E-Sports have been gaining more and more popularity over time and for good reason as it is one of the biggest platforms that people have to socialize and relax. Playing video games can be fun and wagering on the outcome, like an actual sporting event, happens. Today, we are going to touch on three things to make sure you understand before you decide to watch an e-game match of any kind.
These tips are going to be generic, so it does not matter what type of game you are watching as it can be anything from an NFL matchup to World of Warcraft and anything in between!
Know the Game in Advance
E-Sports are very similar to regular sports in itself as understanding the rules of the competition is essential to being successful. It depends on the game that is going on and the tournament or league they are playing in as rules can differ in different levels of competition as well.
Make sure you are understanding the rules of the event. You would be surprised as a solid minority of people will just watch the events going on while waiting for another event to begin and grow impatient because did not understand it.
Different tournaments are going to have different sets of rules so making sure you understand is critical. Also, each version of the game is different so if it is a sequel or a new title, make sure to understand that as well.
Understand the Teams and Players
You make sure to have knowledge of at least one of the teams involved. There should be no difference happening when you are looking at eSports. Video games typically involve a bit of a skill gap, so try to figure out the creme of the crop compared to the rest of the competition.
Understanding the team is important as well because depending on what video game you are watching, a team concept can be the difference between a win and a loss. A single-player having a competitive advantage or disadvantage can really be the difference.
Let’s use the NBA 2k League that goes on as an example of the Milwaukee Bucks eSports team to win their matchup against the Golden State Warriors eSports team. Understanding that the Warriors are going to expand their shots and use the perimeter as a weapon with the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Jordan Poole shooting three-point shots have to factor in.
On the other side, knowing the Bucks have incredible size with Brook Lopez, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Bobby Portis, they have the ability to grab offensive rebounds to factor into their point total.
Study Previous Matchups
When diving into sporting events like Major League Baseball where teams typically face each other a solid amount of times over the course of a season, there will be times where you can see one factor is keeping a competitive advantage for one side compared to the other.
The same thing rings true in the world of eSports as well as understanding what happened the last time the two players or teams faced off will typically help guide you as a complimentary piece to understand the current match. Of course, this should not be the only thing to influence your it.
Take for example if two teams are facing off in Call of Duty in search and destroy. There can be a random factor to things (for example if killstreaks are allowed and influences a round last time they played while this time killstreaks are banned in competition) that can really influence the outcome.
Make sure to take a look as in competition, there will typically be some major names that continue to face off against one another and you can begin to see some strengths and weaknesses show up.
