You've probably heard a lot more about "eSports" lately.Major television networks are broadcasting competitions, and even more mainstream media coverage is planned for the new future.What are eSports and why are they so popular？

Loosely defined, eSports are video game competitions.These can be anything from a local tournament (锦标赛) in a video game store to those staged in 25,000 - seat arenas, watched live by million of people around the world.In practical terms, ‘eSports’ refers to the competitions engineered by global organizations that culminate in big-money championship tournaments-dollar figures that can exceed $1,000,000 for winners.

That second question --"why are they getting so popular?”-- is more nuanced.The biggest reason is that fans of games enjoy watching them played at the highest level.It’s fun seeing the top players in the world do what they do best.There are plenty of other reasons the eSports community is growing.All of the controversies, drama and compelling individuals from the mainstream sports world exist in eSports as well.Top players move from team to team like free agents, retire and return to competition unexpectedly, and experience unlikely come-from-behind victories and crushing defeats.New challengers consistently emerge on the scene, ready to take down championship teams and generate compelling rivalries.The parallels with traditional sports and eSports are more numerous that many realize.

Perhaps the biggest difference between traditional sports and eSports is the viewers.Unlike mainstream athletic competition^ consumers of eSports are overwhelmingly young and male.For example, over 70 percent of League of Legends viewers are males, and the vast majority of them under 26.This means a couple of things, both of them appealing to advertisers looking to reach this young and profitable market - the audience will grow as more youngers are untrodcued, and as they get older, their purchasing power increases.