Cinema becomes war zone
for 'Call of Duty' eSports fans
Send a link to a friend
[May 12, 2015]
By Lionel Laurent
LONDON (Reuters) - On a
bright Sunday afternoon in central London, in a low-lit
converted wing of a shopping-mall cinema, hundreds of
fans cheer as two teams of 20-somethings riddle each
other with bullets during a big-screen game for a
$25,000 reward.
|
The game is "Call of Duty", a hugely popular first-person
shooter that demands hair-trigger "twitch" reflexes, teamwork
and hours of daily training to beat the best in the fast-growing
world of competitive gaming tournaments.
So-called "eSports" are set to generate almost $500 million a
year in revenues globally by 2017, according to research firm
Newzoo.
The weekend tournament is just one of two dozen events this year
at London's "Gfinity Arena", billed as the only dedicated
eSports venue in the country, seating 600 people across two
screening rooms. That may not seem much next to a
40,000-capacity football stadium, but millions also tune in
online.
"'Call of Duty' is a very important game for us," said Neville
Upton, head of the British eSports firm Gfinity that launched
the venue this year. Citing 2.5 million views for previous
tournaments, he added: "(Most) people who watch are young
males...sponsors are keen to hit that demographic."
The atmosphere veers from the quiet tension of a chess match to
the quick-fire highs and lows of a Formula One race.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/12/images/ads/current/cca_laptop-sda021709.png)
Commentators make sense of the on-screen chaos; the
blink-and-you'll-miss-it kills average at one every 1.5 seconds.
The players, many of whom have attained celebrity status, sit
hunched over screens in transparent booths and barely register
any emotion as the on-screen body count racks up.
The stars of the evening are undoubtedly Optic Gaming, probably
the best-known eSports team, who wear distinctive
green-and-white team shirts and whose fans wait patiently by the
cordoned-off players' lounge for an autograph and a selfie.
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/12/images/ads/current/bassetts_LDA_daily_041615.png)
"This is our first event, and it's pretty good...Better than when
you see events streaming (online)," said audience member Ian Curley,
18, waiting in the wings to catch a glimpse of 19-year-old Optic
captain "Scump" - real name Seth Abner.
After a ritual post-victory cigarette and snaps with fans, the
red-haired Abner and his 20-year-old teammate Matthew Piper head for
the lounge to recline on bean-bags.
Being an eSports athlete takes hard work, said Piper. Training takes
6 to 12 hours a day and careers are brutally short given the need
for razor-sharp motor reflexes and hand-eye coordination. Retirement
age can be 23.
"The biggest thing is team chemistry...It's important to be able to
hang out every day," said Piper.
The prize money of $25,000 is small change compared with the $1
million earned at world tournaments; Piper admits his team is really
there to win "bragging rights" after a shock defeat at the world
championships earlier this year.
For Gfinity's London venue, though, the event is crucial to making
eSports a household name in Britain and Europe.
"I am looking at the possibility of different cinemas, different
sizes...potentially bigger venues for some games," Upton said. "The
market is growing rapidly."
(Reporting by Lionel Laurent; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |