eSports audience grows and encourages professionalization in the segment

The electronic sports market, eSports, is expected to move US$ 1.3 billion (R$ 6.5 billion) worldwide in 2022, according to figures from Newzoo, a data analysis platform on the gaming sector.

The survey also estimates that about 640 million people should watch official competitions by 2025. Major game producers such as Valve Corporation and Riot, multinationals responsible for “Counter Strike” (“CS: GO”) and “League of Legends” (“LoL”), respectively, in addition to competing leagues and teams.

Matches can be followed in live streams and in-person events.

To get involved in the business, you don’t have to be an assiduous player, says Roberta Coelho, 45, CEO of the MiBR (Made in Brazil) team. She was the director and co-creator of Game XP, a gamer event, and one of the creators of the Grrrls League, the first women’s eSports league in the country.

MiBR has seven teams, two of them female, and competes in four modalities: “CS:GO”, “Rainbow 6”, “Free Fire” and “Valorant”.

In total, there are 80 people, including managers, athletes and professionals such as physical trainers and psychologists. The team’s revenue, which does not disclose its revenue, comes from sponsorship contracts, awards and the sale of official products.

“It’s an expanding market. We work with the fan economy. So, we can create products about the game’s universe and official lines, in addition to campaigning with the players themselves, who become influencers”, says Carlos Antunes, professor of the course. eSports management at CBF Academy, the educational arm of the Brazilian Football Confederation, and eSports leader at Riot Games in Brazil.

Antunes explains that the permanence of large companies in the market, such as Riot, depends on the organization of smaller businesses, to support the professionalization of players and structuring of teams.

He cites the importance of tournament organization platforms, with matches separated by levels from amateur to professional.

At the highest levels, players organize themselves into teams that need a financial, legal and communication model to arouse the interest of sponsors, bringing together different professions within the gamer universe. For Antunes, this is the path to professionalization in the area.

Streamers and content producers are also an important part of the scenario. The audience that follows broadcasts of matches and other content about electronic games is expected to exceed 1 billion people by 2023, estimates Newzoo.

“The change that made eSport popular in recent years was the significant increase in audience”, says Thomas Hamence, 34, CEO of PaiN Gaming, team and content agency. The team has five teams that compete in three modalities: “LoL”, “CS:GO” and “Free Fire”.

Athletes who stand out in important championships such as CBLoL are played by bigger teams, just like in traditional sports, says Thiago Milhazes, co-author of the eSports business development course at FGV and director of Final Level, a gamer entertainment company. This year, for example, the purchase of “CS:GO” player Romeu “zevy” cost PaiN around R$ 2 million.

“Being a professional player is a dream for young people, just like being a football player,” says Milhazes.

In 2021, the Grrrls League’s “CS: GO” tournament had a prize pool of BRL 100,000. In this year’s Brazilian LoL Championship, the same, in addition to a spot in the world of the modality, the Worlds 2022, in San Francisco, USA.

Today, PaiN maintains itself through sponsorships, consulting services for other companies and the agency of influencers and athletes. The team has 90 people.

Players attend a gaming office, an office where they train for eight hours a day. They have an employment relationship with the company, a requirement of the leagues, and a career path, says Hamence, the manager.

For those who want to undertake in this market, Milhazes, from FGV, indicates observing the characteristics of each game, such as the age range of the players, which devices they use the most and where they consume content. Thus, actions can be more assertive, whether for an advertising campaign or for the creation of a new business.