Success in sports has long been a proud part of Liverpudlian heritage, even before the official founding of the football club back in 1892. In recent years, though, an exciting new opportunity for sports success, that of eSports, has entered the Liverpool arena.
From humble beginnings on home consoles and computers to growing success through the support of game streaming and online casinos, the potential for Liverpool’s success in the digital arena is still largely untapped. As for what opened the recent floodgates… well, it was football.
With each new year, increasingly more video game developers and publishers pump money into their respective competitive scenes. One such competitive scene is that of EA Sport’s FIFA series. While each of these different game’s needs requires different tournaments, FIFA’s is something special.
The way the tournaments in this game operate is by allowing players competing to play as their local or favoured teams. When the players for a region are decided, they then face off against each other.
Taking home the trophy in this year’s tournament was Donovan “TekKz” Hunt, representing Liverpool. At only 17 years old, Hunt has proven himself as one of the best in the world, as he takes the trophy back to Liverpool.
His success is a signifier of the overall growth and attention that our city’s gaming community has shown in recent years. With clubs like the Liverpool Arctic-Foxes becoming more prevalent with each passing year, it looks likely that local teams could provide more both on the national and international front.
How did we get here?
While the obvious contributor to the rise of eSports in Liverpool is the ever-increasing popularity of video games, this is only part of the story.
The other side of this equation comes from the spectators and our overall love of sports. Traditional sports don’t just have players; they also have an enormous quantity of viewers and ways to engage. The most common form which this takes is watching games in person or over the internet. Games like football and tennis are the biggest draws here, but this is just the start.
In terms of video games, the largest contributor is that of live-streaming. The streaming platform Twitch made its name this way, as it moved from niche website to industry cornerstone. This system allowed players to watch gaming tournaments that otherwise would never have been available for live viewing, giving a massive boost to appreciation and hype.
At this point, some gaming tournaments draw in more viewers than established traditional sporting tournaments like Wimbledon, and this popularity is still on the rise.
Also aiding on this front is the related gaming field of online casinos. As a huge and still growing industry, these online casino businesses draw in millions of players a year which is often achieved by leaning on sports-based themes. Currently, when people play online casino games, the likes of FIFA and other major game interpretations help share awareness, bringing attention back to base eSports properties.
Getting Involved
If you want to play a part in Liverpool’s growing eSports scene, then there has never been a better time to start. Just as with any other form of professional competition, it won’t be easy. However, if you have a passion, and you dedicate yourself to the game, you might one day see yourself raising Liverpool’s profile in the ever-expanding element of digital entertainment.