How to be an e-sports star without going pro, playing games like Solitaire and Madden NFL
- Not ready to go pro? You can still get into competitions
- Vegas seeks to capitalise on gaming skills
Fernando Lewis knew he was good at video games like Madden NFL and NBA 2K, but he wanted a better barometer of his skills.
He signed up for some tournaments, but it wasn’t easy to get regular competition in between them. Then he found Play One Up.
The app, which officially launched earlier this year in Apple’s app store, connects players on Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 in online matches of Madden, NBA2K and FIFA 2019 and the players can bet on themselves.
“You might be good in your neighbourhood, but when you get on the site you might lose a couple games,” said Lewis, 23, a business management graduate of Norfolk State University in Virginia. “But it’s going to make you better. It’s going to make you grind harder so you actually get a chance to be on the level [of players] you see on Twitch or YouTube.”
Play One Up is just one venture looking to capitalise on the growing interest in e-sports and competitive video games. Until now, most of the attention given to e-sports focuses on professional leagues, tournaments and streaming of video games. With good reason.
Show me the money
US e-sports spending by consumers and advertisers – including media rights and sponsorship revenues – is expected to increase from US$221.6 million in 2018 to nearly US$516 million in 2023, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
