FEATURING AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT FOUR OF EUROPE’S MOST VIBRANT ESPORTS ECOSYSTEMS

ESPORTS IN EUROPE

DECEMBER 2017

AN OVERVIEW OF

THIS REPORT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY ESPORTS BAR

SWEDEN POLAND SPAIN GERMANY

TABLE OF CONTENTS1. Foreword 3

2. Key Facts About Europe 4

3. European Market Trends 6

4. Local Impact 10

5. Biggest Events 15

6. Using Consumer Insights 18

Esports is entering a new phase toward becoming a mature

market. The coming two years will be crucial in how fast it

grows into a multi-billion-dollar business. The key determining

factors are the success of local leagues and the franchising

approach, the implementation of regulations, the arrival of new

game formats and competition, the uptake of content rights

sales, team profitability, and the impact of industry convergence

involving traditional media, entertainment, telecom, and sports

companies. Depending on how these factors play out in the

coming year or two, esports’ growth could accelerate and reach

$2.4 billion in 2020 in an optimistic scenario, almost $1 billion

higher than the base scenario of $1.5 billion.

Europe has been one of the most important regions in the

development of the esports industry. Some of the first

organizations that made esports popular, especially in the West,

originate from Europe. Most notable is ESL, arguably the world’s

largest esports organization, which has its roots in Germany. The

company has helped build and shape esports from small

community events to record-breaking events, including the Intel

Extreme Masters in Katowice and ESL One in Cologne. And even

now, Europe is a key region for the esports industry. It accounts

for almost one-third of all global esports revenues and is host to

more than 70 million esports viewers.

FOREWORDA NEW PHASE FOR ESPORTS COMMENCES

3

Jurre PannekeetSenior Market Analyst

ESPORTS ENTERING A CRUCIAL PHASE TOWARDS MATURITY

© copyright Newzoo 2017

FACTS ON GAMING AND ESPORTS IN EUROPEGAME REVENUES, ESPORTS AUDIENCE, AND MEDIA RIGHTS REVENUE GROWTH

4

EUROPEAN CONSUMERS WILL GENERATE

$22BNIN GAME SOFTWARE REVENUES IN 2017

MEDIA RIGHTS REVENUES WILL GROW

+500%FROM 2016 TO 2020 IN

EUROPE ALONE

THE ESPORTS AUDIENCE WILL TOTAL

77MACROSS ALL OF

EUROPE THIS YEAR

© copyright Newzoo 2017

KEY FACTS ON EUROPEAND CHOOSING THE FOUR KEY COUNTRIES

NORTHERN EUROPE

EASTERN EUROPE

WESTERN EUROPE

SOUTHERN EUROPE

ONLINE POPULATION98.7M

ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS8.4M

Europe is a very different region

from other large markets such as

North America or China, as it

represents more countries and

cultures than these two regions. It

is important to understand the

implications of culture on favorite

games, teams, and players if you

want to engage with the European

esports fan. This report gives you

an overview of the current

European esports market, its local

favorites, biggest events, and

sponsors involved.

This report features four of the

most vibrant local esports

ecosystems, for a large part

because of their long history in

esports that is directly related to a

strong PC gaming community.

SWEDEN

POLANDSPAIN

GERMANY

3.4MESPORTS FANS

2,317PRO PLAYERS

0.5MESPORTS FANS

1,836PRO PLAYERS

4.1MESPORTS FANS

687PRO PLAYERS

2.8MESPORTS FANS

1,086PRO PLAYERS

FOCUS COUNTRIESWITH A VIBRANT LOCAL ESPORTS ECOSYSTEM

AND LONG-TERM LEGACY IN ESPORTS

ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS13.1M

ONLINE POPULATION240.5M

ONLINE POPULATION232.3M

ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS10.9M

ONLINE POPULATION30.6M

ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS1.6M

5 © copyright Newzoo 2017

IN 2017, EUROPE ACCOUNTS FOR

32%OF THE GLOBAL ESPORTS

ECONOMY REVENUES

25.2MILLION

36.5MILLION

30.7MILLION

34.4MILLION

42.5MILLION

45.0MILLION

60.3MILLION

31.6MILLION

YoY+14.4%

YoY+18.4%

CAGR2015-2020

+13.1%

2015 2017 20202016

©2017 Newzoo

Europe will account for

20%of the global

esports audience in 2017

OCCASIONAL VIEWERS

ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS

TOTAL AUDIENCE

TOTAL AUDIENCE

TOTAL AUDIENCE

EUROPEAN ESPORTS AUDIENCEEUROPE | FOR 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 | Q3 2017

7 © copyright Newzoo 2017©Newzoo | 2017 Global Esports Market Report

TOTAL REVENUES(MEDIA RIGHTS, ADVERTISING, SPONSORSHIP, MERCHANDISE & TICKETS, GAME PUBLISHER FEES)

