In this episode, Nam and Sean discuss Esports, also known as video games. They are not hardcore gamers, however, both of them grew up playing video games and saw the progression from it being a stigma to now becoming a legit competitive world of players that is often very lucrative. Nam emphasizes the differences between how players make money from Esports compared to traditional sports. He also believes that because of the more open and organic distribution via social media, Esports will eventually have more viewership than regular sports. On the other hand, Sean has huge respect for sports that require tremendous physical talent and does not think that Esports will ever fully take over the attention of traditional sports. What do you think about the future of Esports? Tune in for more.

Podcase Note:

• Twitch, owned by Amazon
  • World leader in live-streaming esports
  • Acquired by Amazon in 2014 for 970million
  • Dominates the industry of esports streaming: Twitch commanded 61 percent of hours watched in 2019
  • Twitch doesn’t only do esports. It’s all about live streaming. Cooking, music, Q&A sessions, etc.
• YouTube gaming
  • Commanded 28 percent of hours watched in 2019
• Facebook gaming

Streamers

Dota 2:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_International_(Dota_2)
• The top 10 highest-earning players are Dota 2 players (https://www.esportsearnings.com/players) - not including YouTube - streaming - anything outside of gaming earning.
• https://openai.com/projects/five/ : AI that has a 99% win rate and beat OG - the 2 time back to back champion
• https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sportscasting.com/our-predictions-for-the-future-of-esports/%3famp
• https://esports-news.co.uk/2021/02/17/esports-5-years-on-where-is-the-industry-headed/