The last decade has belonged to esports. Whereas many industries face downturns, esports has been in a steady, almost exponential growth pattern since 2010. This past year, the League of Legends World Championship had more viewers than every sporting event but the Super Bowl. Franchises for the professional Overwatch League sold for $50 million. Esports is a exploding.

Yet, as a professional in the field, I am still asked almost daily, “What is esports?” People sometimes guess, “Is it like Madden?” The answer is yes, kind of, but also no. Esports involves competitive gaming, but the term represents so much more. The fact that you picked up this book means you’re curious. Within these pages, you can learn all about the esports world.

About This Book

Esports is a multifaceted ecosystem of players, developers, organizations, and fans. Entering into an esports conversation can be intimidating without knowing the lay of the land. Esports For Dummies means to give you exactly that: a basic overview of how the esports world works.

This book doesn’t have the space to make you an expert on esports, but it gives you the road map to navigate the terrain, and more than enough information to speak intelligently about it. It also offers guidance for developing a career as an esports professional, for players and others in the industry. Esports For Dummies can help you lock in on your own goals and know how to start developing expertise. The rest is up to you.

A word of caution: If your goal is to be a professional within the esports space, you don’t need to know every type of game or title, or how every organization runs. Most professionals focus on a specific game or specific genre of games and develop their skills based on that smaller subsection. Don’t feel like you need to know every single thing there is to know about esports games. Knowing too much about too many games but not having mastery over one game can make you less effective.

Because esports is growing at such a staggering rate, bear in mind that some parts of this book could become outdated within months of publication. If you find that information you read about here has changed, don’t feel misled. The esports world and details of various games and organizations change quickly. I was actually teaching a class on key esports titles when Fortnite was released, and I had a week to develop an entire new section of the class. Change is the nature of the beast. With this book, you discover the key information you need to know, and Google is your best friend for keeping abreast of the latest developments.

Foolish Assumptions

Because I get questions about esports almost every day, I try not to make too many assumptions. Here are the assumptions I do make about you:

• You have high-speed Internet access and a computer (though I suggest computers you might buy).
• You know how to connect all your devices to power and displays so that they can operate.
• You know how to browse the Internet and visit web pages.
• You know how to download and install games and software.
• You have an email account.
• You have access to all your passwords (email, computer, network).

Icons Used in This Book

Occasionally you encounter icons in the margins of this book’s text, and here’s what those icons mean:

The Tip icon marks tips (duh!) and shortcuts that you can use to make your esports activities easier.

This icon marks information that’s especially important to know. To siphon off the most important information in each chapter, just skim through these icons.

The Technical Stuff icon indicates information of a more technical nature that you can normally skip over unless you find yourself confused about what’s going on or want to know more.

The Warning icon tells you to watch out! It marks important information that may save you headaches.

Beyond the Book

In addition to the book itself, this product also comes with an online Cheat Sheet that includes a list of terms you encounter in the esports world, some professional esports teams to know about, and tips to get started playing a game called Clash Royale right from your smartphone or tablet. To get this Cheat Sheet, go to www.dummies.com and enter Esports For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box. Then scroll down the page that appears.

Where to Go from Here

Esports For Dummies is designed for you to read in any order you want; you don’t have to read it in linear fashion. If you’re not familiar with esports, however, I recommend that you read Chapter 1 first to find out what esports is all about. If you know that you’re interested in a particular game or type of game, you might want to start with the chapters in Part 2. To learn about streaming, Chapter 14 is the place to start. If you need equipment to play and want recommendations, Chapter 2 will come in handy.

Remember that esports is a big business, but it’s a business based on having fun! Dive in wherever you want and see where your interests take you. Remember that you can’t win if you don’t play, so play on!

IN THIS PART …

Understand what esports are.

Prepare and gather all the gear you need to play esports.

Being a Gamer versus an Esport Player

Early in the chapter, I start with the most bare-bones definition of esports: the competitive play of video games. By this point in the chapter, the definition has taken a more layered form. Esports, as the industry and competitors understand it, is competitive play of a title with a large fan base, a clear way to understand player skill, and the backing of a publisher that frequently updates the game and is a supportive part of the tournament and competition scene. In terms of what the vast majority of people mean when they use the term esports, this is definition to take to heart. You can even think of it as a sort of simple math equation: Competitive Game with Ladder + Large Fan base/Player base + Frequent Competition + Publisher Support = Esports.

But wedged between the general “competitive video games” definition and the one I just spelled out is a massive debate in the esports realm that also needs to be acknowledged: What is the difference between a gamer and an esports player?

The word gamer comes with a tremendous amount of baggage, owing in no small part to the 2014 (and ongoing) Gamergate debate (see the “Gamergate” sidebar). That baggage sometimes makes discussions of gamers and gamer culture difficult and troubling as the stereotype emerges of the gamer as Eric Cartman from South Park, a young, white, affluent male in his parents’ basement covered in cheese powder and guzzling caffeinated soda. That same stereotypical gamer is presumed to be misogynistic, homophobic, and racist, generally rude, and in almost every other way immature.

The gamer stereotype isn’t at all accurate, but the baggage that comes from it can be troubling in the esports world. More important, though, is the fundamental difference between a gamer (not the stereotype but any of the many diverse people who would claim to be gamers) and an esports competitor. That difference can be summed up in a short sentence, but it has a profound impact on how each of those groups understands itself and the others: Gamers love to play games, but esports players train and practice to win above all else.

The ecosystem around games is so large and diverse that attempts to make such clear and absolute definitions can in itself be a problem, though. If a group of people staged a Pokémon event with competition and prizes, it wouldn’t be considered “esports” by the same community that grinds the ladder in a game like League of Legends and participates in sponsored events with huge prize pools. No one can deny that League of Legends is an esport. The slippage occurs when, for example, an organization puts on a Pokémon Go competition and calls it an “esports event.” By many definitions, it would be fair to call the Pokémon Go event an esports event, but many hardcore esports advocates would claim that a game that is that “casual” without the rigor of a game like League of Legends isn’t actually an esports title. The tension between the big-tent view of esports and a more defensive view of what can and cannot be considered esports is something you are likely to encounter when entering the esports space.

When looking at esports as a larger concept, that level of diversity in what can be considered an esport is a great thing. One of the many hats that I wear at my day job at a university is advising the campus Esports Club. The club openly accepts any students who want to come and play a game they love competitively. That acceptance is part of what is amazing about the esports world. It’s one of the most collaborative and kind groups of people you could ever encounter. But that wonderful fuzziness makes nailing down a definition of esports difficult.

In this book, I include games that some people who are deeply involved with professional esports would say are not esports. However, the people who are involved in them refer to them as esports.

Most often, though, when people talk about esports, they mean players who practice their game the way athletes practice their sport, on teams or as solo players with large fan bases and regular competitions. To be an esports player requires time and dedication.

I was once in a lecture by a famous author who visited our campus. He asked at the start, “How many of you write for eight hours a day?” No one raised a hand. He followed with, “Then you’ll never be as good as I am. I write. That’s what I do.” Likewise, I was once told by NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson that the secret to being a great free-throw shooter is shooting free throws for hours every single day. Esports excellence requires the same kind of effort. If you’re not practicing your game 3–4 hours a day, you’ll never be as good as the people who do. But we can’t all be professional players, which is why there are fans. It’s also why being a gamer is not a bad thing. In other words, you don’t have to want to win every game to play and enjoy, but if you want to be an esports champion, you shouldn’t feel good about losing.