$165MILLION

$100MILLION

2015 2017 20202016

$403MILLION

$209MILLION

©2017 Newzoo$65MILLION

$108MILLION

$146MILLION

$319MILLION

BRAND INVESTMENT REVENUES(MEDIA RIGHTS, ADVERTISING, SPONSORSHIP)

YoY+27.3%

YoY+65.1%

CAGR2015-2020

+32.3%

©Newzoo | 2017 Global Esports Market Report

TOTAL REVENUES

TOTAL REVENUES

TOTAL REVENUES

Europewill generate

$209Min 2017, or 32% of global

esports revenues

$660M2017

32%

36%

27%

5%

EU NAM ASIA REST OF WORLD

EUROPEAN ESPORTS ECONOMYEUROPE | FOR 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 | Q3 2017

8 © copyright Newzoo 2017

SPORTS TEAMS EMBRACING ESPORTSEUROPEAN SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS ENTERING ESPORTS WITH PLAYERS AND TEAMS

INVOLVED TEAMSThe involvement of sports clubs and personalities, leagues, and

agencies will significantly accelerate the development of the

global esports industry and help local esports scenes grow.

Traditional sports clubs and leagues bring with them an

established local fan base, along with a well-known and

respected brand. By leveraging this, they can ensure their

esports initiatives are instantly perceived as top-level

competitions. Agencies bring their vast experience in sports

marketing to the space, telling stories around the teams and

players that suit their client base of sponsor brands.

Furthermore, the inclusion of well-known sports teams gives a

boost to the awareness and acceptance of esports as a

legitimate form of mainstream entertainment. It will also give a

boost to esports activities around sports games such as Madden

and FIFA, as a significant share of esports initiatives are built

around these franchises.

9 © copyright Newzoo 2017

OF THE NEW MAJOR ESPORTS SPONSORS,

69%WERE NON-ENDEMIC

BRANDS

NON-ENDEMIC BRANDS DRIVE GROWTH

11

NEW NON-ENDEMIC SPONSORSHIPS IN 2017 | EUROPE AND GLOBAL

EUROPEAN BETTING COMPANIES

EUROPE REST OF WORLD

© copyright Newzoo 2017

LOCAL TIES DRIVE FAN ENGAGEMENT

12

POPULAR LOCAL TEAMS PER COUNTRY | MAIN SPONSOR PER TEAM

MAIN SPONSOR MAIN SPONSOR

Polish organization Virtus Pro is the longest standing 5-man roster

in CS:GO to date, called the ‘’Golden Five’’. Its players have a very large following in Poland.

MAIN SPONSOR

G2 Esports is the only team to operate both the LCS and the

LVP. Through its founder Carlos ‘Ocelote’ Rodriguez, it has deep

Spanish roots.

MAIN SPONSOR

Founded in 1997, SK Gaming is one of the oldest esports organization to date, still

competing at the highest level worldwide.

Ninjas in Pyjamas, or NiP, is Sweden’s favorite team. Its

teams mostly consist of Swedish players, including its

popular CS:GO team.

