Auto racing. Bowling. Chess. Tug of War. Curling. eSports. What do they have in common? All are recognized by the International Olympic Committee as sports. Just because some athletes don’t have to run, jump or throw a ball playing to play their sport doesn’t mean they aren’t athletes. The same is true for eSports, and it’s time the university recognized UBC eSports as a team.
Sports today are about so much more than athletics. Bloomberg Business estimates North American sports industry revenue will reach almost $70 billion USD by 2017. Today, sports are as much about business as they are competition, and eSports has the business. Every year, tournaments hand out hundreds of millions of dollars in prize money, and no -- that is not a typo. Individual athletes can take home millions in a year.
But more importantly than what the competitors can make is how much fans spend to see teams compete. eSports is on track to generate $500 million in revenue by 2017, according to Newzoo, a marketing research company. The same report estimated that the sport will have 145 million enthusiasts and 190 million additional casual spectators by 2017. That makes eSports as, or more, popular than the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLS and the the MLB. In the industry (which, for better or worse, is what professional sports are today) eSports unequivocally makes the cut.
Now you might think, "if there’s so much money involved, then why don’t I become a professional gamer? All I need to do is play the video game well, right?"
Think again. Much like a professional hockey player, a professional gamer, according to Business Insider, practices their sport for at least 50 hours per week and most players go beyond those intensive hours. League of Legends, one of the most popular multiplayer video games in the world, adds new content every few months, resulting in constant overhauls in strategies and formations. On top of that, many teams rely heavily on sponsors and spend up to 15 hours a week doing sponsorship work. As a result of this rigorous schedule, most players, despite having days off once a week, opt to spend their time practicing instead.
Due to the accessibility of games, even one day away from the computer can lead to a huge decrease in player performance as players must compete against, not only other teams, but anyone who plays their respective game. Now factor in the practice hours, sponsorship work and additional physical training and you’ll find yourself seeing a schedule comparable to that of an Olympic athlete who plays a "real sport."
UBC eSports won a North American tournament earlier this year, making them the best eSports team on the continent. That is more than any UBC team can claim. Yet UBC eSports has been barred from using the university's name and the Thunderbird logo in the past because they are not recognized as a team at UBC. Officially, UBC eSports is a club, like any other.
They train as long and as hard as any athlete at UBC, they are at the same level of competition as other UBC teams, and they play a game recognized as a sport by international organizations. Why doesn't UBC treat it like one?
Koby Michaels is a second-year applied science major and Sports and Rec Editor at The Ubyssey.
Aiken Lao is a second-year commerce major and Print Editor at The Ubyssey.
This article previously stated that athletes could take home billions of dollars. It has been changed to millions. The Ubyssey regrets this error