are talking to them about further investment in this area.

eSports players being signed by football clubs... talk about a dream come true. Todd Sitrin, Electronic Arts “It’s a big opportunity, whether it is the clubs themselves, the leagues… obviously there is the sports media, and the sponsors… that is a good thing for the whole competitive games industry. That’s what EA offers: a means to take this sector into the mainstream. We have these brands that exist out there in the real world. There is no real world equivalent of Overwatch. We also have the players themselves from these clubs who can get involved. During the Madden Challenge we had NFL players alongside competitive gamers, and they were interacting with each other – that is golden in terms of getting people excited.” ABOUT THE MONEY The real world of football might just be what the eSports industry needs to attract bigger sponsors, EA believes. Although some big brands do back eSports businesses with advertising and sponsorship, there are huge companies that remain reluctant to jump on-board. “I believe that for non-endemic brands, this is a new space for them, and when you look at the types of games that have risen to popularity, these are not accessible brands, this is not easy to understand, and maybe they don’t match perfectly from a demographic stand-point with the audience they are trying to reach,” Sitrin suggests.

“This is a space where again EA has a special opportunity. Our brands are more accessible, they are PEGI 3, anyone can play these games… that’s not true of a lot of titles that have risen to popularity in this space. “Our franchises are safer for them to invest in and we are already mainstream. We have had a relationship with these types of brands worldwide for a decade, where we have had them integrated into our games and our marketing activities, and they have been chomping at the bit for EA to increase our investment in this area. Now that we have, we are working with many of them to bring them into the space for the very first time. The games we have, and the relationships we have with these non-endemic brands, is going to unlock the part of the eSports puzzle that has yet to be solved by others.” EA talks a lot about the financial implications of its involvement in eSports, and the benefits this can have for the whole competitive gaming sector. But the publisher insists it is not in this for a quick buck. It has pledged to support the market, nurture the talent and also help lay down the rules in a bid to fend off the negative headlines that sometimes circle this sector. “Athletes that are competing in our events should embody the values that are important to EA,” Sitrin continues. “You’ve read about the issues that have occurred in other games. For us, we have rules that go into player conduct. This is incredibly common in the real world of sports, where there is a level of player conduct that has to be followed, and if you don’t follow that, you can be expelled from competitions. Our community, so far, has been behaving incredibly well. But it is early and things are evolving. In the end, our focus is on making sure we are providing a level playing field for gamers, making sure that we don’t have cheating, and that we have really good matchmaking so that the online experience is competitive.” EA may not like to use the term eSports to describe what it is doing, but it does believe in supporting the whole sector, and insists it is not just another business trying to capitalise on the eSports goldrush. If it’s true to its word, then having a company with the scale and potential reach as Electronic Arts is something that the whole competitive gaming industry should be excited about.

TODD SITRIN // THE BIG INTERVIEW

Todd Sitrin: EA’s new eSports division can help unlock big sponsors for the sector

THE ESPORTS BROADCAST QUESTION AS you can read more about on page 24, one of the question marks over eSports is related to how it is being viewed. In football (and indeed other sports), the likes of Sky and BT pay billions to broadcast Premier League games, and then they charge users to access the content. By comparison, eSports

is mostly available to view for free via the likes of Twitch. EA has been taking plenty of lessons from real-world sports when it comes to its eSports division, so what is its thoughts on charging people to watch? “At this stage, we want to grow the community and get a really strong following around

competitive gaming – and we think the right way to do that is to give consumers easy access to what we are broadcasting,” said senior VP and GM of Competitive Gaming Todd Sitrin. “We are very much a player first organisation, and we think the right ‘player first’ approach is to allow people to watch however

they want – whether that is via any of the digital mediums or non-digital mediums. The competitive gaming industry overall is in a building stage, where we are introducing this new form of competition, new form of entertainment, and right now the focus should be on making the audience even larger.”

July 29th 2016

ESPORTS REGULATION

Does the Wild West of eSports need a sheriff? As pro-gaming prize pools increase in size, so does the desire to win, and there have been reports of players using performance enhancing drugs and illicit software to give them an edge on the competition. So does eSports require regulation? Alex Calvin investigates

July 29th 2016

ESPORTS REGULATION ore people are watching eSports, and for longer periods of time. Triple-A publishers are investing heavily in the space. And the prize pools are growing in size, with players competing for massive piles of cash. As these sums grow, so does the pressure and desire to win. To this end, we’ve seen reports of players using drugs such as ADHD medication Ritalin to aid focus, or utilising software to hamper their opponents. Thus the question of whether pro-gaming requires regulation has arisen. Various bodies have been founded in order to keep an eye on the eSports scene, including World eSports Council, the World eSports Association and, recently, eSports Integrity Coalition. Meanwhile, government organisations like the UK Gambling Commission as well as DCMS are looking into the sector in the UK. In Korea, where pro-gaming is almost the country’s national sport, the sector is looked after by KeSPA – an organisation with strong ties to the region’s government and police. “eSports needs regulation in a very specific way,” says eSports Integrity Coalition’s (ESIC) integrity commissioner Ian Smith. “I don’t believe that eSports needs governance in the broad sense of a FIFA-type organisation. eSports doesn’t work that way. It’s more akin to an Olympics because it involves 20 different sports. There’s no crossover between CounterStrike and League of Legends, yet they fall under the same banner. “What eSports does need is regulation in certain, specific areas. For example, it should try to address things like child protection and issues around that because we have a lot of young participants. But what ESIC is focused on is integrity. In particular, we’re very focused on cheating. There’s ‘cheating to win’, using software or hampering your opponent with DDOS attacks and online attacks, or doping – ways of trying to win unfairly. There’s also ‘cheating to lose’, match fixing and betting fraud, which is the danger that eSports has not properly confronted and is not adequately geared up to deal with. That’s a problem for everybody, this isn’t a problem that’s unique to one game or one organiser or one

publisher or one book maker. This is a common problem.” DON’T DO DRUGS Gambling and drugs are the two areas that Andrew Nixon, partner at law firm Sheridans, identifies as big potential issues. “Integrity is a key part of any industry, in particular one in which betting markets exist,” he says. “That’s true of both traditional sports and eSports. By next year it is anticipated that all major bookmakers will offer markets on pro-gaming events – that creates commercial opportunities, but it opens the industry up to the risk of match manipulation. “Another area is doping: it is different in eSports compared with traditional sports, with the issues revolving around psycho stimulants and relaxants rather than physical enhancers, but it is

an issue that needs to regulated. I don’t see it being as big an issue as match manipulation, but it must not be forgotten.” However, Peter Lewin, an associate at law firm Purewal and Partners, believes some of these problems have been overblown: “In some form, on certain issues, eSports probably does require regulation. While anti-doping and matchfixing are often flagged by the media as two of the key areas requiring regulation in eSports, there’s little evidence that either of these are actually systemic problems within the industry. Other areas that are actually more at the forefront of recent eSports problems include player protections, tournament organisation and visa issues. “Does regulation mean ‘legal’ regulation or involvement by government? Not necessarily. What’s important is that the right parties are

