EPTTranslation by MiED!
+ Show Spoiler +
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.
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.
Translation by DoeniDon
+ Show Spoiler +
E-Sports: Playing games turned into a sports for professionals
Hours of training everyday, sponsor contracts, millions of prize money - e-sports is a brutal professional sport, even if field and skis turn into mouse and keyboard.
After more than 2 hours, Aleksey Krupnik has finally done it: In a nerve wracking finale defeated the Ukrainian his Polish opponent in the fifth and last set. Exhausted, but happy over the 15.000 Dollar prize, he receives his trophy for the victory in the IGN ProLeague Tournament.
Whoever thinks of Tennis rackets or wimbledon courts, is very wrong: Aleksey Krupnik, also known as "White-Ra", is a professional athlete - on the computer. The sport in which he made it to a championship is the computer game "StarCraft 2".
Starcraft 2 is the most liked part of a group of computergames that are played in tournaments and championships all over the world. They are known as "e-sports". (didn't really know how to translate this one properly)
Sports and computer - on the first look, this looks strange. But e-sportlers often counter with the fact that Darts, Billard, Chess and Fly fishing are sports too.
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.
But ESPN aren't pioneers - in South Korea, a country where computergames like Starcraft 2 are considered national sport, real time strategy games on TV are very common since years.
Perfect Viewing Sports
But what exactly is so appealing about E-Sports and especially Starcraft 2? "Starcraft is the perfect viewing experience", says Sean Plott alias "Day[9]". The ex-Starcraft pro made a big career jump in the past two years that is common in normal sports too: he turned into a commentator and is now one of the most famous commentators and live-reporters of Starcraft. He continously uploads videos on his website www.day9.tv.
"Starcraft 2 from the beginning has been built to be perfect for use in professional sports", means Plott.
Starcraft 2 is a so-called Real time Strategy game: Players have to gather ressources, build bases and armies and then have to fight their opponent's army. It's all about good ressource management and the correct tactic. The goal of the game is the elimination of your enemy.
What makes Starcraft 2 so appealing to Spectators: Starcraft 2 developer Blizzard has developed a spectator mode, with which commentators can give all the important information to spectators.
"You don't have to be a professional gamer to follow a Starcraft 2 game between pros", says Plott. "A basic understanding of how the game works is enough to have fun while watching. It's the same as in other sports like Football and Baseball."
Money and Red Bull
The economic basis of E-Sports and its athletes is found on video services on the internet: "The real revolution for E-Sports weren't the first events or sponsors, but video streaming platforms such as Twitch.tv", says Sean Splott. "Professional gamers can now stream games live over these platforms - and with the money they earn over advertisements there, they can finance a big part of their lives already."
The steadily increasing interest from an increasing audience is also creating interest from a few big companies that smell good marketing in the scene. So far, not many companies that are too surprising sponsor events: mostly developers of computer hardware, software- or computer developers, telekom companies. Alas, it's not surprising to see names such as ASUS, Intel or Sony Ericsson in E-Sports events.
Now though, there's a big giant entering the scene with Red Bull. Most E-Sports insiders see a big chance in this, seeing as the Energydrink brand has already made niche sports such as wave diving or skateboarding big.
One step ahead though is South Korea: In the E-Sports nation number one, big telekom companies and even the military sponsor entire E-Sport teams.
Training camps
The atmosphere in the so called "team houses", in which the team players live together in the dozens, is a mix between training camp and youth hostel: during the day, players practice up to ten hours a day while being watched by trainers and coaches. In the night, players sleep in multiple-bed rooms along with their teammates. They don't have to worry about washing stuff or buying things, housemaids do that. Even physiotherapeuts and Fitness trainers are available in some houses.
Especially the fitness trainer is probably a reason why a majority of E-Sportlers don't fit the klischee of the overweight computer nerd.
