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Three key reasons that people watch esports are wanting to learn more about the games, enjoying aggression, and escapism.

Here is the link for Part-II  : Esports : top leagues 

GENERAL INFORMATION

• A study published in January 2017 found that some top reasons people watch esports include escapism, learning more about the games, novelty, and the aggressiveness of the players.
• Another study published in October 2017 found that information seeking, tension release, and social integration were all reasons for watching others play video games.
• At about this 40 second mark of this video, Darin Kwilinski, senior editor of ESPN Esports, provides some reasons why people watch esports. These include inspiration, to learn things to try in the game, athlete accessibility, and no paywalls limiting a person's ability to watch.
• According to an article in Medium, some reasons people watch esports include "vicarious achievements, the drama of the sport, aesthetics of the sport, the sport being a means to escape the everyday life, social interaction with other spectators, novelty of new players and teams, attractiveness of the athletes, and the enjoyment of aggression and the aggressive behaviours the athletes exhibit."

INFORMATION SEEKING
Watching other play videos give people the opportunity to learn new tricks, shortcuts, or skills. This can help them get better and become a more skilled player themselves.
The spectators can copy the tactics used by the professional athletes.

ENJOYMENT OF AGGRESSION
Although one study listed the aggressiveness of the players as a reason people watch esports, the study itself did not provide any explanation of why.
Slightly older reporting indicated that many of the popular esports games contain violence and aggression, but the actual esports athletes spend very little time on screen. Therefore, it seems likely that the aggression being referred to here is on screen aggression, although it could be related to aggressive players as well.

ESCAPISM
Esports viewers tend to completely immerse themselves in the action on the screen which allows them to escape from the reality of their everyday lives. Escapism is a way of reducing stress or tension, which as also mentioned in the October 2017 study on reasons people watch esports.
Escapism is also a reason that many people enjoy watching sports in general, so it makes sense that it would also be a motivator for esports fans.

Sports Teams on Social Media
The Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia Eagles are two US professional sports teams that are using social media to effectively engage their fan base. Both have consistently featured highly in lists that evaluate how professional sports teams are performing using social media. 

NBA GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

• The Golden State Warriors are active across a range of social media platforms. Across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, the Golden State Warriors consistently use the hashtags #DubNation and #WarriorsGround.
• Fans consistently use these hashtags when talking about the team on social media.
• The posts are a mixture of player information, achievements, transfer information, game promotions, and media stories. Facebook and Twitter posts include more narratives discussing the attached media.
• During the season they are more likely to post video highlights or game focused updates.
• Part of the Golden State Warrior's success on social media is attributed to knowing their fan demographics and partnering with brands that engage this audience base.
• The team engages with its fan base by reposting various fan posts or replying to some of their posts. They will also, in some instances, engage with their audience through comments on the various social media platforms.
• Their posts vary in frequency with higher frequency during the NBA season and lower frequency during the off-season. This trend is also reflected in the fan discussions and posts regarding the team.
• They use videos and highlights of the season to maintain audience engagement and to generate discussion during the off-season.
• A review of the engagements for each of the posts shows those with attached video media generally have the highest engagement, likes, and comments.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS METRICS

• In 2018 they were the top-ranked US Professional Sports Team on social media. This ranking is based on the number of social media engagements.
• They had 282,343,741 social media engagements. This was over 50 million more than the second-placed Cleveland Cavaliers.
• In 2018, the Golden State Warriors surpassed 34 million followers on their combined social media channels. This included Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, and Snapchat.
• Their Instagram account @warriors has 12.8 million followers. They have made 11,135 posts.
• The Facebook page @Golden State Warriors has 11,708,411 likes.
• The Golden State Warriors Twitter account @Warriors has 6.3 million followers.
• Posts by the Golden State Warriors on Twitter and Facebook generally mirror each other.
• Golden State Warriors average between 3-8 Instagram posts weekly, depending on what the team news is and the stage of the season.
• Based on figures from their Twitter account where they have made 83,600 posts since 2009, the team averages 160 tweets per week.
• The accounts are particularly active during the playoffs.