Above: Gﬁnity’s Upton (top), Purewal and Partners’ Lewin (above)

KEEPING UP APPEARANCES MUCH like their ‘traditional’ sporting counterparts, eSports firms want to attract big sponsors, such as the Cokes and Visas of the world, and Ian Smith of the eSports Integrity Coalition insists that some form of regulation in the space will make pro-gaming more attractive to these bigger corporations. “eSports’ demographic and numbers indicate that it should have 30 and 40 per cent non-endemic sponsors, the likes of Emirates, Coke, Toyota, Visa, Mastercard, AMEX and so on,” Smith says. “But eSports has less than five per cent. The biggest reason for this is a complete lack of regulation, in particular, around integrity issues. Major sponsors have been stung by scandals, like FIFA, in the past. “They want to promote their brand, but also want to protect it. They are fearful of eSports because it has none of these protections in place. So when salesmen say: ‘Look at our brilliant numbers’, the reply is: ‘I like those numbers but I don’t understand your broadcast method as you’re not on TV and I don’t understand how you reach your market’. The other is: ‘Where is my protection?’. It was blindingly obvious to me when I started this exercise that putting something like this in place should give potential sponsors more confidence in what eSports is doing.”

July 29th 2016

ESPORTS REGULATION

Above: ESL’s Laurie (top), Sheridan’s Nixon (above middle) and ESIC’s Smith (above)

being involved in the right discussions on the right issues, since at the moment no single body within eSports is in a position to address all of these alone.” MARKING ITS OWN HOMEWORK Spike Laurie, the boss of pro-gaming league ESL, agrees that eSports needs to be monitored, but not by an outside force. He believes that the industry is already doing a good job of keeping its house clean. “Regulation is not required,” he says. “The industry itself is setting best practice and that’s really important because in this instance, a handsoff approach is working in terms of regulation. The industry is selfregulating and doing what’s best for eSports and what’s best for the players.” This is a view shared by Gfinity CEO Neville Upton: “We have our own rule set for each game. We have our Gfinity Code of Conduct. We have very high standards and rigorous checks with our online anti-cheat systems. We have over 100 admins and they are very well trained so they can properly adjudicate on games. At the moment we’re just building our own standards.

July 29th 2016

We’d like to share those with other tournament operators. “We probably need a UK body and an international body where we can all put in our ideas, that way you have someone independently taking all those pooled ideas and making decisions. Let’s hope we can get to a commonality over time.” The fact that the industry is growing up and approaching things with a greater deal of professionalism is something that Purewal’s Lewin is keen to highlight. “While eSports regulation is a worthwhile topic of discussions it’s important not to forget the massive leaps that the industry has made in terms of professionalisation,” he says. “We now have eSports appearing on places like ESPN, we have larger tournaments, prize pools and player salaries, there has been an influx of non-endemic investment both in terms of sponsors and team owners, and an increase in the involvement of traditional business advisers. “Although there is room for improvement, there’s certainly already a lot to celebrate.”

DOING IT FOR THE KIDS ESPORTS Integrity Commission’s Ian Smith feels it’s important for players to become organised and aware of integrity and corruption issues. “The players, the people at the bottom of the heap are the product,” Smith says. “They’re the ones with the fanbase, the ones that are signing autographs, the ones that people come and fill stadiums to see and watch for hours on Twitch. Yet the players don’t have any organised say in any part of the industry. They really, really need to get organised because you get people like me coming along and saying: ‘Hey, the new rules about anti-corruption code is X’ and I get zero feedback. “It’s players’ careers that are at risk here. Who is going to suffer most from, for example, a major scandal in a particular game? It’s the players of that title. If a game dies because of a scandal, a tournament organiser carries on. A major team will survive because it has people playing in other games. “It’s the players of that game that will lose their jobs, their fanbase and their ability to make a living doing what they love. They have the most direct interest in the integrity of eSports. And yet, they have no voice. And I’d love to have somebody to talk to on that front.”

DATA // ESPORTS MARKET SIZE

DATA:

Just how big is eSports? Market analysts SuperData share its latest figures about the size and projected growth of the global eSports market

Top: League of Legends is the most popular eSport in the world

July 29th 2016

ccording to the latest eSports analysis from SuperData, the vast majority of revenue in the sector now comes from advertising and sponsorship. In fact, this year, 74 per cent of money made in this industry will come from brands advertising themselves alongside eSports competitions, tournaments, players, broadcasts and teams. In total, eSports is expected to exceed $1.3bn (£1bn) by 2020, and attract an audience of more than 300m. Unsurprisingly, League of Legends is the most popular eSports game in the world, attracting some 97.9m monthly active users, with almost 500m hours watched on Twitch between January and May 2016. This data does not feature Overwatch just yet, but Superdata

The eSports industry is entering a period of professionalisation. SuperData

says that it is poised to be the next big eSports title with 10m users. That would see Blizzard enjoy two successful eSports titles, the other one being Hearthstone, which boasts 19.6m monthly active users. SuperData says that the eSports market is entering its next stage as it attempts to sort out its underlying business model. “Now that big brands, advertisers, and networks have entered the conversation, the eSports industry is entering a period of professionalisation,” the firm said in a statement. “Among other things, this means the industry has provided more transparency to its teams and sponsors alike, after a series of recent scandals agitated investor sentiment. But the potential to build a business around the 214 millionstrong audience continues to drive the segment’s momentum.”

ESPORTS MARKET SIZE // DATA

350,000,000

ESPORTS AUDIENCE SIZE

300,000,000

100,000,000

302,669,400

275,154,000

239,580,000

150,000,000

213,848,564

200,000,000

188,302,976

Hours Watched on Twitch

250,000,000

WORLDWIDE 2016 REVENUE SPLIT (ESTIMATE) Q Betting

$58,930

Q Prize Pools

$78,269

Q Sponsorships & Advertising

50,000,000

Q Merchandise

$661,927 $19.153

Q Ticket Sales

$34,015

Q Amateur Tournaments

$40,124

0 2015e

2016e

2017e

2018e

2019e

TOP SIX ESPORTS TITLES Jan - May 2016 1,500,000,000

ESPORTS REVENUE (ESTIMATE) Revenue

League of Legends

Monthly active users

97.9m

Hours watched on Twitch

500m

Revenue

$1,000,000,000

Call of Duty

Monthly active users Hours watched on Twitch

$250,000,000

1,348,091,646

1,228,609,206

$1,113,492,195

$1,006,235,286

$500,000,000

$892,420,789

Worldwide Revenue

Revenue

2016

Hearthstone

CounterStrike

2017

2018

2019

Dota 2

$327.9m 19.7m 75m $255.7m

Monthly active users

11.8m

Hours watched on Twitch

23.2m

Revenue

$179m

Monthly active users

19.6m

Hours watched on Twitch

209m

Revenue

$118m

Monthly active users Hours watched on Twitch

06 0

FIFA 16

$736.9m

10.3m 280.6m

Revenue

$111m

Monthly active users

12.7m

Hours watched on Twitch

218m

2020

July 29th 2016

100,000 FOOTFALL

72,500M2

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ANALYSIS // ESPORTS BROADCASTING

