We’ll also see a lot more big corporations coming in to sponsor the players. There are only a few guys that really have the opportunities for the big sponsorships, but I really think within the next two years you’re going to see a lot of players start getting taken care of in terms of having salaries from their organizations that sponsor them. The path is relatively tough to make a decent living as a player today. People enjoy watching it and following the storylines and the players.įrom a financial perspective, what are the opportunities for pro gamers today? It’s been insane watching the sport grow in the last three years. Right now I think the sport is still in its infancy in terms of having a big viewership, but that’s exponentially rising. How have you seen sponsors get involved in professional gaming, or eSports? Rufail talks about the changing face of pro gaming and what impact eSports is having on mainstream advertisers as it grows in part one of this exclusive interview.

He’s one of the top Call of Duty: Black Ops players in the world and is also proficient in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Mike “Hastr0” Rufail, a member of Team EnVyUs, has seen eSports explode over the years in the U.S. Gamers are competing for more than $1 million in prizes and stipends throughout the year. In addition to the online viewers, more than 16,000 fans attended over the course of the weekend and more than 1,300 players from around the world competed making it the largest Pro Circuit competition in MLG history. Pepper, Doritos, Sony Ericsson, Gunnar Optics, and Tritton. This also helps drive sales of Microsoft, Blizzard and Activision games, and adds exposure to the brands and advertisers who have flocked to eSports like Stride, Dr. Viewers from 164 countries watched four live streams during the three-day, double elimination tournament online for a total of more than 2.2 million hours of video consumed. gamers who are glued to the best Halo Reach, Starcraft 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops gamers’ battling it out for cash and prizes. To put that in perspective, that’s nearly double the reported 11.4 million NFL.com video streams consumed during the weekend of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Pro Circuit in Columbus, Ohio shattered previous records delivering more than 22.5 million stream views of the event on MLG.tv. The second stop in the 2011 Major League Gaming (MLG) U.S. And mainstream brands and advertisers are starting to capitalize on the success of both live events and the streaming of those competitions online. Pro gaming has been a global phenomenon in Asia and Europe for years, but this year is seeing an explosion in the U.S.

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