NFL PHILADELPHIA EAGLES ON SOCIAL MEDIA

• The Philadelphia Eagles social media presence is discussed in the 2018 Complex Sports List, which discusses how each of the 32 NFL teams uses their social media accounts, based on an analysis of posts on Twitter. Their accounts are very much focused on the aura of "Philadelphia against the world".
• A common theme of Eagle social media posts is #FlyEaglesFly. These types of posts emphasize their underdog status and attempt to cultivate fan unity.
• The social media posts are strong on the work ethic and determination of the Eagles. One media outlet described the posts as the fan base being encouraged to rally behind "those who bleed green".
• Overall the theme of their social media accounts is establishing a strong local identity while having fun and not taking themselves too seriously.
• The Eagles have consistently said they want to be a brand with no off-season and they use social media to achieve this. By regularly posting on social media during the off-season, they maintain fan engagement.
• A review of their accounts shows those that include video media have the highest levels of audience engagement.
• The team engages with its fan base by reposting various fan posts or replying to some of their posts. They will also, in some instances, engage with their audience through comments on the various social media platforms.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES METRICS

• Complex Sports ranked the Philadelphia Eagles third in the best use of social media in 2018.
• The Philadelphia Eagles were second only to the New England Patriots in the number of social media engagements for an NFL team in 2018. They had 73,873,067 engagements across all their social media accounts.
• Their Instagram account @philadelphiaeagles has 1.9 million followers. They have made 6,122 posts.
• The Philadelphia Eagles Facebook account has 3,249,223 likes.
• @Eagles, their Twitter account currently has over 3.5 million followers.
• Using figures from Twitter where they have made 51,000 tweets since they joined in 2010, the Philadelphia Eagles average around 108 tweets per week.
• They are less active on other platforms but a number of posts are mirrored on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Esports Betting Market Size: Global

• As early as 2016, research firm — Eilers & Krejcik Gaming — and software analytic company — Narus — reported that the global esports betting market is expected to hit $6.7 billion in 2018.
• Esports Betting Market Size: Global
• Eilers & Krejcik Gaming and Narus reported that the 2018 size of the global esports betting market would amount to $6.7 billion. 
• The market is expected to hit $13 billion by 2020.
• NJGames report highlighted that bets on esports would increase by 134% within four years from $5.5 billion in 2016.
• Other Esports betting Statistics
• According to a report by Stephen Crystal Esq. & Jeremy Smith, an estimated 6.5 million unique participants place wagers on eSports games.
• The report also opines that to reach this estimate, a customer would be placing bets of about $2,000.

Esports Betting Market Size: Korea
We were unable to locate the esports betting market size in South Korea. In 2018, South Korea black market for online betting market size was estimated to be $60 billion. Esport betting remains illegal in South Korea; hence, attending or participating in an esports betting event is not advised.

KEY FINDINGS

• In 2018, South Korea black market for online betting market size was estimated to be $60 billion.
• Esport betting remains illegal in South Korea; hence, attending or participating in an esports betting event is not advised.
•  Bet 356, Betway, Pinnacle, 1XBet, 10Bet, Spin Sports, 888sport, and Unibet are some key players in the esports betting market in South Korea.
•  SK Telecom T1, MVP Phoenix, and Samsung Galaxy are some top esports teams in South Korea.
• SK Telecom T1 earning from esports was estimated to be $5,622,438.
• MVP Phoenix earning from esports was estimated to be $2,691,517.
• Samsung Galaxy earning from esports was estimated to be $2,650,754.

Esports Betting Market: Global
The global esports betting market is constantly expanding. The three key players in the global betting market include William Hill, 888 Holdings and Kindred Group.

OVERVIEW OF THE INDUSTRY

•  Esports betting market one of the fastest growing sectors and the growth of the market is attributed to the growing popularity of online competitive gaming and professional gaming.
• The total amount bet on esports competitions is expected to jump from USD 5.5 billion in 2016 to USD 12.9 billion in 2020, marking a significant increase of 134% in just four years.
• It is an industry where players compete playing computer games on a ​professional level.
• Increased exposure, the number of people aware of eSports, a growing sector within the industry, is expected to reach 1.6 billion in 2018, while the enthusiast community will comprise 165 million of the total and grow to 250 million by 2021.

KEY DRIVES OF THE MARKET
1) Improved technology

•  Improved technology new standards for functionality and reliability that are introduced by startups such as the Unikoin and Bettium transform how online betting is perceived, opening the market up for more and more players, advertisers and investors.
• 2) The effect of Regulation With the review of Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act being reviewed by the Supreme Court in United States. This will increase the market for the industry as states in the U.S. that were never allowed to do video gaming will do it.
• 3) Introduction of New leagues and participants
• New video game entrants such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Amazon’s Breakaway, and the Overwatch League, together with real-world sports companies, starting to partner with tech giants like EA Sports, will further drive growth and increase interest in the eSports betting market, making it more technologically advanced and bigger than ever before.

