GAMERS TO GEEK OUT AT GARDEN
Esports’ growth on display
Tens of thousands of screaming fans will fill the TD Garden this weekend, cheering for their favorite players — not the Bruins or Celtics, but some of the nation’s best professional gamers, competing for a place in the League of Legends world championship later this year.
Organizers say they have sold out the Garden for the final on Sunday, and expect to sell out Saturday as well. This is the first major esports event to come to the Garden.
In League of Legends, two teams of five try to destroy their opponent’s base, battling with everything from ninjas, knights and robots. The matches are best of five. On Sunday, the top two teams will battle it out for the title after nine weeks of headto-head action. The winner will move on to the global championship in Beijing later this year. On Saturday, the third- and fourthplace teams will compete for third place.
League of Legends and esports have exploded in popularity in recent years, with marquee events drawing more viewers online than major sports championships. One report estimates esports will grow to a $1.5 billion market by 2020. Investors and esports proponents say the younger generation’s increasing disinterest in traditional sports combined with the global potential for esports makes it a promising space.
“It’s a quickly evolving space. It’s going from a hobby activity to a true competitive activity,” said William Collis, co-founder and president of Gamer Sensei, who said esports could end up more popular than traditional sports like football.
“Fundamentally, all the indicators are there, Collis said. “It’s not a few thousand or a few million people, it’s hundreds of millions of people playing worldwide.”
Yesterday, Gamer Sensei said the company has raised $4 million in new investment for its service that connects gamers looking to improve with coaches who can help them hone their skills. Collis said the company could become the equivalent to baseball’s minor leagues. The company raised an initial $2.5 million last year.
In Boston, the region’s sports heavyweights have begun to dip their toes in the esports water. The Celtics said they would be part of the NBA’s inaugural NBA 2K league, where teams of five players compete in the popular basketball video game NBA 2K. Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots, also invested in a team competing in Overwatch, another popular esports video game.