eSport Part 3: The Western Scene of eSports

If you have not read part 1 or part 2 of this five part weekly series, click here or here, respectively.

According to Vice, eSports is not limited to Asian countries, such as South Korea and Japan. While those countries may have the largest population of competitive gamers, London has been able to make their way onto the scene. English players, such as KSI on YouTube, have amassed fortunes from playing games like FIFA and posting videos on the internet. Now, just posting videos will not make someone rich and famous, as KSI said, "It's more about personality." This philosophy has caused him to become a 21 year old millionaire who lives in a penthouse, drives an orange Lamborghini, owns numerous shoes with gold on them, and is getting a Jacuzzi airlifted, by helicopter, to the top floor of his house. All the while, he does not consider himself to be a professional gamer; just some guy who makes videos that people watch. While he may not consider himself a professional gamer, there is a team, known as Fnatic, that is London's, if not all of Europe's, biggest chance at becoming famous in the world of eSports. Created by Sam Mathews, the team has procured 1.4 million fans on Facebook from just around 200,000 the previous year and a half. The group does not only play games, however. Sam Mathews considers himself a "party guy," so the team is also known for their parties they throw with their fans on the top of roofs. The team and their massive fan base had gone to Gamescom in Germany to participate in a competitive gaming competition. Almost all of the crowd was cheering for Fnatic, however, they did not manage to pull the win. Sam Mathews was not terribly upset by the loss though, as he saw the bigger picture. With the number of viewers of eSports events reaching the millions, he knows that more money from sponsors will come, meaning more matches and more fame, leading to more money, which will lead to more matches and fame, and the cycle just continues round and round. As eSports continues to grow, more and more people will find themselves with their pockets lined with more money than they know what to do with. Who knows, maybe professional gaming is a better career avenue than people originally thought.

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