KEY PLAYERS
1) WlLLIAM HILL

• The company was founded in 1934 and it has grown to be among the most trusted brands that is attracting a million of customers worldwide. The company is based in started out in UK business and it happens to still be the companies home market, as it accounts almost 86% of the business last year.
• William Hill started it business in US, Nevada and grew to be a leading sports betting operator in the US in 2012, when we merged three businesses based in Nevada to form William Hill US. The company estimates by the end of 2018 the company had grown to reach a market share of 32% in terms of revenues and 57% by number of outlets. The company now owns sports books in about 115 of the total of 190 casinos across Nevada, in addition to offering mobile betting via an app.
• The company has been licensed to deliver online betting and gaming in Italy and Spain since 2011 and 2012 respectively, and is currently operating in the US since 2012. William Hill brand is an 85-year-old favorite which has stood the test of time and still stands for the values espoused by William Hill himself who happens to be the company founder which include trust, integrity and customer service.
• William Hill has about 15,500 employees across the world that is in UK, Gibraltar, Malta, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, the US, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia and the Philippines. The company dominates in UK at 86% then US at 5%, Italy and Spain at 4% and other countries 5%.
• It estimated that in 2018 the company's online business generated 39% of the group revenue and also employed about 1,800 people in Gibraltar, the UK, Malta, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Philippines. The company recently acquired Mr Green and this has expanded the company's market in Europe. Total online gambling revenues in the UK in 2018 stood at £5.3billion, representing the largest regulated market for online gambling in the world, which continues to grow.
• The Company's retail market is the largest William Hill division, generating 56% of Group net revenue in 2018 and employing around 12,500 people in the UK.
• William Hill is the UK’s number one provider of licensed betting offices (LBOs), with c2,300 of the c8,500 shops licensed by the Gambling Commission, although this is expected to reduce following the implementation of the £2 stake limit on gaming machines.

2) 888 HOLDINGS

• The company happens to be public Limited Company and is one of the world’s most popular online gaming entertainment and solutions providers. The company has been in the online gaming industry since 1997.
• 888’s headquarters and main operations are in Gibraltar and the company has licenses in Gibraltar, the UK, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Ireland, Romania, Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware.
• The Group is structured into two lines of business: B2C, under the 888 brands, and B2B, conducted through Dragonfish, which provides partners the ideal platform through which to establish an online gaming presence and monetize their own brands.
• This strategy enables the company to leverage its core technological, product, marketing and analytical strengths and maximize their benefits across both B2C and B2B routes to market.
• The strategy enables it to compete successfully and surpass competition in both established and newer markets.
• The company was founded in 1997 in the British Virgin Islands as Virtual Holdings Limited. In 2019 Itai was appointed as CEO, to continue to deliver 888’s growth strategy.
• Some company values include excellence, innovation, caring, collaboration and professional collaborating.

3) KINDRED GRUOP

• The company has been in the industry for the last 20 years and has brought together 11 of Europe’s most successful online gambling brands forming one of the largest online gambling companies in the world.
• The company had about 1,478,437 ​active customers per the latest quarter. The company started in Unibet in 1997 and is today the global gambling group Kindred. The company founder Anders Ström set out to change the way players gamble and offer them an experience suited to the modern digital world.
• Kindred Group's values include unit, trust, innovation and friendship.
• The company's brands include 32red, Bingo.com, Bohemia Casino, Casinohuone, Unibet among others.

Esports Betting Market: Korea

• Esports gambling is one of the fastest growing categories in online gambling. It reached its peak in 2014 along with the use of virtual in game aesthetics that were unregulated casino chips. Below is the overview of the esport betting market in Korea.
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• Gambling is illegal in Korea hence, attending or participating in an esport betting event is not advised.
• One way to avoid any penalties is by betting online with an offshore provider as it does not carry any major risks for those that want to bet on esports since the service is operated legally through their remote-gaming licenses.
• The betting process starts by choosing a legitimate online bookmaker thereafter funds are added to the betting account.
• Korean esports betting companies accept a number of fast, convenient payment methods such as bank transfers, Bitcoin, direct banking, MasterCard, Neteller Skrill and Visa.

