ESPORTS & TECHNOLOGY With no live sport to watch, organisations have had to adapt – and unsurprisingly, plenty have turned to eSports to fill the void.
With the 2020 calendar decimated by coronavirus cancellations, Formula 1 hosted its first ever virtual Grand Prix, featuring an eclectic mix of drivers past and present, celebrities, and eSports pros. Nearly 300,000 viewers saw Renault test driver Guanyu Zhou beat the likes of Chris Hoy, Ian Poulter and Liam Payne to the checkered flag. This virtual approach has also been seen in NFL’s Madden tournament and Nascar’s iRacing series (both streamed live on Fox Sports), and LaLiga, who also held a virtual tournament with one representative from each of their clubs. Over one million people took in the event live, won by Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio, which helped raise over €140,000 for coronavirus-related charities. Real has also launched a Twitch channel to continue to engage with a new gaming-focused audience too. League Two side Leyton Orient created a real online buzz when they launched the ‘Ultimate Quran-Team’ Fifa tournament, attracting 128 teams from around the world – helping make headlines and millions of viewers for the club, showing organisations don’t need to be the size of Real Madrid to achieve cut-through. Aside from gaming, the ATP Tour has launched the world’s first officially branded virtual tennis product – aimed at the sports betting market. Featuring official logos, the computer generated tournaments will fill the gaps in the tennis calendar, while providing betting opportunities for punters to take on.
