Master of Education in Applied Human Development Graduate Projects

Boyuan Xing

Abstract

In the past few decades, eSports and competitive gaming are experiencing huge developments and growing tremendouslyin itspopularity (Newzoo, 2019; PwC, 2019). Same as any other fast-growing industry, eSports has attracted significant capital investments and marketing practices. As predicted by Newzoo (2019), the market revenue of eSports will reach 1,790 million dollars by 2022, andthe sponsorships would likely be the largestcontributor. Unlike sponsorshipin traditional sports, various features of eSport make the sponsorship in conjunction with the event very unique and different from the traditionalsportssponsorship: the target market, the categories of sponsors, the form of sponsorship, etc. This study intends to compare eSport to the traditionalsports, find out the unique characteristics of eSports, and discuss a recent eSport sponsorshipin the 2018 League of Legends World Championship: where eSport was featuredas a “brave new world” full of opportunities and risks for sponsorshipby using a case study method. Inthe end, the implications, future of eSport sponsorship, and limitations of the research will be explored.

Advisor

Dr. Sungho Cho

Second Reader

Dr. Jiesun Lucy Lee

Semester

Spring

Year

2019

Degree

M.Ed.

Program

Sport Administration

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