The future of watching eSports In a market utterly dominated by Twitch, broadcasters and streaming platforms sometimes struggle to attract viewers. Marie Dealessandri asks Ginx, Hitbox and the leader itself, Twitch, what lies ahead for live eSports coverage

f you ask people who are not into competitive gaming where you can watch eSports matches, there’s a high probability only one name will be cited: Twitch. But there’s actually much more out there than just the Amazon-owned streaming platform. Azubu, DingIt, YouTube Gaming, MLG. tv, Facebook, the BBC, Ginx… These past few years have seen the introduction of a huge number of platforms or initiatives around live eSports coverage. According to data firm Newzoo, the number of people watching eSports will rise from 292m in 2016 to 427m by 2019. This dramatic increase has now attracted the attention of traditional TV networks. And these companies feel they can help eSports get even bigger. “Television is the ideal medium to help eSports engage with the mainstream,” says Michiel Bakker, CEO at Ginx, which just launched Ginx eSports TV, the first 24-hour channel dedicated to professional gaming in the UK.

July 29th 2016

TV provides an avenue for a wider range of exposure to viewers that may not be familiar with eSports. Andy Swanson, Twitch

“I think we are very well placed to collaborate with players, teams, publishers and tournament organisers to create an even bigger buzz around eSports. Having said that, [broadcaster] Turner, Ginx and others will have to earn their stripes and make sure we generally will be a ‘force for good’.” Andy Swanson, Twitch’s VP, also agrees that TV has a role to play in eSports. “Traditional TV provides an avenue for a wider range of exposure to viewers that may not be familiar with eSports, as well as some advertisers that are more used to buying traditional sports on TV,” he tells MCV. “It also can help eSports expand into other environments that might still rely on televised content, like sports bars.” But even if it seems to be a perfect way to engage with more viewers, the good old traditional TV isn’t the most relevant medium for eSports. Jason Atkins, event manager at streaming platform Hitbox, fears that in an attempt to make it more accessible, TV could ‘sanitise’ eSports and damage

ESPORTS BROADCASTING // ANALYSIS

LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE SHOUTCASTERS, who are the commentators during eSports competitions, are not only here to commentate on the games – they’re the key to engaging viewers and can be almost as important as pro-players in doing so. “Shoutcasters, analysts and hosts provide personality and a connection with the audience, they are the glue that holds a broadcast together,” Ginx’s CEO Michiel Bakker says. Hitbox’s event manager Jason Atkins further says that shoutcasters are “helping to establish a level of familiarity in an ever-changing scene.” And as eSports becomes bigger and more mainstream, shoutcasters will also become more and more important in growing the eSports audience. “As eSports matures, personalities and celebrities will emerge and be a part of the mainstream experience, with many of them currently in the limelight,” VP of Twitch Andy Swanson concludes.

what makes it unique just to please advertisers. “There is a role for television but I think it misses a lot of the essence of eSports,” Atkins believes. “As eSports becomes sanitised for a mainstream audience, a la DirectTV’s Championship Gaming Series, then my concern is the sport becomes secondary to raw ratings.” He adds: “When done correctly, such as the recent BBC broadcast of League of Legends from Wembley, or the way Turner has approached Counter-Strike: GO, it can be quite successful. “Streaming platforms like Hitbox are in a much more flexible position when it comes to catering to the audience – after all a large portion of eSports fans have unplugged and consume media differently – and if traditional broadcast television can adjust and adapt to these new viewing habits, then they have a chance to be successful.” TWITCH VS THE WORLD TV may be a new place to watch eSports but it’s never going to truly

challenge online platforms. But with millions of people watching on Twitch, is this sector already sewn up? “There is always room for competition, be it technical or in terms of content. What is HBO without AMC to challenge their programming model?,” Atkins asks. “Hitbox is forging ahead in emerging markets and establishing properties where we can have a direct influence, insulating us from some of the market pressures our competitors deal with.” Even Swanson agrees that Twitch is not the only force to be reckoned with. “We are seeing other distribution platforms, whether that is linear television or other digital services, playing a role to widen mainstream exposure as well as offer more localised regional content,” he admits. Bakker also adds that, as the number of platforms continues to increase, new viewers will join the competitive gaming scene. “eSports viewing will continue to grow on many platforms.

I believe services that add something genuinely new will be able to build an audience. Some of that growth will be at the expense of existing platforms, but most of it will be new engagement,” he says. FREE ACCESS So here is the big question around watching eSports – should broadcasters charge people to watch it? In traditional sports, consumers are required to pay-per-view or subscribe to things like Sky Sports. So why shouldn’t Twitch do the same thing? “Broadcast rights and pay-per-view revenues are definitely a hot topic in eSports,” Swanson says. “It’s important to understand the difference between publisher driven leagues or events – League of Legends Championship Series, The International – and independent leagues – ESL, Intel Extreme Masters, Dreamhack and so on. Publishers directly monetise eSports in the form of games sales, micro transactions or retention, or acquisition metrics. Therefore, they have much less incentive to restrict the content behind a pay wall.” Bakker also reckons that broadcasters should maintain a nearly-free access to eSports: “For now I believe the barrier to entry should be left low to allow people to discover the excitement, scale and spectacle of watching eSports.” There are obvious benefits to keeping eSports free-to-view, not least because of how it promotes the games. One impressive statistic shows that a huge number of people that watch League of Legends or Dota matches, don’t actually play the game themselves… yet. “Research shows that roughly 40 per cent of eSports viewers do not play the individual game that they view,” Swanson explains. “As production values of tournament broadcasts increase and eSports content expands, engagement opportunities for those less familiar with eSports will increase.” Atkins also believes that eSports has the potential to reach an audience who doesn’t play. “eSports has an abundance of compelling stories and personalities be it stories of underdogs or dominant champions, plenty of human interest,” he says. “Communicating these elements and explaining the skill and dedication required to be a top player or team will go a long way in converting viewers into fans. To use a mainstream analogy, not everyone who watches the Great British Bake Off can bake but it still pulls in really high viewing numbers.“

From top to bottom: Twitch’s Andy Swanson, Hitbox’s Jason Atkins and Ginx’s Michiel Bakker

July 29th 2016

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NICK ALLEN, TWITCH // INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW:

Twitch’s battle to remain the top dog of eSports streaming In the face of growing competition, Twitch is still the streaming space’s market leader and this is helped by its pro-gaming content. Alex Calvin speaks to eSports boss Nick Allen about staying at the top How would assess 2016 so far for Twitch? With the eSports partnerships we’ve entered into this year, combined with the exciting growth of the industry, 2016 has been promising and fascinating. We have a lot of interesting initiatives in the pipeline that we can’t announce yet, but it’s safe to say there are big things on the horizon. Twitch continues to be the market leader in the eSports streaming sector. How have you maintained this position? Memes, mostly. Seriously though, the way we have maintained our position is by listening to our community and letting them dictate the direction of the brand, rather than presuming we know what they want. Our core focus is to make great experiences for both the broadcaster and viewer, whether that’s with eSports or beyond, and our community’s input is the best way to achieve that. How are you evolving your offering with eSports in mind? As the eSports industry continues to grow, along with more publishers }and developers making pro-gamingfocused titles, we’ve been scaling our team to help address the growing need for eSports expertise. Whether it’s consulting with publishers and developers, or being more hands-on with league operations, we’re here to help the eSports ecosystem grow and be sustainable. We are also continuing to maintain a strong relationship with the players who stream on our platform and are constantly evaluating new ways to make them successful, such as our recent introduction of [animated emotes] Bits for our Cheering feature. We most recently enabled Cheering during Evo so that viewers could cheer for the fighter they wanted to win with a lot of users embracing it.

