10039903_MCM_OCT2021

MYSPORTS

The Rise of eSports LEVELING UP

machines such as Atari and Nintendo, gaming popularity skyrocketed. With advancements in internet technology, interest in eSports went worldwide. In 2000, the first World Cyber Games were held in Seoul, South Korea, effectively launching today’s eS ports phenomenon. Today, it is a nearly billion-dollar industry. Live events consistently sell out arenas around the world, including Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center where nearly 12,000 fans bought tickets at price points between $50 and $250 a seat. Philadelphia is currently building a separate eSports arena to cash in on its growing popu larity. YouTube and Twitch have helped give rise to eSports star athletes and teams. Even the NBA has jumped into the game, with each team also fielding an eSports team to compete in a digital league. ESPN is also (at this time) in negotiations to televise eSports events. In 2014, eSports went collegiate when Robert Morris University Illi nois organized the first varsity team. Today, colleges across the nation have fielded varsity teams for a number of games including: League of Legends,

BY PETER HINTERMAN

In 2019, the “League of Legends”World Cham pionship took place across three international locations (Madrid, Berlin, Paris) with 24 teams from around the globe competing for the grand prize. After a grueling tour nament, the final match pitting team FunPlus Phoenix (China) against team G2 eSports (Europe) was viewed by over 100 million people, eclipsing the viewership of that year’s Super Bowl by nearly three million! When a hard-fought League of Legends match ended, team FunPlus Phoenix claimed victory and the $834,375 purse ... eSports had officially arrived. When the first video game was invented in 1958 (a tennis game), nobody put much stock in its future – it was merely an amusing pastime. In 1972, Stanford students held the “Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics’’ (the first video game tournament) and the world was given a brief look into the future. With the advent of arcades and then-in-home gaming

Anna Kosolapova / stock.adobe.com

Call of Duty, Overwatch, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros All Stars and others. Michigan is, in fact, one of the states leading the way with multiple teams ranked highly across the nation. At the time of this writing, Northwood University boasted the top teams in a variety of games. Genesee County holds three very competitive programs – Kettering University, Mott Community College and UM-Flint – that are ready to bring competitive video-gaming to the next level. t

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