I normally do not post about eSports tournament results although I think that eSports is the future of sports as digital becomes a new way to interact across borders in the entertainment industry. However, I spent a large amount of time this past weekend watching the CWL Las Vegas tournament as it was very fun to watch. The combination of having a game you like to play and watching it being played by pro in a tournament setting has been great to experience. The changes made to this game including adding a new player to each team as well as the new game mode I think increased the viewing of this tournament.
In addition, there were a number of new rosters completely remade for this game which led to interesting dynamics when former teammates played each other. I also learned that they removed the restrictions of teams by region which made for interesting team combinations around the world. In the end, Optic Gaming once again arose to the top with a dominant performance throughout the weekend, without losing a match and only losing 5 maps in the entire tournament. The newest additions to their team played impressively and seem to have paved the way for a new generation of Optic fans. I think that Optic Gaming’s success is great for the industry as they have a huge following which get turned off when they lose. They played great and even came back from a two map deficit in their semi-final match to make it into the finals!
I also saw myself becoming a fan of some up and coming teams and players that really put on a great show! I felt the excitement of being an eSports fan and am looking forward to the future events, including the Pro League which will start in the coming weeks to provide content to those looking forward to more of this competitive landscape. It seems that it will be an exciting year for the Call of Duty eSports Competitive scene!
Thanks!