Gaming as a Sport
Well, it’s happened, or rather, it’s been happening. Video Gaming is now a sport. How has it become a sport, some ask. Well, when people get good enough at video games to get noticed, then teams form (usually made up of 4 - 5 people depending on the game). These teams sometimes get sponsors such as Monster Energy and Red Bull. These sponsored teams (and some un-sponsored) form leagues. These leagues are what make up the sport of Video Gaming. Some of the more Popular games today are Counter-Strike, Quake 4, and Halo 2. There are some larger governing bodies for gaming (comparable to the NHL for Hockey and NFL for Football). Some of these are the MLG (Major League Gaming), WCG (World Cyber Games), and the CPL (Cyberathlete Professional League). The prizes are not awarded like usual sports. The players are not paid simply for being there. Instead, the prizes are awarded based on how the teams are ranked within their league. This year, the MLG is awarding over a Million dollars of prize money to the top eight teams ranging from $1,600 to $20,000 for the Regular season events and from $8,000 to $100,000 for the Championship events for the 4 on 4 matches (each league does their prize amounts and structures differently). This proves that gaming is becoming more widespread as a sport, and many young people are going to try to get on these elite teams that have an average payout of 100,000 a year in the various leagues. Go for it. If you are ambitious and motivated, you could become one of the top gamers in the world.
In the near future, I will post on some of the top gamers in the industry and maybe, just maybe get an interview. We’ll just have to see.
Until we meet again,
Happy Gaming!!!