WATCH: What is esports?
Last Updated: 07/07/16 4:58pm
With a massive following worldwide, esports are rapidly growing in popularity. But what exactly are they?
esports - or electronic sports - is the umbrella term for organised, competitive computer gaming, usually between professionals.
Competitive computer gaming has been around for decades, with Pong leading the way in the 1970s, but it has exploded in Asia since the turn of the century and that popularity is now transferring to Europe and North America.
To illustrate the scale of the industry consider that the the International 2015: Dota 2 Championships which were held in Seattle in August 2015, had a prize pool of £14,245,963.30 ($18,429,613.00).
Now contrast that to the total prize pool of £6.5m which is available for the 145th Open next week at Royal Troon.
Manchester City made headlines this week when they announced the signing of esports player Kieran 'Kez' Brown - a move the club referred to as their fourth signing of the summer.
While some fans may be disappointed Brown won't be slotting into Pep Guardiola's first team next season, the club view him as a key addition in a sector they have identified as having enormous growth potential.
Diego Gigliani, SVP, Media and Innovation, City Football Marketing, added: "This is a natural evolution for Manchester City. We've been very involved with our partner, EA SPORTS, and the FIFA franchise for some time.
"As esports continues to gain momentum, it makes sense for our Club to be part of the action and get closer to our fans, who love playing EA SPORTS FIFA as Manchester City. We will be a bigger presence at gaming tournaments, we will have more content through our digital channels and we will activate even more with our fans at matches and Club events."