That you can also be a successful person in E-Sports past 30 years shows Ukrainian Aleksey Krupnik, better known as "White-Ra". He counts, with his almost biblical age of 31, as one of the best Starcraft 2 players ever.
The big cash in E-Sport is reserved for the top-players. Even well-known and successful Starcraft 2 players don't get more than 30.000 dollars a year.
But only a few people only enter the scene because of the money anyway. "E-Sports can be compared with a career as actor or comedian: only the ones that really want to will try it - even when the payment can be bad", knows Ex-Pro Sean Plott. "For most people, it's enough if they earn the money to do what they're passionate for. For one it's acting, for the other it's Starcraft."
From Amateur to Pro
Unlike the show business, where actors have to trust themselves mostly, has the E-Sports scene a huge network which isn't all that different from normal sports. Alone in Austria, there's 40 E-Sports clubs that are in the "eSports Club Austria" (esvoe.at).
The fascination for E-Sports here is amazing. "About 15.000 players participate in E-Sports events regularly (in Austria)", says Stefan Baloh, President of the E-Sports organisation. And all that despite the fact that there's no major events in Austria.
For newcomers, their best chances are to join one of local E-Sport clubs. "If someone has good placements in online leagues or wins a few tourneys, they can get noticed by professional teams and be offered a contract", knows Stefan Baloh.
Whoever really wants to start being an E-Pro has to prepare for a giant switch though - Professional European teams are pretty much exclusive to Germany and Sweden.
Alone in the Dark (T/N: Didn't know how to translate the original title, made something fitting up.)
Austria's E-Sports contributions shouldn't be overlooked here: As the only Austrian Pro, Mario Viska belongs to the Top 10 of FIFA (football-game) since years.
His job as marketing leader of a Vienna Internet Company is important to Viska though - even though he could potentially make a living off of his earnings in E-Sport.
So if your children are playing too much videogames again next time, show some respect: Maybe you have the next Starcraft 2-Schlierenzauer a FIFA-Arnautovic or a Counterstrike-Vettel sitting there. But you should quickly say goodbye to the dreams of earning as much as they did.
- Jan Fischer
Hours of training everyday, sponsor contracts, millions of prize money - e-sports is a brutal professional sport, even if field and skis turn into mouse and keyboard.
After more than 2 hours, Aleksey Krupnik has finally done it: In a nerve wracking finale defeated the Ukrainian his Polish opponent in the fifth and last set. Exhausted, but happy over the 15.000 Dollar prize, he receives his trophy for the victory in the IGN ProLeague Tournament.
Whoever thinks of Tennis rackets or wimbledon courts, is very wrong: Aleksey Krupnik, also known as "White-Ra", is a professional athlete - on the computer. The sport in which he made it to a championship is the computer game "StarCraft 2".
Starcraft 2 is the most liked part of a group of computergames that are played in tournaments and championships all over the world. They are known as "e-sports". (didn't really know how to translate this one properly)
Sports and computer - on the first look, this looks strange. But e-sportlers often counter with the fact that Darts, Billard, Chess and Fly fishing are sports too.
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.
But ESPN aren't pioneers - in South Korea, a country where computergames like Starcraft 2 are considered national sport, real time strategy games on TV are very common since years.
Perfect Viewing Sports
But what exactly is so appealing about E-Sports and especially Starcraft 2? "Starcraft is the perfect viewing experience", says Sean Plott alias "Day[9]". The ex-Starcraft pro made a big career jump in the past two years that is common in normal sports too: he turned into a commentator and is now one of the most famous commentators and live-reporters of Starcraft. He continously uploads videos on his website www.day9.tv.
"Starcraft 2 from the beginning has been built to be perfect for use in professional sports", means Plott.
Starcraft 2 is a so-called Real time Strategy game: Players have to gather ressources, build bases and armies and then have to fight their opponent's army. It's all about good ressource management and the correct tactic. The goal of the game is the elimination of your enemy.