There are a growing number of streaming firms – such as Hitbox and DingIt – entering the market. Competition is good for any market, but are you worried about the increase in streaming companies? We like that there are other players in the space since it helps validate that game-related video is an important part of the entertainment industry. That being said, the direction of our brand is driven by our community. For example, a popular request was HTML5, so we have recently entered our HTML5 closed beta based on this demand. Also, one of Twitch’s

We have stayed No.1 by listening to our fans and letting them dictate the brand’s direction. Nick Allen, Twitch

defining characteristics is the native emotedriven language found in our chat. It is based on a rich narrative that has evolved over time and, as a result, is not easy to replicate. So far this year, Twitch has partnered with Psyonix for a Rocket League tournament, and Super Evil Megacorp (SEMC) for Vainglory promotion on your site. Why are you entering into deals like this? We want to see the eSports industry grow as a whole and both these brands represent nascent areas in the eSports space. Rocket League, for example, ushers in an era of easy to pick-up-and-play games, offering a more accessible experience compared to the industry’s popular MOBAs. With Vainglory, it expands eSports to the mobile market where the 800m gaming PCs are dwarfed in comparison to the 3bn smartphones and tablets. Due to their huge potential, we are excited to be partnered with Psyonix and SEMC and look forward to helping them develop and evolve their eSports efforts to ensure healthy, sustainable growth. How do you see eSports in your business development going forward? The growth of pro-gaming means that more people will be interested in consuming eSports content, which means more people will come to Twitch to watch. If you look at the channel directory, amidst the broadcaster channels you’ll see both competition streams and competitive player streams – eSports is a fundamental piece of Twitch’s DNA. We’re going to continue to educate the industry about how to leverage live streaming, whether it’s to foster a community, build a brand, or strengthen a career, while making strategic partnerships when it makes sense.

Twitch is a partner for the eSports Industry Awards on Monday, November 21st

July 29th 2016

INTERVIEW // CHESTER KING, EGAMES

eGames: the tournament that wants to put ‘pride before cash’ The UK government-backed eGames will debut this August with a showcase event in Rio and the organisers plan to hold Olympics-like tournaments every two years. Marie Dealessandri talks to International eGames Group’s CEO Chester King about how this new competition could transform competitive gaming

Above: Rio will host the ﬁrst ever eGames alongside the Summer Olympics

July 29th 2016

Sports is one step closer to become the equal of traditional sports. Announced during the London Games Festival in April, the eGames wants to become the Olympics for video games. “The eGames were inspired by the traditional sporting world,” confirms Chester King, CEO of the International eGames Group. “And in all traditional sports it is important to have tournaments that are not about the money, but about national pride – Davis Cup in tennis, Ryder Cup in golf, World Cups in football, and so on.” “About 14 months ago, my 15-yearold son, who is a gamer and eSports fan, pointed out to me that there was not such a tournament in eSports. So that is what inspired me to get involved and help create one and, in doing so, develop new national heroes to inspire fans and elevate the sector in the minds of the public.” Winners of the eGames will thus be rewarded with medals, incidentally

designed by the same team that made the medals for the 2012 London Olympics. To emphasise the connection between the two competitions even more, the eGames will launch with a pop up event in Rio alongside the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. King continues: “We were asked by the UK Government to come to Rio, as part of the British House, to showcase the eGames to mainstream audiences and remove the ‘smokescreen’ of what eSports is.” Removing that ‘smokescreen’, getting rid of the stereotypes surrounding eSports, being accepted by the sporting community, changing the way eSports is perceived: these are the ambitious goals of the eGames. “eSports is such a fantastic sport and it should be accepted by more people,” King believes. “There are huge psychological benefits and life skills from playing. “We want the eGames to be unique in eSports and for players and fans to treat

CHESTER KING, EGAMES // INTERVIEW

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE EGAMES RIO POP UP EVENT When? Monday, August 15th and Tuesday, August 16th 2016 Where? British House, Parque Lage, Rio, Brazil Who? eTeams currently include Brazil, Britain, Canada and the US. The full list will be announced in the coming days What if I can’t go? All the competitions will be live streamed (the platform is yet to be announced) NATIONAL QUALIFIERS 2017 Dates and games for the 2017 national qualifiers will be announced in September 2016 2018 AND BEYOND The eGames 2018 will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The 2020 edition will be hosted by Tokyo, Japan. National qualifiers will be organised domestically during non-eGames years

it like no other tournament. We would like to show the world a new type of eSports that puts pride before cash. And we would like to use the eGames as a force for all that is good and positive in competitive gaming.” WORK IN PROGRESS Part of this work of improving the image of eSports includes charming a new audience, King explains. “The eSports market always attracts massive audiences. It will also be relative to the game titles, but with the world looking at Rio we expect to get increased awareness and attract new fans.” The pop up event in Rio will help define the eGames’ future, which will then be held every two years. “As we only have two days for the showcase in Rio, the plan is to have three games - one PC, one console and one mobile,” King details. “Since this is our first time we have limited the tournament to around 10 countries. But within those 10 countries we are aiming for at least one from every continent. Our plan from 2017 and beyond is to have no limits on the number of games and countries.” At the moment, everything is still at an early stage of development. Only four eTeams have been confirmed so far: Brazil, Britain, Canada and the USA. “We are trying to work in the most official way possible,” King says.

“Each country has a different eSports Association set up – some 100 per cent government run, some government linked and some with no eSports association at all. So we are working with the publishers to confirm who are the best players per country for Rio. From 2017 we will be having national qualifiers to determine the best players.” As for the games themselves, the International eGames Group is “currently negotiating with several publishers,” he adds. “We are trying to choose the best and widest selection of genres and formats.” IN SEARCH OF CREDIBILITY Once the inaugural showcase in Rio is done, the next stop for the eGames will be Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018. It was an obvious choice, King says, as the country is basically the home of eSports, with an audience of 9.1m people (according to Newzoo), while 4.2m South Koreans define themselves as eSports ‘enthusiasts’. “eSports in South Korea is incredible and we respect what they have done and achieved – so it was obvious for us to go there first,” King tells us. “We also wanted to go to a city which had the infrastructure in place and is used to hosting major sporting events.” Pyeongchang will also host the Winter Olympics that year, hence the available infrastructure. But to reach

that next step, the eGames Committee will first need to gather sponsors. “We are a not-for-profit organisation but we want to help gaming charities and also assist with grassroots gaming, so we need to make enough revenue to cover costs and help with those causes,” King explains. The CEO is particularly interested in bringing traditional sports sponsors on board. For this purpose, the eGames have partnered with M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment to define the sponsorship strategy. The agency has worked for the likes of big sports brands, including Adidas and Reebok, and around massive events such as the Rugby World Cup. “We are trying to get all types of sponsor deals, but there are a high number from traditional sports, which will give eSports more credibility,” King explains. The Committee’s strategy is paving the way for a more mainstream kind of eSports, one that would be gravitating around an indispensable sporting event, the eGames. “Anyone who has ever competed at the Olympics will tell you about the rare and magical atmosphere,” King concludes. ”The bringing together of the best in the world across all different sports makes for a really special atmosphere. Well, we want to replicate that magic within the world of eSports.”

