Forbes Compares Esports to Online Poker
Picture courtesy: Twitter (@elkypoker)
Forbes.com recently published an article, where writer Darren Heitner examines the similarities between Esports and online poker.
According to the article (read from here), the esports industry is expected to have a total industry value of $463 million by the end of 2016, while online poker and gaming, has currently a total industry value of over $40 billion.
However, as Heitner points out, esports has many big advantages over poker that will see the industry grow at a rapid pace:
What esports has that poker did not is the ability to reach the masses around the world with ease. The esports industry has developed in a period of time where the Internet is accessible and many have high speed connections that allow them to tune in via mediums like Twitch to watch their favorite esports players participate against each other in their preferred video games.
It's not at all uncommon to see esports players make a successful transition to poker as many players, like Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, has had background and history in both.
PokerStars has noticed the growth of esports industry and recently teamed up with Team Liquid, one of the world's largest esports franchises. As part of the deal, Team Liquid's members will introduce poker to their audiences on the popular Twitch streaming platform.