What makes Starcraft 2 so appealing to Spectators: Starcraft 2 developer Blizzard has developed a spectator mode, with which commentators can give all the important information to spectators.
"You don't have to be a professional gamer to follow a Starcraft 2 game between pros", says Plott. "A basic understanding of how the game works is enough to have fun while watching. It's the same as in other sports like Football and Baseball."
Money and Red Bull
The economic basis of E-Sports and its athletes is found on video services on the internet: "The real revolution for E-Sports weren't the first events or sponsors, but video streaming platforms such as Twitch.tv", says Sean Splott. "Professional gamers can now stream games live over these platforms - and with the money they earn over advertisements there, they can finance a big part of their lives already."
The steadily increasing interest from an increasing audience is also creating interest from a few big companies that smell good marketing in the scene. So far, not many companies that are too surprising sponsor events: mostly developers of computer hardware, software- or computer developers, telekom companies. Alas, it's not surprising to see names such as ASUS, Intel or Sony Ericsson in E-Sports events.
Now though, there's a big giant entering the scene with Red Bull. Most E-Sports insiders see a big chance in this, seeing as the Energydrink brand has already made niche sports such as wave diving or skateboarding big.
One step ahead though is South Korea: In the E-Sports nation number one, big telekom companies and even the military sponsor entire E-Sport teams.
Training camps
The atmosphere in the so called "team houses", in which the team players live together in the dozens, is a mix between training camp and youth hostel: during the day, players practice up to ten hours a day while being watched by trainers and coaches. In the night, players sleep in multiple-bed rooms along with their teammates. They don't have to worry about washing stuff or buying things, housemaids do that. Even physiotherapeuts and Fitness trainers are available in some houses.
Especially the fitness trainer is probably a reason why a majority of E-Sportlers don't fit the klischee of the overweight computer nerd.
That you can also be a successful person in E-Sports past 30 years shows Ukrainian Aleksey Krupnik, better known as "White-Ra". He counts, with his almost biblical age of 31, as one of the best Starcraft 2 players ever.
The big cash in E-Sport is reserved for the top-players. Even well-known and successful Starcraft 2 players don't get more than 30.000 dollars a year.
But only a few people only enter the scene because of the money anyway. "E-Sports can be compared with a career as actor or comedian: only the ones that really want to will try it - even when the payment can be bad", knows Ex-Pro Sean Plott. "For most people, it's enough if they earn the money to do what they're passionate for. For one it's acting, for the other it's Starcraft."
From Amateur to Pro
Unlike the show business, where actors have to trust themselves mostly, has the E-Sports scene a huge network which isn't all that different from normal sports. Alone in Austria, there's 40 E-Sports clubs that are in the "eSports Club Austria" (esvoe.at).
The fascination for E-Sports here is amazing. "About 15.000 players participate in E-Sports events regularly (in Austria)", says Stefan Baloh, President of the E-Sports organisation. And all that despite the fact that there's no major events in Austria.
For newcomers, their best chances are to join one of local E-Sport clubs. "If someone has good placements in online leagues or wins a few tourneys, they can get noticed by professional teams and be offered a contract", knows Stefan Baloh.
Whoever really wants to start being an E-Pro has to prepare for a giant switch though - Professional European teams are pretty much exclusive to Germany and Sweden.
Alone in the Dark (T/N: Didn't know how to translate the original title, made something fitting up.)
Austria's E-Sports contributions shouldn't be overlooked here: As the only Austrian Pro, Mario Viska belongs to the Top 10 of FIFA (football-game) since years.
His job as marketing leader of a Vienna Internet Company is important to Viska though - even though he could potentially make a living off of his earnings in E-Sport.
So if your children are playing too much videogames again next time, show some respect: Maybe you have the next Starcraft 2-Schlierenzauer a FIFA-Arnautovic or a Counterstrike-Vettel sitting there. But you should quickly say goodbye to the dreams of earning as much as they did.
- Jan Fischer
(I believe it was DOTA or smth)
