The Esports World Cup demonstrated a future in which competitive video gaming blends with traditional sport and entertainment on a global scale. Adrian Pennington reports.
In many ways the competition to win the Esports World Cup was a sideshow to the bigger picture laid out in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia of a future that fuses sport, gaming, music, social media, fashion and film with esports at its epicentre.
While the Saudi-backed Team Falcons defended its title on home soil, the seven-week tournament was a showcase for how culture verticals, both virtual and physical, are already mixing.
“Esports and gaming are no longer boxed in as being purely a standalone experience,” said Mike McCabe, COO of EWC organiser Esports World Cup Foundation. We see it as something much bigger.”
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