EPT
The fact that Red Bull starts sponsoring e-sports could change a whole lot, at least in europe.
Waiting for more news like this! :D
SC2 in Austrian Economy and Business Newspaper - Page 2
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Yndigo
Austria17 Posts
The fact that Red Bull starts sponsoring e-sports could change a whole lot, at least in europe. Waiting for more news like this! :D | ||
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HappyVlane
Austria21 Posts
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Xacalite
Germany533 Posts
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MiED!
2 Posts
Esports: Playing PC-Games has became a Sport for proffessionals Training for hours every day, sponsoring contracts, price money worth millions - Esports is a really tough professional Sport, although grass or a ski run are changed for mouse and keyboard. After over 2 Hours Aleksey Krupnik finally did it: In a nerv-wrecking finals the ukranian managed to deafeat his enemy from Poland in the fifth and final set. Exhausted but happy about the 15.000 dollars of prize money he receives his Trophy for victory at the IGN Pro League Tournament. Whoever thinks about tennis rackets or Wimbledon, misses the mark by far: Aleksey Krupnik, better know as "White-Ra", is a professional athlete - on the computer. The sport, in which he managed to claim the championship: the computer game "Starcraft 2" Starcraft 2 is the most liked representative of a group of pc games, which are played competitivly in championships all around the world and are summarized by the term E-Sports. Sports and computers - at first glance this looks like a serious contradiction. Esports athletes however, like to point at Darts, Billard, Chess and Fly Fishing being classified at sports aswell. Proof for E-Sports not only carrying its name justly, but also seeming to have arrived in the mainstream comes from an unusual place: ESPN, worldwide leader in broadcasting Sports from baseball to motorsports, is going to start an own TV Channel in 2012, where tourneys and championships of various E-Sports events are going to be broadcast. Pioneering work however ESPN is not achieving with that: In South Korea, a country in which the pc game Starcraft 2 is even today already classified as a national sport, there has been a 24-hour TV station addressing the RTS and it's competivie scene. Perfect spectator sport What exactly is it, that is supposed to make E-sports and especially Starcraft 2 intresting for a sportsfan? "Starcraft is the perfect spectator sport", says Sean Plott alias "Day[9]. The former Starcraft pro has made a carrier jump in the last two years, that is also common in normal sports: He traded his active career as an athlethe for the one in the commentating booth and is one of the most popular live reporter for Starcraft events today. On his website www.day.tv he elaborates on the everchanging tactics and trends of the game. "Starcraft 2 has been designed for being used in professional Esports from the very beginning", comments Plott. Starcraft 2 is a so called RTS: Players have to gather ressources, build bases, produce armys and lead them in to battle versus their enemys. Doing that good ressource management and the right tactic in the fight is key. The goal of the game is the annihilation of the enemy. What makes Starcraft 2 so appeleaing for the audience: Starcraft 2 developer Blizzard has implemented a so called specator mode into the game, due to which the commentators and audience get all the relevant information neatly presented on the screen in one glance. "You dont have to be a professional player to follow a Starcraft 2 match between two world class players", says Plott. "A rudimentary understanding for the rules of the game is enough to have fun with the broadcast. This is - from a spectators point of view - not different to other sports such as baseball of football." Money and Red Bull The economic basis for Esports and its athletes is to be found in the video-services of the internet: "The real revolution for Esports was not the first sponrorings or the first big live-events, but the video-streaming via providers as Twitch.tv and such", states Plott. "It is enough for professional players to stream 20 hours of their play live per week - with the earnings from the shown advertisments pro players make enough money to comfortably provide a living for themselves and their families." The rising interest of an ever growing audience has been bringing companys, who percieve good options for marketing in the esports scene, on the plan for a while now. Until recently those where, to no suprise, companys close to Esports: manufacturers for computer hardware, software- and gamedevelopers, telecommunication companys. No suprise, that in the titles of huge esports tournaments brand names such as Intel,Asus, or Sony Ericsson appear quite frequently. Now, with Red Bull a true giant of sponsoring is entering the Esports sector. Most Esports insiders see a huge chance in this, as the engery drink brand has already brought other fringe sports such as surfing and skateboarding due to its hefty marketing machinery to the mainstream. Similar things could also be imminent for the Esports scene. Even one step further is South Korea: in the leading esports nation telecommunication companys and the military already finance multiple player Esports teams completly. Training camps The athmosphere in the so called "Team-Houses", in which most players are living in a dozen, is similar to a mixture between a youth hostel and a training camp: During day they play for up to 10 hours supervised by trainers and coaches. In the nighttime they sleep in multi-bed rooms. The kitchen, laundry or grocerie shopping is nothing the team members have to concern themselves with, it is taken care of by maids. Even physiotherapists and fitness coaches are being provided in some houses. The latter also explains why the majority of Esports athletes does not at all match the cliche of the overweight computer nerd. That you can even be succesfull having passed the thirty year mark in