In fantasy e-sports, everything is virtual except the money
TheRealAZMan says he’s won more than $91,000 so far in a fantasy sports league — not because he picked people like Stephen Curry, Buster Posey or Tom Brady, but because of players like Faker, General Hao and fOrest. If you do your research and make smart picks, there’s a lot of room to make money. To casual or non-sports fans who don’t understand the lure of regular fantasy sports leagues, fantasy e-sports will be even more of a puzzler. [...] to fans of fantasy leagues or video games, they will make complete sense. Both are based on the dream of becoming a team owner or manager, assembling teams of players whose success or failure during games translate into fantasy points. [...] instead of winning with athletes who record the most touchdowns, home runs or free throws, fantasy e-sports players score with video game pros who get the most kills, head shots or captured flags. “I’ve had debates with people about e-sports, people who don’t believe this is a real sport,” said Unikrn CEO Rahul Sood, best known for founding VoodooPC, the luxury gaming computer company that Hewlett-Packard bought in 2006. Game industry research firm SuperData Research estimates that there are 134 million e-sports fans worldwide, with an e-sports market worth about $612 million globally, including $143 million in North America and $374 million in Asia. Fantasy e-sports has a chance to succeed especially in the U.S., where sports statistics are “a cultural phenomenon,” said Joost Van Dreunen, SuperData Research’s CEO. [...] fundamentally, there’s a component of any kind of sports or competitive activity that presents itself on a mathematical level. In April, Menlo Park venture capital firm Sequoia Capital led a $12 million round of investment in Vulcun, allowing the company to offer the largest e-sports fantasy prize pool of $10 million. “We really believe in it as the next big thing,” said Josh Nussbaum of Metamorphic Ventures, a New York venture capital firm that led the funding round, which included former NBA Commissioner David Stern. [...] last month, Unikrn landed a $7 million funding round that included billionaire, TV star and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Unlike the other sites, Unikrn is not legal in the U.S. because it is a gambling site that lets players bet on the outcomes of games or the achievements of individual players, much like gamblers in Las Vegas wager on the outcomes of a Super Bowl. Fantasy e-sports is new, he said, and AlphaDraft has hired well known “League of Legends” players or broadcasters as “brand ambassadors” to assure players the company is real. While Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel have drawn attention this year to daily fantasy sports that could help the e-sports startups, Alan Wolk, senior analyst with the research firm Diffusion Group, said it’s too soon to tell whether the momentum will last. Rooting for Gravity, his favorite “League of Legends” team, or South Korean superstar Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok is “already a big emotional investment and it gets even more if you put in your own money,” said Fortune_Faded, who did not give his real name.