This summer, a world wide Fortnite video game tournament took place with the winner, sixteen year old Kyle Giersdorf, taking home three million dollars. 

    This tournament sparked a new wave of sports, Esports. What is an Esport? Differing from your traditional form of sport, Esports are a newly found form of competition that use video games. Most commonly, Esports take the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. As a result, the global Esports market is expected to generate more than $1 billion in 2019, according to research firm Newzoo. With this expected growth, Esports have the ability to rival any traditional sport in the industry.  

    Over the past few years, Esports have integrated into schools and colleges with the rise of interscholastic video game competitions. Eight states have recognized Esports as a high school varsity sport. It began with Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the fall of 2018. A few months later, the National Federation of State High School Associations said Alabama, Mississippi and Texas Charter schools joined the mix.

    Overall, with the entertainment industry focusing on video games, is it now the demise of the sports we are used to? It is too early to say, but we are surely heading in this direction. Gamers and varsity sports players are starting to be seen at the same level. Now, THAT IS EPIC.