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Most people are now familiar with eSports and people younger than 40 have almost definitely had a discussion regarding eSports with friends or acquaintances. When eSports started gaining traction, the very inclusion of the word “sports” in the context of videogaming was enough to lead to mockery and sarcasm. Generally, discussions orbiting around eSports spark controversy. The success of eSports lies—partly—on the fact that the industry tapped into a market that simply did not exist before, as gamers are not the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of sports professionals or fans. Whether you love it or hate it, it does not matter anymore; eSports is on the up and up and one needs only turn to the numbers to understand the extent of its success.

Video games were considered a waste of time by the majority of parents who saw their children spending an excessive number of hours in front of a screen, with a controller in their hands, instead of studying for school. Nowadays, there are people who quit their 9 to 5 jobs to become professional gamers and earn up to six figures per year. This form of competitive video gaming, where teams or individuals compete against each other, mostly in online tournaments, to earn prize money or other benefits, is called Esports.