News claimed that “the production is slick, the pundits are sharp, and the players are gods,” however these athletes are using keyboards and headphones, and their UK competitions are becoming bigger and bigger.
The BBC described ESL One Birmingham, a “major event in the esports calendar,” drawing about 15,000 spectators from all over the world to see gamers compete for a $300,000 (£240,000) first prize. This year is “a bumper year for big spectator tournaments” and the UK “has a thriving grass-roots scene”.
Regime for training
According to British Esports, esports, which is also known as electronic sports, are different from traditional video gaming as they are “competitive (human-vs-human)” and “usually have an engaging spectator element to it, like traditional sports.”
One specific game was being played at the Birmingham event, which took place at the Resorts World Arena. “Dota 2” is a multiplayer online combat arena game with “flashing lights and novelty characters,” as one analyst put it as , “kind of like chess” as reported.
According to Reports, Alvaro Sanchez Velasco, product manager at ESL One Birmingham, “Many people think of the esports team as just five guys who like playing the game at home”. Teams do, however, have “schedules that include training regimens” and “psychological visits” in addition to boot camps.
For the spectators, “there isn’t the same territorial spirit that comes with supporting a particular football team”. Mostly this is about respect for the individual players.
“You can go and play football but it’s nice to see people playing it at a level you could never play at,” a fan remarked, citing the “professional aspect of it, similar to football” as the attraction.
Players may earn up to $10,000 (£8,000) each month in addition to earnings from tournaments and sponsorship deals, making them rewarded like professionals. In Birmingham, the total prize pool was $1 million (£800,000).
Kickstart with major actions
The UK esports community has “felt neglected” in recent years, according to Esports.net, with competitions being “too few and far between”. They’re “running wild” at the moment. The infrastructure supporting gaming has been strengthened by government and organization investment, and this year the nation is playing home to “some of the most impactful events in the business”.
Among these are the massive League of Legends Worlds finals held in November at the O2 arena in London and the Blast Premier Spring Final in June at Wembley Arena. Esports Insider stated that “Just a year or two years ago, this number of major title events would have been unheard of.” They may “kickstart major moves in the UK esports industry” if managed properly.
It appears that the popularity of UK esports is rising quickly as educational institutions now are embracing gaming.
