The Case for More Franchised Esports Formats

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Esports is becoming more organized in nature. What this means is that the sporadic formats and random events sponsored by third-parties are slowly dying away as a viable way to sponsor esports and take them to the next level. In fact, there are some very good cases for why this is happening. As demand for esports and esports betting grows as per https://dota-bet.com/ so are esports organizers keener to explore options that would make it possible to have a predictable and sustainable inflow of esports content to show people. 

What Are Franchised Models?

The franchise system in esports is fairly new. It was more or less with the Overwatch League, a solution that essentially made it possible to enjoy gaming the same way you do any of the big sports titles out there. It’s no surprise that the OWL as it’s known for short was created by Mike Sepso, the man behind Major League Gaming which was in turn built after leagues such as the NFL, MLB, MLS and so on. 

Essentially, the OWL is an example of a franchised model where teams compete locally, travel to play games, or hold them online when this is not possible. It’s an opportunity to translate online fandom into live audience attendance and the results have been promising already. Many people are happy to turn up and attend such events in person.

The OWL has been very good too, but it’s not the only one. Now, League of Legends is also following in these same footsteps setting up professional competitions worldwide that are attended by players in-person as much as possible.

The Logistics of Franchised Models

Admittedly, making these formats work can be a bit of a challenge and it does require will in the first place. The Overwatch League for example is quite costly to any team that wishes to enter and sadly money is the only way you can buy a slot. With slots costing $40 million this means that not all teams are ready to enter – or can afford it to.

But from the standpoint of players, there are many reasons why franchised league models are actually quite the smart thing to do. For starters, they provide you with a clear way to follow esports and not wonder when the next event will be set up. There is a good argument to be made for franchised models and it surely feels better for players who just want to watch esports.