Inside the Biggest eSports Sponsored by Traditional Leagues
The rise of mobile gaming has introduced thousands of gamers to Android phones. While iOS devices have strong security and privacy features, Xiaomi phones have been a favorite amongst gamers for long battery life, improved graphics, and higher latency.
One of the biggest booms in mobile gaming has been the adaptation of popular video game series—especially those that perform well within the eSports industry. For example, PUBG Mobile is the most-played mobile game available on the market today with 1.17 billion users, according to Sensor Tower.
This is largely due to the popularity and success of PUBG as an eSport. However, one of the largest sectors within eSports are competitions based on traditional sports leagues. In fact, traditional sports executives, athletes, teams, and retirees have been major players organizing and promoting eSports in the last ten years.
Leagues like the Premier League’s ePremier League, the NFL’s NFL Madden Champion Series, and the NBA’s NBA 2K League are some of the most popular global competitions for Xbox and PlayStation gamers. Along with fantasy sports and free bets from sportsbooks, eSports are an important way for traditional sports to engage with and diversify their fanbases.
Keep reading to learn more about the history and format of the most popular eSports competitions that run parallel to their real-life counterparts.
ePremier League
Back in 2018, EA Sports, FIFA, and England’s Premier League teamed up to create a virtual competition that would closely mirror the actual Premier League. The idea was to set up a competition to whittle down the top EA Sports FIFA gamers, then let the creme of the crop choose which Premier League team they’d represent.
From there, the Premier League organized a final tournament, which culminated in a live eSports competition held in London. Champions would be crowned separately for Xbox and PlayStation, and gamers would actually be representing their favorite side.
This marks the foundation of eSports-traditional sports crossovers: gamers who are also fans of a club literally get to ‘play’ for that club. Even better, they don’t need to share winnings (up to £100,000 as of 2022) with the real-life team.
NFL Madden Championship Series
One year after the Premier League launched its virtual competition with EA Sports, the US’s NFL decided to jump into the world of eSports. They partnered with EA Sports, which also develops the NFL’s Madden series. While the ePremier League launched with the help of Twitch as a broadcaster, the NFL Madden Championship Series was telecasted by ESPN, which helped give it an added boost back in 2019.
The tournament is structured similarly to the ePremier League, with the NFL’s 32 teams all working closely with their top gamers on both consoles. Today, the global competition starts with two tournaments where Xbox and PlayStation gamers can earn points to qualify for a top position to go on to compete in the championship Madden Bowl.
NBA 2K League
While the Premier League is one of the most popular competitions in the world and the NFL remains the most lucrative league in North America, the NBA beat both when it comes to launching an eSports sector. In 2017, the NBA 2K League had only 17 of 30 teams signed onboard.
In fact, the NBA 2K League has yet to bring on each of its 30 teams; only 22 from the NBA have eSports counterparts, while two teams (Dux Gaming and Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai) aren’t involved in professional basketball at all. This might harken back to 2K Interactive, which develops the NBA’s 2K video game series, unlike EA Sports (which handles the ePL and Madden Championship Series).
Additionally, gamers don’t compete against one another in order to fight for a chance to represent their favorite squad. Instead, they compete with one another to be drafted by one of the 24 total eSports teams competing. The NBA and 2K Interactive also offer a higher margin for winnings with a total of $1 million in prize money spread across the eSports’ leagues three main tournaments and the championship series.