KEY PLAYERS

• The 8 key players in Korea's esports betting market are:
• Bet 356
• Betway
• Pinnacle
• 1XBet
• 10Bet
• Spin Sports
• 888sport
• Unibet

MARKET

• The market for gambling on esports remains small in comparison to other more established, segment. Despite this, esports gambling still represents one of the most dynamic segment in the global gambling industry.
• Esports betting is expected to reach up to $8 billion USD in total wagers this year, which is equivalent to $560 million in revenue at an industry average margin of 7%.
• There are four types of markets available in Korea's eSports betting: Money Line, Handicap, Totals and Outright eSports betting.
•  Money Line – This is the most traditional type of sports betting. Bets are places choosing which team will win the tournament or match.
•  Handicap – As with the traditional sports betting, the player determines the chances of each side and balance it by allowing the one in the higher rank side a disadvantage or negative handicap, and the one in the lower rank side an advantage (positive handicap).
•  Totals – betting is when a wager is placed on the total number of events in a tournament being over or under a figure set by the player. Totals betting depends on the type of game being played.
•  Outright eSports Betting – This form of betting places the wager on the outcome of an event. It is similar to betting on who will become the overall winner of a specific tournament. Experienced esports bettors usually opt for this type of betting because it gives them more value.

Esports in Korea
Korea is known as the home for esports which is now a billion dollar industry. Esports peaked popularity in the early 90s when the Korean government built a national broadband network. The country has hosted many of the biggest and richest pro gaming events. Below are findings of the Korean esports market.

OVERVIEW

• Korea was the first country in the world to recognize professional gamers as athletes, and acknowledge the sport as a national pastime.
• In 2000 the Korean esports Association was created as an arm of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The association is the managing body for 25 of the country’s main esports games
• The association previously made attempts to formalize the game into an official sport, by introducing a minimum salary for professional players, and a mandatory one-year contract for each new team members.
• There are seven regular esport events approved by the Korea e-Sports Association.
• Overwatch is the most popular esports game in Korea. 

POPULAR TEAMS

• SK Telecom T1- (SKT) is a Korean eSports team owned by the South Korean telecommunications company bearing the same name. SK Telecom T1 has won the League of Legends World Championship three times, in 2013, 2015, and 2016. The team is ranked #1 among 34 teams in Korea by money won.
• MVP Phoenix-is a Korean multi gaming team consisting of members mainly from MVP Clan. MVP Phoenix is ranked #1 among 27 teams in Korea by earnings.
• SK Telecom T1 K- SK Telecom T1 K is a League of Legends team that is playing under the flag of Korea. The team has earned $1,267,464 for the entire League of Legends professional career and is ranked #3 among 34 teams in Korea by earnings.

POPULAR LEAGUES

• Overwatch League-The Overwatch League is a professional esports league for the video game Overwatch. It was produced by its developer Blizzard Entertainment and announced in 2016. Overwatch is the most popular esports game in Korea. There are currently 20 franchises competing in the league.
• Korea StarCraft League- The Korea StarCraft League is a StarCraft: Remastered tournament series was launched in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of StarCraft. It is hosted by Blizzard Entertainment in South Korea. It was announced in June 2018 and is broadcast regularly in Korean and English on Twitch. 

MAJOR EVENTS

• League of Legends Worlds Final 2018- The League of Legends World Championship is the annual professional League of Legends world championship tournament hosted by Riot Games. Teams competed for various prizes including the champion title and a $1 million cash. The 2018 League of Legends Worlds Final was held in South Korea and attracted 99.6 million viewers.
• PUBG Nations Cup- This was PUBG first ever Nations Cup. It was held in Seoul, South Korea. The tournament featured 16 national teams from different countries including the United States, Canada, China, Russia, and Vietnam. Top players are chosen by their peers to represent every region in competitive PUBG for a chance to take on the world's best for a shot at glory and the $500,000 prize pool.
• G-Star- Asia's biggest video game convention provides attendees with the opportunity to explore a wide range of new PC, mobile and virtual reality games. The 2018 convention was held in Busan, South Korea as well as the upcoming 2019 event.
• The 11th Esports World Championship- This event will be held in Seoul, South Korea in December 2019. It is the sole tournament for esports where athletes compete against other national teams while officially representing their own country.