AuthorJeffEyesRimmer ESports has become very popular across the world, so much so that currently the global market was recently valued at nearly $493 million. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that just before Christmas the A-League here in Australia announced that they will be holding the first E-League later this year that will use EA's FIFA gaming franchise as the basis for the competition. It is unlikely but for those who don’t know what ESports are they are professional video gaming competitions. It is most commonly organised with multiplayer games and there are plenty of different teams and games played across the globe. In terms of revenues, Asia and North America represent the two largest ESports markets. While Asia contributed almost a quarter of global ESports market revenue, generating $328 million in 2016, the North American market brought in $275 million, followed by the European market at $270 million. That’s a lot of revenue. According to estimates, the global ESports market revenue will reach $1.49 billion in 2020. In 2015 the ESports team called Evil Geniuses based in US made the most money of any team across the world playing the game Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2), bringing in nearly $9million in prize money. One of the big sponsors throughout the world, Red Bull, is already providing coverage of ESports leagues and it can now even be bet on in various gambling apps. With this rapid growth in the ESports market football clubs are looking to get in on the action and plenty of clubs in world football already have. West Ham may be struggling in the EPL at the moment but they were the first team in the EPL to sign an ESports player, with Sean ‘Dragonn’ Allan being picked up by the club, complete with shirt signing picture and everything. Manchester City are the next club to have picked up a young FIFA player and their cross city rivals Manchester United are also looking to bring in a player. I would find it odd that United would have an ESports team/player before a women’s team but that a discussion for another day. There a numerous big clubs throughout Europe that have also joined the ESports market, with PSG, Sporting Lisbon, Ajax, PSV, Besiktas and Wolfsburg all bringing in FIFA players. Schalke even brought in two players. In terms of ESports the biggest competitive game played from a football perspective is Electronic Arts FIFA series, the newest version being FIFA 18. It is this game that will be the basis for the E-League. So what is the A-League doing with this announcement of the E-League? Well as of the 1st of February E-League will be a competition for Australia’s elite FIFA 18 players to represent the A-League’s clubs to determine a Champion. This will be done for both Xbox and PlayStation consoles. From my understanding it’s the first real attempt to create a league associated with the real thing. The E-League will run for the last nine rounds of the A-League. Each club to play each other once during this time and E-League will end in April with a tournament-style event to determine the champion, in keeping with the Australian tradition of grand finals. Each club will have two players, with clubs choosing one player directly and the other with come from a draft. The draft process invites interested players to register their interest as a first step (so if you’re keen, get registering at the A-Leagues website!). The best players will then be selected for the draft based on a combination of factors, including their FIFA Ultimate Team rankings. One team has already joined the fun. Melbourne City has registered a representative for the E-League already. The club became the first team in Australia to sign an official FIFA ESports player, that being 20 year old Marcus Gomes from Melbourne. Last year Gomes qualified for the FIFA Ultimate Team Champions Cup and the FIFA eWorld Cup. He qualified with 152 wins from 160 games, as a FIFA player myself that’s not bad record at all but could he do it on a cold, rainy night in Stoke? Gomes will be looking for be the first winner of the tournament and im sure more teams will come on board soon. It’s not surprising Melbourne City was first on board though, being owned by the City Football Group who has now taken their ESports numbers up to four. They also signed Christopher Holly and Joey Calabro for New York City and Kieran Brown for Manchester City.
I think it is only a matter of time before this becomes mainstream and will have TV shows dedicated to them in more primetime spots. Will you be watching the E-League unfold? Do you think it will be a success? Would you want to learn more? Let us know in the comments or social media. |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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