the otherwise so youthful Esports sector, shows the in the beginning mentioned ukranian Aleksey Kupnyk, better known for his gaming handle "White-Ra". He is, although having reached the for an Esports athlete almost biblical age of 31 years, regarded as on of the best Starcraft 2 players there is. The big money in Esports is reserved for a few top players. Even well known and succsefull Starcraft 2 playres exceed a yearly income of $30.000 very rarely. Only for the money however teh least amount of players gets in to the professional buisiness. "Esports, in this regard, can be compared with a carrer as an actor or comedian: Only those really wanting to do it try it - even when the pay is very bad.",is known by ex pro Sean Plott. "For the most is suffices to earn enough to do, what their passion is. For one it is acting, for another one it is Starcraft." From amateur to pro Different from the acting buisiness, where acteurs have to rely on themselves in the showbiz, the Esports scene has a network, not unfamiliar to conventional sports. In Austria today there is 40 registred associations for esports, organized in the "eSport Verband Österreich" (esvoe.at). The Esports enthusiasm over here is substantial. "Around 15.000 players regularly take part in Esports events in Austria", says Stefan Baloh, chairman of the Esports associaton."And this, even though big events still have scarcitiy value over here." The best chances for soon-to-be Esports athletes are to join one of the associations. "Those who catch the attention at tournamets or online leagues with good results, have the chance to be contracted by professional teams", states Stefan Baloh. Those who are really serious about Esports, better prepare to move by that time: Internationally renouned pro teams in europe are almost exclusively to be found in German or Sweden. Alone in open Fields Austrias contribution to professional Esports, should not be withheld at this point: As the only domestic pro gamer Mario Viska is doing more than well - at the computer game FIFA (soccer game) he has been in the world wide top 10 for years. His job as marketing director at a vienna internet company, Viska does not want to give up for the time being - even though, people are speculating, he is outearning his regular job with the prize money made in Esports tournaments. When your children are blowing way too many time on video games the next time, show some indulgence: Probably they are the next Starcraft-2-Schlierenzauer, the FIFA-Arnautovic or Counter-Strike-Vettel. You should however let loose of dreaming about their fantastic income pretty quickly. edit: wow someone already translated it - sad panda  | ||
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Ciryandor
United States3735 Posts
On January 24 2012 22:00 itsdaniel wrote: great read! they should have mentioned that our very own  xEi defeated  SuperNoVa @ WCG And how white guys will remain forever a novelty in BW, yes? <3 January and Song Byung Goo! XD | ||
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Scorch
Austria3371 Posts
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gogogadgetflow
United States2583 Posts
On January 24 2012 23:12 Scorch wrote: ESPN is starting a dedicated ESports channel? I never knew. Only that MLG's Sundance had a meeting with an ESPN dude, but nothing specific. first confirmation-y thing i've seen as well | ||
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Bengui
Canada775 Posts
On January 24 2012 21:31 Orkfaeller wrote: Proof that e-sport finally reached mainstream is coming from an unusual source: ESPN, world's biggest provider of live sport, ranging from baseball to motorsport, is planning to launch a TV Channel where tournaments and championships from various e-sports games will be shown. Errr... WHAT ?!?!?!? | ||
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Tula
Austria1544 Posts
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Grovbolle
Denmark3815 Posts
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StarMoon
Canada682 Posts
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fcgog
United Kingdom876 Posts
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steelcurtain09
United States87 Posts
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decaf
Austria1797 Posts
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DawN883
Sweden558 Posts
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Keyboard Warrior
United States1178 Posts
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Scorch
Austria3371 Posts
Red Bull sponsoring. Red Bull is one of the biggest sponsors in all of sports. This could be potentially huge if they decide to pump big money into the business. Does someone know which teams or tournaments they sponsor? There were Red Bull fridges at HSC4, but to my knowledge it wasn't an official sponsor. Any information on what they are planning? A dedicated ESPN eSports channel starting this year. Is this actually happening or only rumors? MLG Sundance had a meeting with ESPN last year, not much else is known. Although certainly not a mainstream channel, even a small TV channel could bring huge viewership. Additional exposure can only bring money, interest and growth for eSports. | ||
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Fealthas
607 Posts
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imre
France9263 Posts
On January 25 2012 07:02 Fealthas wrote: Interesting article. I hope sc2 starts having bigger tourney prizes and players get paid more, otherwise I do not think that sc2 will grow big. Having sc2 open source would also benefit sc2. Having to pay to play a sport is kinda wierd. But then again does anyone who plays sports spend less then like $500 a year to play it? shoes shirts sticks .etc If you want to draw an analogy, buying sc2 would be the same as paying for a license, while the material is your comp/mouse etc... And it's a cheap license :D | ||
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McFeser
United States2458 Posts
Yeah Im guessing this is a leak. | ||
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