Why are eSports a sport?

Why are eSports a sport?

A recent surge in the amount of viewers for eSports (competition using video games) has really shown the world that it is nothing to be scoffed at. The newest and so far the biggest league for eSports is the OWL (Overwatch League). While the league only plays one game, the recently released Overwatch (May 24, 2016) made by Blizzard games, the viewership across streaming services such as Twitch and MLG have already beat the NFL’s own Thursday night stream on Twitch by more than 100,000 viewers and even one of the most popular eSports, League of Legends, by a mere 10,000 viewers. Many people see this as a phase that will die out, but consider the more likely alternative; eSports has already meet the demands of what makes a sport a sport. Many of the various leagues for different games already have close to millions of viewers and the games require mental and physical skill contrary to what many think. Some students had very mixed opinions on eSports, “I think it would be an alright idea as long as it has quite a bit of supporters.” (Garrett Dodson Grade 11). While others were not so optimistic, “I don’t think that people should be payed for playing games at all.” (Bryan Pauloski Grade 11). Well one thing is for certain and that is that eSports is here to stay and thrive as a competition.