July 29th 2016

ESPORTS INDUSTRY AWARDS

Introducing… the eSports Industry Awards ﬁnalists We’re running an event dedicated to excellence in the eSports industry, and the first wave of finalists have been revealed

he eSports Industry Awards 2016 will take place on Monday, November 21st at the Brewery in London. Hosted by games industry commentator and presenter Julia Hardy and The Gadget Show’s Jason Bradbury, over 600 of the industry’s leading figures will gather to celebrate achievements and network with each other – and the event will be streamed to the world live on the night. And now the first set of finalists have been revealed. More finalists may be added in the coming months as seasons and events unfold. Finalists in the remaining categories – 2016 Broadcaster of the Year, Best Live Event 2016, Console Player of the Year, eSports Personality of the Year, eSports Rookie of the Year, eSports Team of the Year, PC Player of the Year, UK eSports Player of the Year – will be announced later in the year. An international judging panel consisting of respected professionals from a cross section of the eSports industry including ex-players, media and broadcasters will then determine the overall winners, with some being open to public voting later in the year. The eSports Industry Awards 2016 has already received the backing of Now TV, Twitch and Gfinity.

T From top to bottom: Games industry commentator Julia Hardy and The Gadget Show’s Jason Bradbury

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FINALISTS FOR THE FIRST ROUND OF CATEGORIES ARE: Best eSports Coverage Website 2016 GosuGamers HLTV.org Dexerto ESPN PC Gamer Aftonbladet E-sport Yahoo Esports Red Bull eSports The Score eSports The Daily Dot Team Liquid The eSports Observer Slingshot eSports

eSports Game of the Year CS:GO - Valve League of Legends - Riot Games Dota 2 - Valve StarCraft II - Blizzard Entertainment Call of Duty - Activision Smite - Hi-Rez Studios Halo - Microsoft Heroes of the Storm - Blizzard Entertainment Overwatch - Blizzard Entertainment Rocket League - Psyonix Super Smash Bros - Nintendo Street Fighter V - Capcom

Best Streaming Platform Twitch YouTube Azubu MLG.tv Hitbox

eSports Photographer of the Year Joe Brady Stephanie Lindgren Helena Kristiansson Robert Paul Adela Sznajder

Best Hardware Provider Intel SteelSeries BenQ Creative Logitech G Plantronics Gaming Astro Gaming Scuf Gaming AMD Asus ROG MSI Razer HyperX Alienware HP Acer

eSports Publisher of the Year Valve Corporation Activision Blizzard Entertainment Ubisoft EA Microsoft Capcom Nintendo Sony Computer Entertainment Codemasters Psyonix Riot Games

eSports Commercial Partner of the Year G2A Newegg Intel Turtle Beach Europe AlphaDraft HTC Monster DXRacer Red Bull Anheuser-Busch InBev eSports Journalist of the Year Richard Lewis Duncan Shields Jacob Wolf Tyler Erzberger Chris Higgins Philippa Warr Chris Thursten

New eSports Game of the Year Rocket League - Psyonix Overwatch - Blizzard Entertainment Vainglory - Super Evil Megacorp Street Fighter V - Capcom FIFA 16 - EA Streamer of the Year Spencer FC Steel Lirik Ali A KSI PhantomL0rd Sodapoppin Michael “Imaqtpie” Santana

If you are interested in partnering with the event contact: Conor. Tallon@esportsindustryawards.com. For any other information contact: Andrew.Wooden @esportsindustryawards.com.

Save the date 23rd - 24th November 2016 Millennium Mayfair, London

X 40+ expert speakers from across the games industry and beyond X 250+ attendees X 15+ exhibitors X 2 day multi-track conference incorporating roundtables, panel discussions, live debates and interviews!

Day One

Day Two

X Investment & ďŹ nance X VR & AR X The future of mobile games & monetization X Building a more inclusive games industry X The role of games in the future of the UK economy

X eSports X Regulation & Integrity X Optimising eSports team sponsorship X Analytics & eSports monetisation X Traditional sports vs eSports X How brands can step into the world of eSports? X Advertising & media buying in eSports

INTERESTED IN SPEAKING AT THE FUTURE GAMES SUMMIT 2016?

Contact Caroline Hicks on chicks@nbmedia.com If you are interested in sponsoring the Future Games Summit, please contact Mark Rankine on mrankine@nbmedia.com for more information on our bespoke packages!

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MAKING MONEY FROM ESPORTS

ANALYSIS:

On the money eSports has slowly become a billion dollar industry, and like any emerging market, everyone is trying to figure out how to secure their slice of the pie. Alex Calvin looks at the ways that companies can make money from the burgeoning pro-gaming scene

t may have taken a while, but now everyone is trying to get in on the billion-dollar eSports market. Each and every year, there are tournaments with massive prize pools for players, while companies like Activision, Riot, EA and Valve are investing sizeable sums in the market. But how can companies in the sector generate money from eSports? “In general, 40 per cent of eSports revenue comes from sponsorships, 40 per cent comes from publishers and developers, and 20 comes from merchandise and ticket sales,” ESL UK boss Spike Laurie says. Gfinity CEO Neville Upton adds: “It’s no different from any other big sport. They make money from a mix of advertising, sponsorship, broadcasting rights, ticketing and merchandise. You have to look at all those different areas and make sure that you have a plan to monetise. “Our strategy has been not to spend a lot of time on the monetisation until we have a strong operational platform. If you look at traditional sports, you have to get the quality up as well, so you can’t sell big amounts of sponsorship and advertising unless your quality is as good as other sports. We’re focusing on that and then that’s how we plan to monetise. We look at what football,

I Above: Overclockers UK’s Greenwood (top) and Dignitas’ O’Dell (above)

July 29th 2016

If you sponsor a team and they lose, you lose. But if you sponsor a tournament you win regardless. Hal Greenwood, Overclockers UK

cricket and rugby do in other sports, and emulate that.” For eSports teams, getting big companies to support them is the main money generator. “At the moment, sponsorship is obviously a massive [source of revenue],” Michael O’Dell, manager of Team Dignitas says. “Then you have in-game merchandise, such as stickers, which are sold by companies like Riot, Valve, Blizzard and Hi-Rez. If you get to the Majors in Counter-Strike GO you get a sticker, and there are quite good royalties from that. Teams also do a lot of their own merchandise, but then there are deals you do with eSports accessories companies – keyboards, mice, pads, chair companies where you get a royalty on sales that they make. Then obviously there’s prize money. Patronage from a large company is the biggest one for all teams, though” PERFORMANCE ISSUES Sponsorship is a risky business for those footing the bill, however. Hal Greenwood, marketing manager at PC retailer Overclockers UK, says that the value of sponsorship depends hugely on how well that team is playing at the time. “With sponsorship you are obviously paying out but if they do well you can

