I'm sure all of us are familiar with esports, competitive video gaming with tens of millions of fans and dollars of prize money up for grabs.
This new phenomena is mainly built upon the foundations of the fast paced, player versus player action of the MOBA, or the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena.
MOBA's come in many different shapes and sizes, but the big contenders are Dota 2 and League of Legends, which collectively drew in 56 million viewers in their respective 2015 World Championships, according to a report appearing in the International Business Times.
These games have singlehandedly defined the modern esports industry, bringing both millions of fans, and gamers, into sold out arenas all across the world.
The MOBA is not only becoming the biggest in esports, but the biggest in sports.
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Steps are now being taken to help legitimize esports as a sport. Previously, it was nigh impossible for gamers to acquire visas to come to the United States for tournaments, and it isn't that surprising when you consider that esports is a foreign topic for anyone above the age of 35.
Bureaucracies of the world spend their time viewing esports as nothing but a child's passing fancy. But in 2014, the United States made their move, recognizing esports players as professional athletes, putting them at par with Olympians, according to a report appearing in the Forbes Magazine.
The genre of sports has recently been revolutionized by video game franchises, creating a new innovative type of entertainment that has captured the heart and soul of many onlookers, but has also driven some to criticize and protest about its recent classification as a true sport.
This is not to say that physical sports are dying out. There is clearly a reason why 3.4 billion people watch soccer around the world. Yet sports are always under constant change and evolution. Only 30 years ago, sports like snowboarding and ice skating were nothing more than glorified snowball fights. Perhaps we will see the transformation from computer game to professional sport.
