Connect with us

WINNING COMBINATION - SOFTSWISS develops innovative iGaming software products for online casino, sports betting, and beyond. Our products can be delivered as standalone solutions or combined into a single iGaming Platform.

The future of sports betting: BETBY sportsbook is focused on innovation through deep industry knowledge, state-of-the-art software & endless customization possibilities.

eSports

South by Southwest hosts esports seven hours a day

Published

on


Photo credits: www.google.co.in
Reading Time: 2 minutes

SXSW Gaming brings together the whole gaming industry into one fun experience. It’s a unique combination of all things thus, brings to table something for everyone, an environment where creativity thrives.

By hosting esports competitions seven hours a day.South by Southwest has brought professional gamers together where they jockeyed for position. While the beginners’ eyes are opened up to this world for the first time, the veterans continue to play into the nuances of the booming industry.

The Indiana high school teacher Don Wettrick said: “There was somebody arguing with me… at an education convention.” He explained that the man challenged him with a simple phrase.

“‘You mean to tell me: people pay a ticket, sit on their butt, to watch someone play a game!?'” Wettrick recounted. Then the man realized what he described: most sporting events.

“That was that moment of realization the guy was like ‘maybe this isn’t so stupid,'” Wettrick said.

The worldwide esports market was valued at nearly $493 million in 2017. By 2020, esports is expected to generate upward of $1.5 billion.

Christina Alejandre, the Vice President of esports for Turner and General Manager of ELEAGUE said: “If we still kind of stick to that gun of like, ‘we’ve got to be authentic to esports,’ we’re not going to be able to change, we’re not going to be able to evolve as much as we want.”. The cable company broadcasts video game competitions on some of its channels, working to bring esports out of the traditional gaming platforms and into the “mainstream.”

“All you know if you are new to esports is ‘oh he’s just good at video games,’ which to me is not really an interesting kind of connection into it,” she explained. “You have to really understand why what they did was epic. Why seeing a pixel, they are able to get that shot, whereas a normal human being would not be able to do what they do.”

“I think you’ll see more stuff from us coming out but kind of show why they’re good at esports,” Alejandre continued. She said esports has garnered TBS 10 million viewers.

Though critics argue that esports may be at the root of social problems down the line and contribute to poor health, Wettrick and others dispute those claims and say there is no scientific proof. In fact, Wettrick said young people who play video games are less likely to get into trouble.

“Having gaming tournaments will cut down on youth mischief,” Wettrick stated.

The esports industry has grown enough that the city of Arlington announced an investment last week that would transform its convention center into an esports stadium.

Wettrick hopes that projects like this turn the tides on the perception of esports.

“The stigma of ‘oh you’re just a gamer,’ that’s gone,” he said.

Source: bigcountryhomepage.com

Athira is a self-described “logophile” – a lover of words. She loves updating her vocabulary and playing around with words, to frame a sensible world of letters. Letters come alive when they become words and when words become sentences. And that’s her job, to put them together in a meaningful way without loosing its essence. She has written content for websites, articles and poems for an international magazine, and press releases as well. She also loves writing on social media. She holds a Masters degree in bio-technology, but she has always been interested in the organic farming of words. Besides writing content for our daily news feed, she is also working as staff writer/editor with Impressions Content Management, based in Kerala, India, which offers writing and editing services to clients around the world.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Advertisement

Level up, Lead The market with AFFINA Partners

Advertisement

Golden Boomerang Awards is a prestigious event that offers the chance to compete against top webmasters worldwide and grab golden figurines, prizes, and cash rewards.

Trending (Top 7)

Discover the Magic of EuropeanGaming.eu – Your Gateway to the Gaming Universe

At the heart of the ever-evolving gaming and gambling industry lies EuropeanGaming.eu, a trailblazing online platform that has become the go-to destination for industry professionals, enthusiasts, and stakeholders. As part of HIPTHER, we’re redefining how the gaming world connects, informs, and inspires.

More Than News – A Hub of Insight and Innovation

Reaching over 300,000 readers monthly, EuropeanGaming.eu goes beyond headlines to deliver compelling stories, expert insights, and the latest industry news. From regulatory updates and compliance breakthroughs to the pulse-pounding world of esports and technological advancements, we provide comprehensive coverage of the topics that matter most:

  • Online and Land-Based Gaming
  • Betting and Esports
  • Regulatory and Compliance Updates
  • Cutting-Edge Technology in Gaming

Whether it’s daily news, exclusive interviews with industry leaders, in-depth event reports, or press releases that set the tone for the future, our content resonates with a global audience while maintaining a focus on Europe’s dynamic gaming market.

Bringing the Industry Together

Our impact doesn’t stop at digital content. EuropeanGaming.eu is a proud host of virtual meetups and industry-leading conferences that spark dialogue, foster collaboration, and drive innovation. Through detailed reports and live events, we create a space where operators, suppliers, regulators, and professional services come together to shape the future of gaming.

Why EuropeanGaming.eu?

At HIPTHER, we believe in empowering the gaming community with knowledge, connection, and opportunity. EuropeanGaming.eu embodies this spirit by serving as a one-stop resource for the latest trends, market developments, and global perspectives. Whether you’re an industry veteran, a rising operator, or a gaming enthusiast, this is where you find the stories that drive progress.

Get In Touch

Let’s shape the future of gaming together!


Copyright © 2015 - 2025
European Gaming is proudly part of HIPTHER. Registered in Romania under Proshirt SRL, Company Number: 2134306, EU VAT ID: RO21343605.
Office Address: Blvd. 1 Decembrie 1918 nr.5, Târgu Mureș, Romania

Join us as we celebrate a decade of delivering excellence and embrace the magic of what’s to come in 2025 and beyond!

We are constantly showing banners about important news regarding events and product launches. Please turn AdBlock off in order to see these areas.

Privacy Preference Center

Necessary Cookies

We use cookies to make our website work including:
- Remembering your search settings
- Allowing you to add comments to our site

There is no way to prevent these cookies being set other than to not use our site.

Our own cookies

Advertising

Cookies are widely used in online advertising. Neither us, advertisers or our advertising partners can gain personally identifiable information from these cookies. We only work with advertising partners who work to accepted privacy standards such as http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/iab-good-practice-principles.

You can learn more about online advertising at http://www.youronlinechoices.com . You can opt-out of almost all advertising cookies at http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices although we would prefer that you didn’t as ultimately adverts help keep much of the internet free. It is also worth noting that opting out of advertising cookies will not mean you won’t see adverts, just simply that they won’t be tailored to you any longer.

We fund our site by showing adverts as you browse our site. These adverts are usually managed by a partner specialising in providing adverts for multiple sites. Invariably these partners place cookies to collect anonymous data about the websites you visits so they can personalise the adverts to you, ensure that you don’t see the same adverts too frequently and ultimately report to advertisers on which adverts are working.

Advertising Cookies, Banner Adverts

Analytics

We use cookies to compile visitor statistics such as how many people have visited our website, what type of technology they are using (e.g. Mac or Windows which helps to identify when our site isn’t working as it should for particular technologies), how long they spend on the site, what page they look at etc. This helps us to continuously improve our website. These so called “analytics” programs also tell us if , on an anonymous basis, how people reached this site (e.g. from a search engine) and whether they have been here before helping us to put more money into developing our services for you instead of marketing spend.

Analytics and Anonymous Visitor Statistics Cookies

Social Sharing Cookies

So you can easily “Like” or share our content on the likes of Facebook and Twitter we have included sharing buttons on our site.

Cookies are set by:
The privacy implications on this will vary from social network to social network and will be dependent on the privacy settings you have chosen on these networks.

Social Website Cookies