MAKING MONEY FROM ESPORTS

get kickbacks from their prize money and that kind of thing,” he says. “But we see more value in sponsoring leagues or tournaments. If you sponsor a team and they lose, you have lost. But if you sponsor a tournament, whoever wins; you win. You’re always going to be the name associated with the tournament. That would give you a lot more exposure. Teams are also quite expensive to do. If you do sponsor a top team it’s more of a branding exercise and it becomes more difficult to measure the exposure you are getting.” PUT YOUR NAME ON IT As Laurie said earlier, 20 per cent of eSports revenue comes from merchandise – and this figure is set to increase. “One area which will rise is the merchandise and ticket sales,” Laurie says. “As the enthusiast audience for eSports grows, and as the equity and teams gets built up and people can identify with teams and with players and with events, there is more reason to own merchandise. At our recent ESL1 Cologne event, I bought over €100 worth of t-shirts and hoodies and stuff for myself and my friends, and I think that’s great. That is a part of the market that is going to do very well as eSports itself matures.”

O’Dell adds: “It also helps when your team is winning and your fans are happy. You get higher sales and they want to be a part of that.

Later down the line it would be nice to get a percentage of ticket sales. Michael O’Dell, Team Dignitas “Just like with a ‘real’ sport, they want to buy a shirt as that’s the biggest way to support the team in terms of finance from a fan’s point of view. Merchandise is a massive one. Another growing revenue stream is profit shares from the leagues that we are playing in, which is a new thing but pretty cool.” Greenwood also says that ‘associated sales’, i.e. brands used by certain teams, can be a decent revenue stream. “For example, if there’s [eSports tournament] ESL1 going on in Cologne, you do see a lot more interest in PC components and PCs that can play Counter-Strike and League of Legends or whatever is being played,” he says.

However, Greenwood explains this does not always lead to sales: “To be honest we tend to see more interest in it rather than a spike in sales. It’s hard to say; our sales fluctuate on certain items anyway so it’s quite difficult to measure. We do see hits on certain products coming up quite a lot. For example, if [eSports team] Ninjas in Pyjamas is playing Counter Strike we will see more people looking at the Xtrfy peripherals [with whom Ninjas in Pyjamas has a sponsorship deal] for instance.” Looking towards the future, Dignitas’ O’Dell says that eSports will start to resemble ‘real’ sports when it comes to monetisation. “Later down the line, as the events get bigger, like sports it would be nice to get a percentage of ticket sales on some of the massive events that teams play in,” he explains. “That hasn’t happened yet that I am aware of. But I can see that happening eventually. In football you get a kit or shirt deal. I don’t think there’s been a shirt deal yet like that in this industry. “There’s lots of opportunities for growth but obviously we are still a very young sport, even though it’s been going for 15 years. In the last six months everyone seams to have noticed us, which is good.”

Above: Gﬁnity’s Upton (top) and ESL UK’s Laurie (above)

July 29th 2016

TEAM PROFILE // TEAM DIGNITAS

TEAM PROFILE:

Team Dignitas The UK’s leading eSports team is making waves on the global scene, some 13 years after it was formed. Team head Michael ‘ODEE’ O’Dell tells us more about his band of players

How did Team Dignitas form? Team Dignitas was formed back in September 2003, after the merger of two excellent Battlefield 1942 teams. The new ‘Dignitas’ Battlefield team went on to be very successful and, after attending CeBIT in 2004, we held discussions with ABIT and within a few months we had secured our first sponsor. Throughout the history of the team, what have been your high points and what have been your low ones? The high points are, of course, every tournament win, the effort that goes in from our players and the buzz from winning is why we do this. But likewise, there have been many low points. You can’t win them all and being relegated from League of Legends Championship Series sucked big time. Who is on the team? 40-plus players from over 15 countries, plus amazing staff from all over the world. How is this eSports season progressing? 2016 has been great in terms of Heroes of the Storm. League of Legends… Yeah, we sucked, but our squad remains

July 29th 2016

competitive. And our Counter-Strike: GO team has a point to prove. What are the biggest challenges facing eSports teams today? Sustainability is the number one challenge. After that, winning is the biggest friend to any team.

I want developers to recognise that they have created something and to support it properly.

What would you like to see to bolster the UK eSports scene? I’d like to see some acknowledgement of what we are and help from the government to create revenue and jobs within our industry. I also want the game developers to recognise that they have created something and to support it properly in a way that benefits both the players and the creators of the game. Would you like to see more regulation in eSports? Yes, finally UK PLC is looking at the scene and I want them to provide ways in which we can make it successful for us and them. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is looking at that right now, 100 per cent.

Michael ‘ODEE’ O’Dell, Team Dignitas Looking ahead to the next 13 years, what is your long-term goal for Team Dignitas? Simple: sustainability and winning tournaments.

JAMES ‘BAKERY’ BAKER, TEAM DIGNITAS // PLAYER PROFILE

PLAYER PROFILE:

James ‘Bakery’ Baker Age: 19

Team: Team Dignitas

How did you get involved with the eSports scene? When I started playing Heroes of the Storm, it definitely wasn’t my intention to become a professional player. I found myself really enjoying the game, and I joined an amateur team just for my own personal enjoyment. While I was on that team I was scouted by SK Gaming, and was asked to join them. I played for SK with limited success, before forming what is now Team Dignitas and enjoying a large amount of time at the top of the European scene. Tell us about your team. I originally formed this team with the goal of making it to the top of Europe. I took two of my former teammates with me, Zarmony and Snitch, and recruited the experienced in-game leader adrd when he left [rival team] G2 – as well as a very bright talent who had just started the game, called Atheroangel. With that team we made it to the final of the 2015 World Championship. That wasn’t quite enough for us though, so we made some extensive roster changes in an effort to improve and win a Global Championship in 2016. I recruited JayPL and Mene, two French superstars, and started looking for an in-game leader. We found that in Wubby, and went on to win two European Championships without dropping a game. Although we were performing excellently in Europe, we were not on the same level as the Korean or Chinese teams, so we made another swap – this time dropping Wubby for AlexTheProG. While we struggled to adapt at first, we still attended the Global Championship, and very recently won the European Championship in Valencia. Our focus is now on maintaining our spot at the top of Europe, and of

Game: Heroes of the Storm

A lot of people get caught up on trying to make eSports mainstream. James ‘Bakery’ Baker, Team Dignitas course on winning the 2016 World Championship at Blizzcon. What have you won? The ESL Spring Katowice Regional, ESL Summer Leicester Regional, Dreamhack All-Stars Valencia Fall Regional… alongside other finalist places and minor tournament wins. What’s the best thing about what you do? For me it’s the social aspects. Seeing so many different people from so many different walks of life that are involved in the offline events, including players, casters, fans, production staff, admins and journalists. You get to see various combinations of these people all over the world - I saw Kaelaris in England, two days later I saw him in Germany, and the day after I saw him in California. What are the biggest challenges facing what you do? For many, it’s a constant struggle to justify the amount of time you need to spend to be at the top level, when very few of the players will be able to utilise these skills and experience once they retire from professional gaming – especially as the money is just not enough to retire on. You have to trade the ideal time of your life for studying, for the chance to be a pro player, which is a definite risk.

