From NBA2K to eNASCAR, are e-sports the new sports?

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Chris Morris

“Gentlemen, start your engines,” rang the familiar refrain. And on cue, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, and other drivers all got ready to race. Only instead of firing up their cars at the Dixie Vodka 400 in Miami, the NASCAR drivers practiced social distancing and were nowhere near one another—or their cars, for that matter.

Instead, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Series, which aired live on Fox Sports 1 on March 22, was a multiplayer e-sports competition. The drivers, in essence, were playing a NASCAR video game (though one a bit more polished than home users play). No rubber? No road? No problem. More than 900,000 viewers tuned in to the televised races, regardless.

Porn company to be official sponsor of eSports team

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Chris Morris

One of the largest streaming porn sites is extending its reach into the video game world.

YouPorn, one of the portfolio holdings of MindGeek (formerly Manwin), has locked in a six-month sponsorship of the Madrid, Spain-based team known as Play2Win. The team will compete this Friday in the Gamergy competition in Madrid under the name Team YP.

Competitive gaming groups wary of porn sponsorship

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Chris Morris

One of the largest streaming porn sites on the Internet made waves late last week by announcing via Twitter that it was considering sponsoring a professional gaming team. But officials at some of the industry’s largest tournaments say the company may not be welcome.

YouPorn, a member of the MindGeek (formerly Manwin) portfolio of porn sites, stirred the waters on Friday, asking its 117,000 followers, “Do we have any competitive ‘[League of Legends],’ ‘DOTA2,’ or ‘HeartStone’ players following us? What do you think about YouPorn sponsoring a team?”

5 tips for becoming a pro gamer

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Chris Morris

You fancy yourself a pretty solid League of Legends player. Or maybe you’re untouchable when it comes to Halo. And now you’re ready to see if you’ve got what it takes to earn a living at it.

Pro gamers can certainly make bank. 25-year old Lee “Jaedong” Jae Dong has earned more than $504,000 over 47 tournaments. And Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel pocketed over $450,000 in tournaments (and a lot more in endorsement deals).

But success in the eSports world takes a lot more than just a lot of practice and studying the moves of your opponents. We spoke with a few eSports champs to get their tips on what people can do to best prepare for competition.

China building world’s first video game stadium

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Chris Morris

China is getting serious about eSports.

Located in the country’s Guangdong province and off the coast of gambling paradise Macau, Hengqin Island will play host to a 15,000 seat arena designed specifically for competitive video game events.

Video game champs share over $700,000 in prizes

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Chris Morris

While professional video gamers may still struggle to be thought of as athletes by the general public, they’re starting to see paydays that are on par with some of today’s sports stars.

Major League Gaming, the largest of the so-called eSports gaming leagues, wrapped up its 2010 season Sunday, handing out some $700,000 in prizes to joystick jockeys.

Chris Morris: Journalist

Tag Archives: esports