SWEDEN POLAND SPAIN GERMANY

© copyright Newzoo 2017

EUROPE AMONG THE BEST IN THE WORLDTOP 10 TEAMS OR PLAYERS | CS:GO, LOL, AND HEARTHSTONE | NOVEMBER 30TH 2017

1 SK GAMING EUROPE

2 FAZE CLAN EUROPE

3 CLOUD 9 NORTH AMERICA

4 ATRALIS EUROPE

5 NIP EUROPE

6 NORTH EUROPE

7 FNATIC EUROPE

8 MOUSESPORTS EUROPE

9 OPTIC GAMING NORTH AMERICA

10 G2 ESPORTS EUROPE

TEAM REGIONRANK

1 SAMSUNGGALAXY

SOUTH KOREA

2 SKT SOUTH KOREA

3 RNG CHINA

4 TEAM WE CHINA

5 LONGZHU SOUTH KOREA

6 EDG CHINA

7 INVICTUS CHINA

8 CLOUD 9 NORTH AMERICA

9 G2 ESPORTS EUROPE

10 LYON GAMING LATIN AMERICA

TEAMRANK

1 MUZZY NORTH AMERICA

2 PAVEL EUROPE

3 STANCIFKA EUROPE

4 ORANGE EUROPE

5 HOEJ EUROPE

6 DOG NORTH AMERICA

7 ZALAE NORTH AMERICA

8 DRJIKININKI NORTH AMERICA

9 RDU EUROPE

10 THIJSNL EUROPE

PLAYERRANKREGION REGION

13 © copyright Newzoo 2017

THE IMPACT OF LOCAL HEROES

14

LOCAL FAN-FAVORITE PLAYERS’ SOCIAL MEDIA POPULARITY | PRIZE MONEY EARNED AND PRO PLAYERS

Rekkles Mithy KuroKy

378K 397K

Pasha

273K 833K 101K 5K 197K 69K

1,836

Country earnings and Pro-players according to Esportsearnings.com

$22.3M

FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS

PRIZE MONEY2017 YTD EARNED BY

SWEDISH PRO PLAYERS

REGISTERED PRO PLAYERS

GAME GAME GAME GAME

1,086$6.7MPRIZE MONEY

2017 YTD EARNED BY POLISH PRO PLAYERS

REGISTERED PRO PLAYERS

689$2.2MPRIZE MONEY

2017 YTD EARNED BY SPANISH PRO PLAYERS

REGISTERED PRO PLAYERS

2,317$13.0MPRIZE MONEY

2017 YTD EARNED BY GERMAN PRO PLAYERS

REGISTERED PRO PLAYERS

TEAM TEAM TEAM TEAM

FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS

SWEDEN POLAND SPAIN GERMANY

© copyright Newzoo 2017

OF ALL EUROPEAN LOL, CS:GO, OR DOTA2 ESPORTS

VIEWERS,

26%DO NOT PLAY ANY OF

THESE GAMES THEMSELVES

BIGGEST EVENTS IN EUROPE

16

TOP 10 EVENTS HELD IN EUROPE BY HOURS WATCHED ON TWITCH | 2017

2017 Kiev Major PGL Dota 2 23.3M 14,800 $3,000K

SL i League StarSeries Season 3 SLTV, ImbaTV CS:GO 18.9M 3,700 $300K

IEM Season XI – Katowice ESL CS:GO 14.5M 173,000 $760K

2017 EU LCS* Riot Games LoL 25.0M 91,800 $339K

2017 ESL One Cologne ESL CS:GO 11.2M 15,000 $250K

2017 PGL Major Krakow PGL CS:GO 10.0M 34,500 $1,000K

2017 DreamHack Masters Malmo Dreamhack CS:GO 8.6M 13,000 $250K

Epicenter 2017 Epic Esport Event CS:GO 7.4M 7,000 $500K

ESL One Hamburg ESL Dota 2 4.8M 20,000 $1,000K

Dota Pit League Season 5 Dota Pit Dota 2 4.4M 11,000 $140K

EVENT ORGANIZER MAIN GAMEHOURS

WATCHED ATTENDEESPRIZE

MONEY

CS:GO is the most

represented main

game in Europe’s

biggest events

TOTAL 384,000 $7,500K128M

© copyright Newzoo 2017

BIGGEST EVENTS BY COUNTRY IN 2017

17

BY VIEWERSHIP | FEATURING A KEY SPONSOR AND VIEWING/ATTENDANCE NUMBERS

KEY SPONSOR

2.3M 26K 14.5M 173K 3.0M 40K 11.2M 15K

KEY SPONSOR KEY SPONSOR KEY SPONSOR

VIEWING HOURS ATTENDEES VIEWING HOURS ATTENDEES VIEWING HOURS ATTENDEES VIEWING HOURS ATTENDEES

Dreamhack Winter 2017 IEM Katowice 2017 Dreamhack Valencia 2017 ESL One Cologne 2017

SWEDEN POLAND SPAIN GERMANY

© copyright Newzoo 2017

IN-DEPTH CONSUMER PROFILINGTO MATCH YOUR TARGET GROUP AND OPPORTUNITIES IN ESPORTS

www.newzoo.com

“Ultimately, we were able to quantify, per country, the number of Esports Enthusiasts who currently do not use our product yet and could potentially be reached through our envisaged esports sponsorship.”

QUANTIFY POTENTIAL REACH

“Understanding the demographic profile and complete media behavior of the community around the major esports franchise allowed us to define our own target audience and spend our sponsorship money most effectively.”

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Newzoo’s esports consumer insights allows you to profile your audience on 200+ variables, including demographics, media behavior, esports participation and viewership, favorite franchises, spending habits, and brand attitude. Find a factsheet with the full topic list here.

28 COUNTRIES

UNITED STATES

UNITED KINGDOM

SPAIN

BRAZIL

GERMANY FRANCE NETHERLANDS BELGIUM SOUTH KOREA INDONESIA

CANADA SINGAPORE MEXCIO RUSSIA CHINA AUSTRALIA

ITALY SWEDEN TURKEY POLAND JAPAN ARGENTINA

MALAYSIA PHILIPPINES VIETNAM THAILAND TAIWAN INDIA

FOCUSMARKETING SPEND

CONTACT

200+ VARIABLES

12-MONTHS ACCESS TO OUR CONSUMER

INSIGHTS DASHBOARD

INCLUDES:DEDICATED EXPERT ANALYST SUPPORT

CROSSTABS & GRAPHS EXPORTABLE TO:

DIRECT ACCESS & SUPPORT

18 © copyright Newzoo 2017

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