Has the time come for esports?

Competitive gaming, or esports as it’s now known, is New Zealand’s newest sport. Formally recognised as an official code last week by Sport New Zealand, esports is currently providing refuge to some seriously bummed-out sports fans.

From virtual racing to virtual hockey, esports views are skyrocketing, and for many fans it’s the next best thing to live sport. With the list of sporting codes transitioning to some form of esports to entertain fans, the esports industry is on the rise, and it seems nothing can stop it – not even Covid-19.

Esports has a home-field advantage over traditional sports in that it can be played online, and most games are played from home or in team houses. Spectators can watch live streams with relative ease and most esports are completely free to view.

Despite a raft of cancelled events and leagues across a variety of esports codes, the global esports industry is picking up the slack when it comes to offering traditional sports fans a place to watch sports, albeit a little differently than usual.

Operations manager of global esports organisation ESL, Josh Inman, said the esports industry is well-equipped to deal with the challenges Covid-19 brings and is ready to step up for sports fans.

‘‘In the times we’re now facing, it’s very prudent [fans] are supporting esports because in times like now, it’s the only kid on the block.

‘‘The majority of us are a young and engaged audience and we share our community online, and it’s thanks to that that people are able to band together.’’

Esports can be played online and doesn’t require a live audience, meaning the industry largely dodged the issues plaguing the world’s most popular sporting codes.

Inman said this gave esports a rare advantage over traditional sports.

He said the online nature of esports made it easy to get into for both players and spectators.

‘‘Now that we have a real world scenario where accessibility is so important, people are seeing the true value of esports.’’

Esports made headlines earlier this month when following the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix, the ’Not the Aus GP’ virtual racing virtual racing live stream broke F1 streaming records. Over 70,000 fans tuned in to watch F1 drivers Max Verstappen and Lando Norris race around a virtual track, a number that broke F1 streaming records.

American racing series Nascar also had a very successful transition to a virtual racing league this week, with 900,000 viewers tuning in to the inaugural enascar iracing series telecast, making it the most watched esports programme in US history. Fox has now committed to showing the entire virtual racing season.

The announcement of the enascar series follows news that Supercars will also be transitioning to a virtual racing series, which will be widely available for fans to watch.

Fifa is also providing solace for football fans, quickly assembling a series of intense virtual tournaments played out on Fifa 20, including the anticipated Fifa eworld Cup 2020.

Teams involved include the likes of AS Roma, Benfica and West Ham, and the tournament will feature ambassadors including the likes of Arsenal midfielder Mesut O¨ zil, star Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale and Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann.

The news NRL teams West Tigers and Canterburybankstown Bulldogs would be duking it out in Fortnite instead of on the field this weekend also adds the NRL to the ever-growing list of sporting codes transitioning to a virtual platform.

That list now includes Fifa, the NBA, the NHL, Nascar, Supercars, F1 and the Indycar.

Inman said for Kiwi sports fans struggling to get into esports, it was important to keep an open mind. He said they might be pleasantly surprised by the similarities shared between sports and esports.

A number of Kiwis are performing at the highest levels of international esports. including Star Counter Strike sniper Sean ‘Gratisfaction’ Kaiwai and Overwatch player Kelsey ‘Colourhex’ Birse.