What do you think needs to happen next to make eSports even more mainstream? I think a lot of people get caught up on trying to make eSports mainstream. There are a huge number of niche passions, such as EDM, which have an insane following, and have some events bigger than even pop music, but it’s definitely not mainstream. To make eSports more mainstream though, I think we need more traditional mediums such as TV or big brands to hop onto the eSports train.

Top: James ‘Bakery’ Baker (in the middle) with his team

What advice would you give to anyone thinking of becoming a pro player? You should definitely not try to force it. If you start to get good at the game naturally and you’re enjoying it, then by all means go for it. But if you’re putting in a huge amount of time and you’re not getting where you need to be, then it’s not the right time - you will need a different kind of game, or even a different profession.

July 29th 2016

ESPORTS ACCESSORIES GUIDE

MARGIN MAKERS:

The eSports accessories guide

Being well prepared and well equipped are the keys to competitive gaming. We have selected some of the best eSports accessories for players who want to take gaming to the next level

1. ASTRO GAMING A50 WIRELESS HEADSET

2. XBOX ELITE WIRELESS CONTROLLER

3. KONTROL FREEK GAMERPACK GALAXY (PS4)

Astro Gaming’s brand new wireless headset has been developed with pro gamers, to ensure high quality sound. It comes with different EQ modes, including a hardcore gaming one and one for competitive shooters. A Halo version of the headset is also available for Xbox One fans.

This is the perfect controller for competitive gaming on Xbox One. A faceted D-pad can replace the traditional control pad, and thumbsticks as well as paddles all come in different sizes. Players can also adjust the sensitivity of each control and assign commands to the different buttons.

The latest Gamerpack from Kontrol Freek is a ‘love letter to first-person space shooters,’ the gaming brand says. It features one high-rise stick designed for accuracy and a mid-rise one for extra grip. It also includes two FPS Freek CQC Signature’s pads.

SRP: £249.99 Manufacturer: Astro Gaming Distributor: Lime Distribution Contact: 01622 845 161

SRP: £119.99 Manufacturer: Microsoft Distributor: Exertis Contact: 01279 822 822

SRP: £24.99 Manufacturer: Kontrol Freek Distributor: Lime Distribution Contact: 01622 845 161

July 29th 2016

ESPORTS ACCESSORIES GUIDE

4. STEELSERIES APEX M800 MECHANICAL KEYBOARD

5. RAZER NAGA HEX V2 MOUSE

6. PLAYSEAT L33T GAMING CHAIR

SteelSeries has released a new entirely programmable mechanical gaming keyboard, designed to allow players to react quicker. It features six quick-access macro keys on the left and two USB 2.0 hubs. 16.8 million colours and eight brightness levels are also available for customisation purpose.

Targeted at MOBA players, this mouse features a 7 button mechanical thumb wheel on the side and each one of them is programmable. It comes with preconfigured MOBA profiles (for games such as League of Legends and Dota 2) and includes Razer’s famous Chroma lighting options.

Being comfortably sat is a No.1 priority for pro gamers. Playseat’s latest gaming chair, the L33T, has fully adjustable arm rests and allows forward swivel movement. It also features reclining of the backrest.

SRP: £185 Manufacturer: Steel Series Distributor: Entatech Contact: 0333 101 1000

SRP: £69.99 Manufacturer: Razer Distributor: VIP Computers Contact: 01925 286 900

SRP: £339 Manufacturer: Playseat Distributor: Interactive Minds Contact: 0845 260 1490

July 29th 2016

ESPORTS ACCESSORIES GUIDE

07 09

7. PDP AFTERGLOW 9 WIRELESS HEADSET

8. MAD CATZ R.A.T.TE TOURNAMENT EDITION MOUSE

9. TURTLE BEACH ELITE 800 WIRELESS GAMING HEADSET

This wireless headset offers two modes: pure audio and bass boost. The microphone features noise and echo cancelling technology and can be removed. The headband contains extra plush ear cup pads to maximise comfort. The green version (pictured) has been designed for Xbox One, but a blue PS4 version is also available.

As its name suggests, this mouse has been designed for tournaments. It only weighs 90 grams and features a 8,200 DPI laser Doppler Sensor. Up to 27 commands can be defined by the player thanks to nine buttons. It is available in four colours: matte black (pictured), gloss red, gloss black and gloss white.

The Elite 800 is one of the latest Turtle Beach gaming headsets. The mic is hidden inside the headset, which makes its design particularly refined. It is wireless and features noise cancellation to maximise the gamer’s experience.

SRP: £99.99 (PS4 version: £89.99) Manufacturer: PDP Distributor: CentreSoft Contact: 0121 625 3399

SRP: £49.99 Manufacturer: Mad Catz Distributor: Entatech Contact: 0333 101 1000

SRP: £229.99 Manufacturer: Turtle Beach Distributor: Exertis Contact: 01279 822 822

July 29th 2016

ESPORTS ACCESSORIES GUIDE

10. SCUF PURSUIT BLACK HOODIE

11. MSI HECATE BACKPACK

12. DXRACER RACING SERIES GAMING CHAIR

Scuf Gaming specialises in eSports accessories and is endorsed by a dozen professional teams. It also provides nice apparel for gamers, including this hoodie. According to the brand, it’s perfect “for major gaming events when the air temp is cool and you need to focus.”

Gaming gear firm MSI also offers some gamer wear, like this bag, specifically manufactured to help players keep their gear protected and organised. It features a lot of practical exterior pockets, as well as two main compartments for a gaming laptop and accessories.

“Sit Better. Work Harder. Game Longer.” is DXRacer’s slogan, and it’s exactly what players will be able to do with this brand new gaming chair. With its high backrest, it offers maximum comfort. The armrests can be adjusted and it also comes with extra cushions for the head and lumbar.

SRP: £29.99 Manufacturer: Scuf Distributor: Lime Distribution Contact: Contact: 01622 845 161

SRP: £49.99 Manufacturer: MSI Distributor: Entatech Contact: 0333 101 1000

SRP: £254.99 Manufacturer: DXRacer Distributor: OverClokers Contact: 01782 4444 77

July 29th 2016

Picture Credit: Gﬁnity

UPCOMING ESPORTS EVENTS

EVENTS LISTINGS JULY

AUGUST

RESONATE: TOTAL GAMING JULY 29TH – JULY 31ST SECC, GLASGOW, UK ---------------------------------------

DOTA 2 THE INTERNATIONAL 2016 AUGUST 3RD - AUGUST 13TH KEYARENA, SEATTLE, US ---------------------------------------

Those attending new Glasgow-based games festival Resonate will be able to take part in competitions for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends and Hearthstone. Gfinity is also holding a FIFA 16 tournament.

