Esports: what is it?

eSports, or e-sport in English, designates competitions of video games in a local network (LAN party) Where via Internet on consoles or computers. Professional players (called gamers in English) evolve individually or belong to a team. Constraining themselves to a daily training of several hours, they take part in competitions organized throughout the world and live off the winnings.

Video games and e-sports

In principle, all video games with a multiplayer mode are included in e-sports, but in fact, a few genres and flagship titles are the most popular:

• StarCraft 2;
• Hearthstone;
• Call Of Duty;
• FIFA;
• ShootMania Storm;
• Counter-Strike;
• Dota 2;
• League of Legends.

Very popular in South Korea, video game tournaments are broadcast on television and the players (called gosu which means “chiefs” in Korean dialect) are stars.

E-sport: professional tournaments and winnings

The first tournaments started in 1997 with the creation of the Cyberathlete Professional League and the first competition from the game Quake. The most widely recognized professional tournaments are those of the Cyberathlete Professional Leaguefrom World Cyber ​​Games as well as Electronic Sports World Cup.

In the mid-2000s, the prize pools of the most important international esports competitions amounted to several million dollars. A record was reached in 2015 during the competition The International dedicated to the Dota 2 game offering more than 18.4 million dollars in winnings, including more than 6.6 million for the winning team.

E-sport around the world and in France

In 2010, the International Federation of Electronic Sport (Esif) was created, whose mission is to promote this discipline. In 2016, the Olympic Committee recognizes e-sport as a sport, paving the way for the process of integrating these competitions into future Olympic Games, without a specific timetable. This initiative immediately led to the creation of theEsports Integrity Coalition whose mission is to fight against doping in e-sport which appeared under the effect of growing economic stakes.

In France, it was not until October 2016 that the practice of video games in competition and the status of professional player were recognized through the law for a Republic digital. The same year was born the France-eSports association (law 1091) which brings together the main French video game players with the mission of promoting and supervising the practice of electronic sport.

What is e-sport?

E-sport or electronic sport refers to the practice of a network video game on the Internet, alone or in a team. Considered a modern sport in its own right by its practitioners and promoters, e-sport was born in the late 1980s as a hobby. This discipline was born thanks to theemergence network multiplayer games. Every year, the world’s best networked gamers come together at the esports World Convention (ESWC). This event is a world championship with several competitions organized, where gamers who dominate the most popular games compete.

The event was created in 2003 by a Frenchman, Matthieu Dallon, and the first editions took place at Futuroscope. Real-time strategy and online battle games like League of Legends and Warcraft, team sports games like Fifa and online poker are among the games most played by e-sports enthusiasts.

How does e-sport work?

The diffusion in streaming parties, with the associated advertising and sponsors, has given e-sport a dimension in just a few years that goes far beyond leisure and video games. The competitions are organized by recognized associations authorized to organize electronic events. These organizers are part of a vast global network that also brings together publishers, players, sponsors, professional athletes and the media. The next step for esports is a place in the Olympics.

The selection of games included in major competitions depends above all on their commercial success. E-sports fans can follow the games live on specialized channels or on streaming platforms such as Twitch. In France, this discipline is supervised by the France e-sports association.

How to become e-sport?

For several years now, e-sport has no longer been a simple hobby for network video game enthusiasts. It is now a professionalized sector of activity with huge economic stakes. To have globally competitive teams, each country sets up structures to promote the discipline and train e-athletes.

In France, several private establishments such as the XP Gaming School, the Education Gaming School and Gaming Campus offer training in e-sport.

There are also training courses relating to the management of e-sport structures, offered by certain business schools. Places in these schools are expensive, as they are highly coveted. During his training, the student acquires theoretical knowledge and lives his first professional experiences before being released into thearena in front of millions of virtual spectators. He also participates as a volunteer in the organization of events, in order to be in the front row during tournaments and to know the reality of his discipline behind the scenes.

A great opportunity also to meet the best players, organizers and sponsors. The outlets of electronic sport are many. In addition to gamers placed under the fire from spotlightsthe industry creates jobs in sectors such as communication, management and team management.