Now some of the top teams in the U.S. have established gaming houses, where League of Legends teams like TSM Snapdragon live together. Gamers can actually experience the lives of a pro gamer through the hit GameSpot reality series, GameCrib.
The house, located in the San Francisco Bay Area (they want to keep the exact location a secret), offers a lifestyle for the team members to always be connected for playing League of Legends in preparation for big events like the MLG Summer Championship in Anaheim.
Alex “Xpecial” Chu of Team SoloMid believes gaming houses are important because of the similarity between real sports and eSports.
Game fans, who spend on average 40 minutes tuning into livestreams of League of Legends eSports events and even watch players practice; can get an exclusive look at TSM outside of the pro gaming circuit through GameCrib.
Chu and the rest of his team had to get used to having cameras following them as they journeyed about town. They’re used to having cameras on them in the heat of competition with hundreds of thousands of gamers watching big competitions and live audiences of 20,000 or more fans.
In Korea, there are two dedicated TV networks focusing on eSports. In the U.S., that’s still a long ways from becoming a reality. But the Internet, and livestreaming in particular, has made stars out of the best League of Legends and StarCraft II players. The location of an event doesn’t matter, since gamers can tune in from anywhere and watch live. And Twitch, YouTube and other channels have opened up new ways for pro gamers to connect with fans through practices and unique interactions that NFL, FIFA and MLB stars don’t have.
TSM Snapdragon has emerged as one of the top League of Legends teams in the world today. And they’ve ridden the success of Riot Games’ free-to-play MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game to the top.
And the top pros make enough cash through tournament prize money and sponsorships to live comfortably and play games for a living. And now we get an inside look into their lives through shows like GameCrib.
