SteemSports Presenter: @fisteganos

SteemSports General Manager: Nolan Jacobson, @theprophet0, STEEM Witness & PeerPlays Witness.

If I asked you to list the sports you knew, how long would it take you to mention eSports? Yes, eSports!

How Long?

Just like some people thought it was stupid for 22 grown men to "be running after a ball" many years ago, a lot still disregard eSports' claim to being a "real" sport.

Over several decades, we've been introduced to, and have come to love the usual suspects like football, basketball, swimming, and every other one that takes place during the Olympics, and it seems like it's going to take a long while for eSports to be essentially recognized as what it truly is - a sport.

Like most people, I've always heard and seen the term eSports being thrown around but was never truly curious enough to dive deep and explore the new world it is.

These days, every now and then, I catch a glimpse of eSports on live T.V. I usually stay glued for a minimum of 30 minutes, taking in all the glamour and trying my best to understand what's going on before moving on to the other channels I really intended to watch.

However with claims like the revenue from eSports is expected to rise from $130m (£100m) in 2012 to $465m (£365m) this year, you have to do more than just casually watch; you've got to take notice.

So What Exactly Are eSports?

Picture quite a few teens and twenty-somethings in a room playing video games on separate computers. Now, picture this room to be big enough to conveniently house the 173,500 attending. You get the picture now? Well, the Wembley stadium in England is only about 90,000 capacity yeah? That should give some perspective. There's usually teams competing for the ultimate prize. Two teams go up against each other while the spectators/passionate fans watch on the big screen. If you see these games, you'll realize this sport has come a long way and isn't just child's play.

Brand Power

For a long time, Monster had been sponsoring the events and now more recently been joined by the likes of Coca-Cola. These two are only examples of the many brands slowly catching up to the whole new craze. Nissan, HTC, Logitech, Twitch, and Axe are other sponsors of the sport.

South Korea and eSports

South Korea seems to be the cradle of eSports and it's no wonder they have some of the best teams. With one of the world's fastest and most developed broadband networks, coupled with a lack of a national sport (apart from taekwondo), the government saw the opportunity to finally get an identity and they have done pretty well so far. But, with revenues of about $257 million in 2017, North America is eSports' largest market and its projected to grow to $607 million by 2020.

Games You Can Play

So, you must be wondering what type of games get played during these competitions. Well, I mentioned they are video games so your favorite, Candy Crush, isn't one.

Here's a List

- League of Legends - Counter-Strike - Dota2 - Overwatch - Call of Duty - FIFA

Final Words

While I barely understand what's going on and the fact that I can't really distinguish teams, I tend to enjoy the general thrill that comes with these games. It's probably why they say sports is a universal language. My new found interest in the sports is already making me seriously switch from a FIFA only player, to trying out the other games. And, this is a reaction I believe everyone that takes a little keen interest in the sports will eventually start to get.

Let me know your thoughts on eSports in the comment section!