Challenges and opportunities of Esports in the UK

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Image courtesy of British Esports / Jonas Kontautas
Challenges and
future opportunities

2 | esports 2023 esports 2023 | 3
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04 Chapter 1
Foreword by Ukie
06
Introduction by The Story Mob
07
About this report
08
Who is this report for?
12 Chapter 1
The current UK esports scene

13
The story so far

14
Key UK esports data
16
Top games

18
The strengths of UK esports
20
Highest esports player
earnings by country
22
Tournament trends and
the return of events

25
Collegiate esports
and diversit y
29
Sports crossover
32
Coping during the pandemic
& community changes
37
Education
38
Team organisations and
the quest for profit
41
Sponsors, investments
and revenue streams
43
Media, MPs and
the mainstream
46 Chapter 2
The key players

47 Fnatic
48 EXCEL Esports
49 London Royal Ravens
50 London Spitfire
51 British Esports
52 Digital Schoolhouse
53 NUEL
54 NSE
55 University of Warwick
56 Top UK talent
58 Top teams
60 BLAST
61 Player1 Events
62 Morgan Sports Law
& DotX Talent
63 The Story Mob
64 Hotdrop
65 Heaven
66 Hiro Capital
67 ESL
68 Esports Insider
69 Raven.GG
70 Eports Integrity
Commission & MNM Gaming
71 Endpoint
72 Chapter 3
The future of UK esports and
where the opportunities lie
73
Investments, inflation
and innovation
76
Is Web3 and the metaverse
the future of esports?
81
Mobile growth
82
Future facilities
84
Conclusion
87
The future of UK esports –
8 drivers for growth
88
The final word: Let’s be mindful of
our potential – and the pitfalls
90
Get in touch

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4 | esports 2023 esports 2022 | 5
We know that esports has enjoyed
periods of growth in recent years and
is an exciting part of the interactive
entertainment sector.

It has captured the interest of both
professional players and casual
viewers across the country. It has
generated excitement and imaginative
activations from brands in the worlds
of games, sport and beyond. It is also
viewed with increasing credibility
by the wider world, with interest in
esports coming from leading press,
influential policy makers and even
teachers looking to engage children
in the classroom.

However, it can be difficult to fully
appreciate the opportunity esports
presents to the UK at large. It has been
difficult to fully quantify the full value it
brings financially and economically.
There have been problems
identifying both opportunities and
challenges within the domestic
esports scene, especially considering
its level of development and
current fragmentation.

And while there is some excitement
about the future of esports, we need to
shape our understanding of the sector
now to be better placed to craft
its development.

In short, the story of the sector in the
UK has not been told in a clear way
that can help investors, politicians,
press and other interested people to
get to grips with the opportunity of
the sector. Mapping out the industry
in an easy to understand way could,
therefore, have a profound positive
impact on the next stage of the
industry’s evolution.
This collection of expert views,
produced with the support of The
Story Mob and YouGov, exists to
correct that. It builds upon the work
we did with Olsberg and Nordicity
in 2019 to measure the economic
contribution of the sector, but also the
size and shape of the audience within
the UK esports scene.

It examines the state of the UK esports
scene, drawing on expertise from
dozens of leading figures from across
the sector to discuss its history, the
state of esports in the UK and the
developing trends that could shape
the sector in the future.

It then closes with a range of
conclusions on how the sector could
be developed further, balancing the
need to develop the next generation
of esports talent with the ambition
of unlocking the full growth potential
of companies operating across the
industry today. We know that the UK
has, historically, been a leader in the
sporting world. Esports is the natural
next step, and evolution, of that and
we hope this collection of expert
views can play an important role in
maximising the opportunities
it provides in the
coming years.

Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO, Ukie
Foreword by Ukie

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6 | esports 2023 esports 2023 | 7
Introduction by
The Story Mob
Founded by two of the esport
industry’s most seasoned
communications experts, The
Story Mob is the world’s largest
international communications
consultancy dedicated to games
culture. As strategic partners we
help our clients, ranging from large
established brands to smaller start-
ups, cut the fluff and create impactful,
authentic outreach to fans of games.
We offer a wide range of services
including communications strategy
development, press communications
planning and management, as well as
editorial comms, executive positioning
and media relations. Headquartered
in LA, we opened an office in the UK in
November 2020 and have since grown
from one to eight communications
experts (16 globally). In the past
year and a half, our growth has been
rapid – a testament to the growing UK
esports ecosystem. As a company
who understands the value of the
esports industry and its fans, we
wanted to partner with Ukie on this
report to further explore and highlight
the recent growth in the UK while also
looking ahead to its future potential.
We’re excited to be sharing these
landmark findings and hope it will
encourage more brands and
investors to the space.
Ukie is the trade body for the UK
games and interactive entertainment
industry. With over 600 members,
we represent games business of all
sizes, from small start-ups to large IP
owners, service companies, charities
and academic institutions, working
across PC, console, mobile, online,
esports and immersive technologies.
As well as supporting our members
by connecting them with one another
and promoting their innovative
games and services, we keep policy
makers informed, ensuring essential
support measures are provided by
government for games companies and
players alike. We support our esports
members through promoting the
opportunities of esports, influencing
policy, insight and research,
networking, and improving access
to talent and growing grassroots
participation. Our members make
up the biggest network of esports
businesses in the UK, including
multinational IP owners, teams,
platforms, hardware providers, event
companies, media outlets, tournament
holders, service providers, grassroots
organisations and student leagues.
About this report
About Ukie
Image courtesy of VSFighting X / Jacob Flannery

