This is the second in a two-part guest series, written by Hendrik Mokrusch, looking at the esports ecosystem. Specifically, what needs to change in the semi-pro scene, in order to build a solid structure for talent development. You can find the first part here.
Part 4: Building a solid structure for talent development
In a recent academic journal, Llorens (2017) compares the sports and esports ecosystem and argues that one of esports’ most pressing social questions is how the young amateur scene is going to be supported to consistently bring up new and diverse talent. I agree with Llorens, and I would specifically say that the semi-pro scene needs to improve its Cooperation, Transparency, and Efficiency.
Cooperation
The biggest issue with the current ecosystem is its inefficiency in consistently bringing up new talent.
Value co-creation is big in esports and as such I would argue that cooperation is the most developed success factor in the industry. People and organizations tend to stick together because they all push towards the same goals: professionalize and grow esports. It’s an industry that we keep close in our hearts — a hobby turned career. Yet, we have to be careful that we don’t let some parts of our network starve. I would personally like to see greater cooperation between:
- Game publishers and semi-pro leagues
- Team orgs and player associations
- Entrepreneurs and the semi-pro scene
Transparency
I wouldn’t say the ecosystem is cloudy or incomprehensible for the uninitiated. If you sit down with someone who has never heard of esports before, and you talk them through the basics of what an esport game is and how people compete, they will understand. But again, there are aspects that I would like to see more transparency in:
- Organisational structures (who owns what & who has a stake in what). Esports journalist Richard Lewis has extensively covered some of the most recent conflicts of interests relating to this.
- Semi-pro teams need to show players more clearly where their salaries will come from and how they intend to make money. Denial Esports recently made news in this area, and not in a good way.
- Player contracts. Luckily there are many new projects starting up here such as this one, featuring retired LoL pro Marcel ‘Dexter’ Feldkamp)
Efficiency
The biggest issue I have with the current ecosystem is its inefficiency in consistently bringing up new talent. In a 2015 interview with RedBull, LoL pro sOAZ said that playing and climbing in Solo Queue was the only way for aspiring pro players to get the attention of pro organisations — other pros such as Rekkles have echoed this as a ‘best practice’. Doesn’t this sound deeply troubling?
If you make it to the top of a game’s ladder it will most certainly get you on the radar of pro teams, but esports is not only about the top 1%.
If you make it to the top of a game’s ladder it will most certainly get you on the radar of pro teams — but esports is not only about the top 1%. What about the semi-pro teams that look for top 1000 players or players who have shown great learning and growth potential but haven’t made it beyond 3999 SR in Overwatch? These players deserve a shot at esports recognition as well, but they often fly under the radar of team managers.
For my own master thesis, I conducted two online questionnaires and received over 270 responses from esports players — 14% Casual, 51% Amateurs, 32% Semi-Pro, 3% Pro. Across the board, players did not have a solid alternative to what sOAZ and Rekkles proposed.
In a separate survey, I then asked team owners and managers about their scouting and recruiting approaches. In total, I received feedback from over 20 managers — 10% Casual, 41% Amateurs, 32% Semi-Pro, 16% Pro.
I found that teams rely heavily on a variety of approaches to find players. This is not only time consuming but also resource-heavy (both the search and integration of a new player). Time and other resources — talk about things that semi-pro teams don’t have.
Finally, when asked about what made their player scouting and recruiting most difficult, the respondents highlighted the following.
Conclusion
In a regular sports career, you go from Regional to Global. In esports, you go from nowhere to Global.
I think the semi-pro scene needs something more tangible.In my conversations with semi-pro and pro team managers, it simply came down to this: the rank you achieve in any given game does not determine your fit for a team. Motivation, interpersonal skills, mindset — these were all aspects of a player’s persona that teams said were equally or even more important than raw skill.
If you can show that you are resilient, that you are self-motivated and great with people then you will be much higher up on the list of players that teams want to pick from.
TL;DR
Academic
- In a regular sports career, you go from Regional to Global. In esports, you go from nowhere to Global. Currently, a career as an esports player is simply not as straightforward and transparent.