Hosted by Valve (the developer of blockbuster MOBA DOTA 2) in Seattle, 16 teams will be competing for a prize pool of more than $1.6m. This is the fifth consecutive year the event has returned.

GEARS OF WAR NORTH AMERICAN OPEN JULY 30TH – JULY 31ST MLG ARENA, COLUMBUS OHIO, US ---------------------------------------

CALL OF DUTY WORLD LEAGUE ORLANDO OPEN AUGUST 5TH – AUGUST 7TH THE LOEWS ROYAL PACIFIC, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO, US --------------------------------------Presented in collaboration between the Call of Duty World League and MLG, 96 American amateur teams will be competing in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. There is $100,000 in prize money and a chance to earn points for the Call of Duty World League.

Up to 32 pro and amateur teams will be playing 2015’s Gears of War: Ultimate Edition at the Major League Gaming Arena in Ohio for $30,000 in prize money.

STARCRAFT II PROLEAGUE ROUND 3 GRAND FINAL JULY 31ST SHANGHAI NEW INTERNATIONAL EXPO CENTER, CHINA ---------------------------------------

EGAMES RIO 2016 AUGUST 15TH – AUGUST 16TH BRITISH HOUSE, PARQUE LAGE – RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL --------------------------------------The first ever eGames tournament takes place in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro next month. The competition is being held in the middle of the Rio Olympics, with country teams from around the world competing for medals rather than prize money, much like the aforementioned ‘real world’ sporting tournament.

For the first time ever, the Intel Extreme Masters will be hosting the StarCraft II Proleague outside of South Korea. This will be taking place at the ChinaJoy expo in Shanghai.

July 29th 2016

UPCOMING ESPORTS EVENTS

ESL HEROES OF THE STEAM FALL REGIONAL AUGUST 17TH – AUGUST 19TH GAMESCOM, KOELNMESSE, HALL 9, COLOGNE, GERMANY ---------------------------------------

SEPTEMBER EGX SEPTEMBER 22ND – SEPTEMBER 25TH NEC BIRMINGHAM, UK ---------------------------------------

Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm will be taking over ESL’s Gamescom stage for the first three days of the show. Eight European teams will be competing over a $100,000 prize pool, and a slot in the Fall Championship at BlizzCon 2016.

A number of eSports events will feature at this year’s EGX in Birmingham. The Street Fighter V Capcom Pro Tour will be at the expo, with a $15,000 prize pot. The top 16 players will be put through to the year end final. Meanwhile, multiple pro-gaming teams will be competing on a stand run by Gfinity.

ESL OVERWATCH ATLANTIC SHOWDOWN AUGUST 20TH – AUGUST 21ST GAMESCOM, KOELNMESSE, HALL 9, COLOGNE, GERMANY ---------------------------------------

ELEAGUE OVERWATCH OPEN SEPTEMBER 25TH – SEPTEMBER 29TH TURNER BROADCASTING, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, US ---------------------------------------

During the weekend at this year’s Gamescom, eight teams – four from Europe and another four from North America – will be playing Overwatch for a six-figure prize pool on the ESL Arena stage.

eSports organisation ELeague and pro-gaming platform FaceIt are teaming up for the North American Overwatch regional finals. First prize is $100,000, with second and third places taking away $24,000 and $18,000 respectively.

INSOMNIA58 AUGUST 26TH – AUGUST 29TH NEC BIRMINGHAM, UK ---------------------------------------

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS WORLDS GROUP STAGE SEPTEMBER 29TH – OCTOBER 2ND BILL GRAHAM CIVIC AUDITORIUM, 99 GROVE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, US ---------------------------------------

At this summer’s Insomnia, there are a number of eSports tournaments taking place. Attendees will be able to take part in competitions for Hearthstone, League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA 2, FIFA 16, Rocket League, Team Fortress 2, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Smash Bros. That’s without mentioning the dedicated League of Legends event – League Fest – that is being held during the weekend.

The first week of the League of Legends Group Stage takes place at the end of September 16 teams sorted into four groups will play for the chance to make it through to the quarter finals of the tournament’s Knockout stage.

July 29th 2016

STRANGE BUT FALSE

MEANWHILE:

Football clubs invest in eSports so they can ‘control their players’ an City, Schalke, West Ham… top football clubs are signing eSports players, but not for reasons you might expect. In May, West Ham signed FIFA player Sean ‘Dragonn’ Allen, while earlier this month Manchester City recruited 18-year-old Kieran ‘Kez’ Brown. Portugal team Sporting Lisbon has also hired their own FIFA 16 expert, former world champion Francisco “Quinzas” Cruz, while the likes of Schalke have invested in their own entire eSports team. Yet far from being a means of promotion on the global pro-gaming scene, eSports Pro has uncovered a far more extreme explanation for this trend. After stumbling – literally – upon a document whilst playing Pokémon Go in Hampstead Heath, we can reveal that sports science expert Dr. Victor Von Saccerprick has created a new chip that can fully control today’s football players. Entitled the Sprick Chip, the device is implanted below the temporal lobe and

July 29th 2016

We are fed up of players ignoring orders, taking our money and acting like total pricks. Anonymous Premier League manager

allows the player to be controlled using an Xbox One control pad. After years of players behaving like idiots, including Cantona’s flying kick, Suarez’s (various) bites, Balotelli’s infamous sulks, and pretty much everything Joey Barton has ever done, major clubs have had enough – and have turned to games for the solution. Pro gamers including Sean, Kieran and Francisco will now take full control of certain ‘problem’ players during the game – or the entire team in case of Man City – utilising the Sprick Chip. Liverpool is also reportedly investigating the technology, to see if it can be used to make James Milner interesting. “We are just fed up of players ignoring our orders, taking our money and acting like total pricks,” said one Premier League manager, speaking under the promise of anonymity. “It’s our jobs on the line when they throw a strop. The Sprick Chip is a dream come true, and I expect every club to utilise the technology by the time the season kicks off – or my name’s not Alan Pardew.”

We are honoured to have collaborated with the UK Government to host the eGames at British House. The venue and the actual room are so special and unique, the same qualities which will be emulated in the eGames. It’s such a great opportunity for eSports athletes to be on display to the world and compete and win medals alongside their fellow countrymen/women. Wim Stocks, COO, International eGames Group.

WHO WILL TAKE HOME GOLD?

STAY INFORMED #H*DPHVB2IƓFLDO eGames HJDPHVBRIƓFLDO HJDPHVBRIƓFLDO PRESS ENQUIRIES Caroline Miller, Indigo Pearl caroline@indigopearl.com +44 (0) 208 964 4545 COMMERCIAL ENQUIRIES International eGames Group info@egamesgroup.com +44 (0) 1753 717133

RIO SHOWCASE 15 &16 AUGUST 2016

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