eSport - An Overview

Definition and Introduction

The term eSports is comprised of the two terms “electronic“ and “sport“. eSports defines competitive gaming of computer and video games on single or multiplayer modes. eSports is to be understood as sports in general and requires both skills (hand eye coordination, speed of reaction) and a tactical understanding of the game (clear view on the game, game knowledge).

For the public perception – nationally and internationally – eSports (electronic sports) is increasingly looming large. eSports is a young sport that quickly advances and continuously allures new enthusiastic players. eSports has been booming worldwide – hence in Germany, too. Several million eSportsmen play games regularly – be it on the computer or on the console. It is also deceiving to regard eSports as a male-dominated area. An increasingly number of girls and women are playing games and are taking part in eSport events. Communities exchange ideas and thoughts and play together online, regardless of country borders. Large eSport tournaments are hosted on national as well as on international stages with German teams claiming first places at international championships and thus playing a decisive role in many genres.

What kinds of computer games are regarded as eSport titles?

Given the large amount of video and PC games, it is not easy to answer this question. A glimpse on the eSport scene may help: The most important leagues and large tournaments mainly cover Counter-Strike 1.6, Warcraft 3, Counter-Strike: Source, FIFA 2008 and Starcraft as the most popular game in Korea. In addition to this pool, further titles like Need for Speed, Call of Duty, Age of Empires, Command & Conquer or Dead or Alive are competitively being played all around the world. Having a look on the list of games that are featured by the ESL (Electronic Sports League), this number becomes even greater. In Germany, though, Counter-Strike 1.6, Warcraft 3 and Counter-Strike: Source are still the most popular games.

Germany’s most important eSports league: The ESL

The largest and most important eSports league is the Electronic Sports League (ESL) which is run by Turtle Entertainment GmbH. Here, over 790.000 ESL members are given the possibility to compete against each other in different kinds of games. In professional eSports, the ESL has a crucial impact on the international scene with top leagues such as the ESL Pro Series (EPS), ESL WC3L Series and Intel Extreme Masters. Furthermore, the European Nations Championship (ENC) determines Europe’s best teams in the grand final annually being hosted at the GC – Games Convention. The EPS in Germany is comparable to the German Football League (Bundesliga): In Counter-Strike 1.6, Counter-Strike: Source, Warcraft 3 and FIFA 2008 two seasons are featured each year and the best four teams or players advance to the grand final. Hosted on a weekend, the grand final allures several thousand spectators to watch their favorite teams and players going for the total prize money of 170.000 Euro. Moreover, several Intel Friday Night Games take place during the season featuring exclusive matches in front of some 2.000 spectators. By now, the EPS is hosted in several European countries among them Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain and Denmark.

The Intel Extreme Masters are comparable to the Champions League. Europe’s very best teams and players fight for prize money that amounted to 280.000 Dollars last year. Participants have either to be the winners of the EPS in their respective country or qualify on other tournaments for this league. Then, the very best teams and players compete against each other on a final event to eventually seize the crown. Last year the grand final took place at the computer exhibition “CeBIT” in Hannover. The ESL WC3L Series is the possibly best Warcraft 3 team league in the world. The grand final of the 13th season was held in Shangsha, China. The Korean team MeetYourMakers won this tournament.

Particularly in China, more and more tournaments and leagues are hosted. In Germany, the WWCL has long been featuring LAN tournaments as part of network parties so that players and teams can qualify there for the season’s grand final.

The best teams of the world going face to face

Besides leagues, there are several international tournaments which shape the image of eSports. The world’s best teams and players go face to face as they aim coming to fame and earning prize money. The most famous tournaments are the Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC) and the World Cyber Games (WCG). Further ones are the KODE5 or tourneys of big network parties such as the Dreamhack (Sweden) and GameGune (Spain). Whereas the ESWC defines itself as the world championship of eSports, the organizers of the WCG see their tournament as the Olympic Games of eSports. The prize money of both tournaments differs each year, in 2007 it accounted for 400.000 Dollar (ESWC) and 448.000 Dollar (WCG). The prize money is distributed to several disciplines. In general, Counter-Strike and Warcraft 3 are games that are assigned the most money. Since there is a limit of players and teams allowed to participate in these tournaments, plenty of countries host qualifiers.

Clans as the teams or clubs of eSports

What is called a sports club in traditional sports, is referred to as “clan“ in eSports. Like n!faculty from Cologne, some clans are registered as associations. Others are organized as a “GmbH”, “Limited“ or as factory teams for companies working in the hardware branch. The most famous German clans are mousesports and Alternate aTTaX. International top clans are e.g. SK Gaming and MeetYourMakers. Clans are home to players and teams of different kinds of eSport titles, the clear majority of clans, however, focusses on Warcraft 3 and Counter-Strike. The teams are primarily financed by sponsors in order to be able to pay trips to events as well as salaries for the players. The latter have been continuously rising within the last few years. Given this, a German Counter-Strike player can earn some 400 to 800 Euro per month, let alone prize money from tournaments. However, these wages are relatively little by international standards. The very best international Warcraft 3 players earn several thousand Euros per month. Recently, fan culture has become an important issue in eSports. Already, a lot of clans organize fan busses for events they take part in to let their fans root for them live on location.

Founded in December 2004, the German eSports Association (ESB) acts as an umbrella organization for leagues and clans. The ESB aims to represent eSports toward politicians and the public and seeks to provide standardized league rules and - in the long term - independent arbitrating bodies. In June 2008, national eSports associations from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, South Korea and Switzerland gathered at the International eSports Conference (ESCONF) and decided to found a world association based in Seoul, South Korea. Germany takes part as one of the three leading associations.

In comparison to other countries, eSports in Germany is very well developed. In recent years, hosts of leagues and tournaments have developed a structure indicating a highly professional level. Thus, more and more persons find a job within the eSports branch; more than 100 employees are working for Turtle Entertainment GmbH. The up-and-coming eSport nation is China where Warcraft 3 is becoming increasingly popular and players are celebrated as national heroes.