Procenjuje se da je oko 106 miliona ljudi gledalo Svetski e-sport šampionat Approximately 106 million people are estimated to have watched the World E-Sports Championships
pearing in finals. e best players probably come from China, which has huge competitions within the country before anyone qualifies for world competitions. Howev- er, South Korea represents a kind of phenomenon be- cause it achieves almost equally good results as China despite being far smaller. Approximately 106 million people are estimated to have watched the World E-Sports Championships (an- other reason why the IOC is opening its doors to these players), while it is mostly played in specially designed arenas. Players who most often play the five most pop- ular games – Fortnight, DOTA 2 (Defense of the An- cients), CS:GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive), LOL (League of legends) and Valorant – sit at computers on stage, with huge screens placed all around them. It is interesting that each of these games see players use he- roes, mythical creatures and monsters, or play a simula- tion with people warring with each other. We said that screens are everywhere, but let’s illustrate what that ac- tually means. e entire first row of the stands is cov- ered with screens, while huge panels are located below and above them, four huge TVs are situated in the mid- dle of the hall, enabling fans to follow everything that’s happening, and behind them is the main TV. Alongside excellent audio coverage, this acts like real hypnosis! Fur- thermore, everything is tailored to viewers watching these clashes via streaming platforms, YouTube or their TVs. It is to be expected that a lot of money circulates here, given that the events are most often sponsored by giant tech companies from Silicon Valley, as well as Chinese companies that enjoy unbelievable growth year- on-year. You probably wouldn’t believe us if we told you that Tyler Blevins is the world’s richest athlete. Many
even be classified as sport. Defenders of this position most often state that playing video games, just like any other sport, requires “careful planning, precise timing and very skilled execution”. ere are ever more meet- ings between the International Olympic Committee and representatives of e-sports organisations, and it is ex- pected that these sports will be included in the Olym- pic Games as early as 2024. In that year’s Paris games, however, they will not receive medals, though that could change from 2028 in Los Angeles. We received the first sign that e-sports are becoming part of the Olympic fam- ily in Pyongyang, when five e-sports players from South Korea participated in the Olympic torch relay for the 2016 Winter Olympics. Asia actually dominates in e-sports competitions, with teams from this region usually ap-
Sports » Sport | 107
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator