Future Of eSports

By: Majesty Mungen

May 3, 2019

Growing in popularity, eSports have gotten bigger and bigger overtime. It may seem like the new “thing” but, the first eSports tournament actually took place in 1972 at Stanford University. Evidently, eSports have been around for quite some time but they haven’t been in the limelight really until recent years.

I interviewed Jeriel Bermudez, who is a junior at Carver HSES. He’s been playing in video game tournaments since he was 12 years-old.

Interview w/ Jeriel Bermudez

Me: What is your name, grade, and what school do you go to?

Jeriel: “My name is Jeriel Bermudez, I’m in my junior year, and I go to Carver HSES.”

Me: What game do you play in the tournaments that you participate in?

Jeriel: “I play Fortnite.”

Me: How long have you been playing in tournaments?

Jeriel: “Since I was 12 playing Call of Duty.”

Me: What is one thing that you enjoy about participating in these tournaments?

Jeriel: "Competing, one of my biggest traits is being a competitor and I want to be better than everyone. That is what drives me to play the games that I do at the level I play them at.”

Me: With Ninja being endorsed because of the popularity surrounding him and rapper Drake co-owning an eSports team, do you think in the future eSports will be just as big as other physical sports?

Jeriel: “Definitely I believe it will. It is already exponentially growing and eSports haven't been around as long as these other sports like basketball. Give it a few years and it will be 3 times bigger than what it is now.”

What does this mean for the future?

One thing that stood out to me during this interview was when Jeriel mentioned competing. This stood out because even though eSports aren’t a physical sport, it still requires one of the main things that all sports require. Competition. Without competition there is no motive to win and be better than the opponent.

I don’t think this is the last we’ll hear about eSports. I think eSports are here to stick around and they will keep growing as long as fans watch it and players participate.