Chris Hopper has been at the forefront of developing sustainable esports leagues while also championing the fair treatment and compensation of professional players. In this pivotal year of esports growth, we are thrilled to host such an authentic (and extremely relevant) industry leader.
Noah Whinston was the first to mention that with esports, your fanbase is decentralized. Unlike traditional sports where your fans are likely to be in the city they play for, esports has a global reach. Fans of Los Angeles Valiant exist beyond L.A. So to bring your fans together, your team should have one philosophy to identify with.
Earlier this month, Kim Phan, the Director of Esports at Blizzard Entertainment, delivered the keynote address at the Inven Global Esports Conference, and while the former Warcraft 3 commentator waxed nostalgic about the history of the esports industry early in her speech, her attention quickly shifted to the industry’s future.
“I had a player that got a really nice sponsorship and all he had to do was fly up to Seattle to take a couple pictures. He was going to make more than his entire yearly salary in one photo shoot, which does not happen often in esports. He could not go because he did not know that you needed an ID to fly. That’s what we’re dealing with. These players have no life skills.
On Tuesday, May 1, Inven Global held the first IGEC-ESPORTS DEEP DIVE for enthusiastic esports fans and related parties at UC Irvine in California. Those who could not attend the event in-person misse
With pride, Phan mentions that Overwatch League is home to an openly gay man on the Houston Outlaws and a woman on the Shanghai Dragons. Players like these are extremely popular to OWL fans and represent how inclusive and diverse esports can be without sacrificing competitive integrity and professionalism: "This is only the beginning" Phan says, "there is so much more work to be done."
Conversational in nature, unfiltered in delivery, this panel serves to illuminate the challenges and realities of working and playing in the gaming industry as a woman.
The fans in most of the Esports community have a tendency to support certain players they like rather than a whole team. There are teams that have established themselves as prodigious teams by making