While older sports fans continue to revere globally renowned stars such as Lionel Messi or Patrick Mahomes, the younger generation are venerating an entirely different type of sporting superstar.
Take Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, for example, who is a professional esports streamer and Twitch star who competes in the battle royale game “Fortnite”.
His every move, kill and strategy is watched and scrutinised by a global esports audience of well over 250 million people, with this number set to grow markedly in the future.
Of course, Blevins is one of several esports stars who is leading the market in 2024. But will the day ever come where esports supersedes traditional sports, either from a viewership or betting perspective? Let’s find out!
The Rise and Rise of Esports
Even in 2020, esports was flexing its muscles in terms of viewership. At this stage, there were 215.2 million regular viewers dotted across the globe, tuning into various competitive tournaments based on Fortnite and “CS:GO” games.
What’s more, there are expected to be in excess of 318 million eSports viewers by 2025, alongside a further 322.7 million people who would be categorized as ‘casual’ viewers. This highlights the growth and rising popularity of esports, in different parts of the world too.
To provide further context, a global audience of 62.5 million turned into Super Bowl LVIII, as the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers. There are a total of 141 million regular NFL viewers, making this the single most-watched sporting competition in the US.
There are in excess of 79 million regular MLB viewers, while an estimated 63 million Americans watch the NBA regular season and playoffs. These figures cast esports in a favorable light, even when compared to some of the most established traditional sports in the world.
The only competition that consistently outperforms esports in terms of viewership is the English Premier League. This is the most-watched sports league in the world, as it’s currently broadcast in 212 territories and 643 million homes to an estimated audience of 4.7 billion.
Esports Betting and the Future of the Vertical
The potential of esports is immense, but if there’s one area in which it needs to advance, it’s the availability of relevant betting markets.
While you can access selected markets through 1xbit casino promotions and similar entities, the range of betting lines and odds remains restricted for now. However, this is likely to change in the future, enabling fans to bet on the action as it unfolds while enjoying a more diverse wagering experience.
But what else does the future of esports hold? Well, we expect esports to emulate the structure of traditional sports through the development of accountable governing bodies and regulators.
Both broadcasters and sportsbooks will also start to fully harness the power of streaming, which is central to the success of esports and the way in which competitions are marketed.
This will help to further elevate esports and enable the vertical to steal a march on traditional disciplines while creating more money-making opportunities for all parties involved.
Interestingly, Elon Musk’s research lab OpenAI recently competed against “Dota 2” professionals in a competitive game and almost won. This highlights the potential for corporeal players to take on AI-driven computers in the future, creating another exciting dimension that’s unavailable in traditional sports.