- The esports ecosystem development is still in its infancy, meaning there are many more actors to join and improvements to be made before we have a sound structure and industry backbone to build on.
- Common success factors of business ecosystems are: Cooperation, Transparency, Decentralisation, Flexibility, Efficiency.
My own opinion
- Esports, and specifically the semi-pro scene, need greater cooperation between game publishers & leagues, teams & player associations, entrepreneurs & semi-pro scene.
- More transparency is needed around ownership and structures of esports organizations, player contracts and the financial sustainability of teams.
- The semi-pro scene needs more efficient talent development structures that offer advanced solutions for talent scouting, recruiting, and professionalization of talent profiles.
References/Further Reading
Marco Iansiti and Roy Levien (2004): “The Keystone Advantage” – Harvard Business School professor Marco Iansiti and inventor Roy Levien introduce the idea of keystone actors who lead the development of business ecosystems.
Shaker A. Zahra and Satish Nambisan (2012): “Entrepreneurship and strategic thinking in business ecosystems” – Two business scholars from the US explore how actors influence each other in ecosystems, and what is needed to make ecosystems succeed.
Mirva Peltoniemi and Elisa Vuori (2008): “Business Ecosystems as the New Approach to Complex Adaptive Business Environments” – Two finnish business researchers define business ecosystems by referring back to biological ecosystems and give a comprehensive overview on the topic.
Kevin Kelly (2010): “What Technology Wants” – The founding executive editor of ‘WIred’ takes a broad look at how technology enhances our lives. He also discusses what makes biological ecosystems successful and sustainable.
Juha Markus Winter (2014): “Success Factors of Mobile Business Ecosystems” – A PhD Thesis in the general field of Technological Science that researched the mobile business ecosystem, e.g. app developers, customers, phone manufacturers, and highlights what allowed the ecosystem to be highly profitable and sustainable.
Felix Brockmann (2012): “eSport im Spannungsfeld zwischen Profession und ‘Szene’” – A German magazine article in the field of social sciences and professional practice that takes a look at the professionalisation of the esports infrastructureG
T.L. Taylor (2012): “Raising the Stakes: E-Sports and the Professionalisation of Computer Gaming” – Taylor’s book is a perfect read for anyone who is interested in the history and development of esports. Amazing for industry newcomers, interesting for everyone.
Katherine E. Hollist (2015): “Time to be grown-ups about video gaming: The rising esports industry and the need for regulation” – A critical look at the esports ecosystem from the perspective of a US law scholar. Includes interesting viewpoints about the issues players face as employees.
Shahin Adl Zarrabi and Henrik Nel Jerkrot (2016): “Value creation and appropriation in the esports industry” – A Master Thesis from two swedish students at Chalmers University of Technology. Deals primarily with value creation in esports and may be considered the most comprehensive article so far on this topic.
João Pedro Brito Cício de Carvalho (2015): “Business Models in Professional Electronic Sports Teams” – Takes a look at esports teams and compares their workings with traditional businesses and academic models. Also looks at the value creation in the broader esports ecosystem.
Robert F. Lusch, Stephen L. Vargo, and Mohan Tanniru (2010): “Service, value networks and learning” – An academic article from 3 business and marketing scholars on value networks and ecosystems in supply chain management and marketing. Offers abstract insights into the workings of ecosystems.
Yuri Seo (2013): “Electronic sports: a new marketing landscape of the experience economy” – Seo is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Auckland’s Business School. His articles are a must-read for every esports enthusiast who is interested in understanding what is behind the big esports trend.
Mike Saren, Tracy Harwood, Janet Anne Ward, Alladi Venkatesh (2013): “Marketing beyond the frontier? Researching the new marketing landscape of virtual worlds.” – An academic journal exploring the marketing potential of virtual worlds and video games, and takes a look at the consumers of virtual content, e.g. esports fans.
Mariona Rosell Llorens (2017): “eSport Gaming: The rise of a new sports practice” – This article from Law Professor Llorens maybe doesn’t settle the “Is esports a sport?”- a debate, but it is a comprehensive article that discusses arguments for and against.
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