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This collection of expert views is designed to educate
and provide insight into the current state of esports in
the UK, plus look at where its future lies, to help industry
make informed decisions and activities in the market. It
will also provide interesting insight for investors, angels,
policymakers, VCs, Government and regional authorities.
While esports has fundamentally
been a community and player-
driven space, it owes a lot to the
owner of the intellectual property
(IP). Without this IP owner creating
the game in the first place, esports
would not exist. The IP owner can
be the creator of the game or the
games publisher, which are often one
and the same. As mentioned, the IP
owner sets the rules for its games’
where needed, ensure rules are being
followed and step in where they’re
not, and will ultimately have the final
say on their own esports ecosystem.
When teaming up with a third-party
tournament operator, they will issue a
licence for the partner to officially run
a tournament using their game and
intellectual property. For example,
ESL has run the Intel Extreme Masters
tournaments in Counter-Strike for
many years now, through its licence
from Counter-Strike developer, Valve.
While tournament operators may
require a licence from a games IP
owner to host an esports tournament,
smaller community-focused
tournaments are typically free
to host, as long as the organiser
follows some basic rules. Larger
competitions with prize pools and
sponsors could mean the tournament
operator may need to pay the
publisher or IP owner a contract
first. Publishers and IP owners can
also strike deals with broadcasters
around a game or tournament. For
example, in 2020 publisher Activision
Blizzard signed a three-year deal with
YouTube for the platform to broadcast
its Overwatch League, Call of Duty
League and Hearthstone
esports products.
Publisher Power
Who is this report for?
Esports is organised competitive
playing of multiplayer video games.
The word ‘esports’ is short for
‘electronic sports’, though this longer
description is very rarely used.
Participants play video games against
one another on PC, console or mobile
(depending on the game) in a bid to
win matches and tournaments. Like
traditional sports, esports is both
competitive and has a spectator
element to it.

In esports, players often compete
for a prize pool, with professional
players also able to earn salaries
and sponsorships. At the amateur
level where prize pools are lower or
don’t exist, players may compete
for bragging rights and the chance
to reach the next tier of esports.
Matches can be watched online on
broadcast platforms such as Twitch
and YouTube, and in person at venues,
where matches can be played ‘offline’

Esports is not the playing of casual
games, for example playing Mario
by yourself. However, there is a
culture crossover, and so many
esports followers may also describe
themselves as players of games.
Speedrunning, a separate competitive
activity outside of esports, involves
trying to complete a single-player
game in the fastest possible time.

There are a variety of recognised
esports games, with some of the most
popular including 5v5 first-person
shooter (FPS) Counter-Strike: Global
Offensive, and multiplayer online
battle arena (MOBA) games like
League of Legends and Dota 2. To
name a few more, there are 1v1 games
like fighting title Street Fighter and
1v1 and 2v2 football game FIFA, plus
Rocket League, a 3v3 football game
with cars zooming around the pitch
instead of footballers. Unlike sports,
esports does not have a governing
body. Instead, the company who owns
all intellectual property rights in the
game, will often set the rules for its
esports title(s).

Some will use third-party
tournament operators to run a
league or competition on their
behalf. And like sports, esports has a
whole ecosystem, including service
agencies, broadcast talent such as
hosts and commentators, as well
as managers, coaches, producers,
content creators, journalists and more.

For further information, view
ISFE’s guide to esports and
Ukie’s esports page .
What is esports?
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Ukie data partner YouGov, with
its panel of approx. 2.7m people
in the UK, provided insights from
its weekly updated cloud platform
Profiles, covering demographic,
psychographic, attitudinal and
behavioural consumer metrics. The
data was exported in July 2022. Some
questions were single-choice, while
others were multiple choice. YouGov
is able to structure esports fans from
several angles, but for the purposes
of this report, YouGov recommended
using esports followers.
By using the terms ‘watch/follow’, or
‘esports follower’, YouGov means that
a respondent either actively reads
about esports on a regular basis,
and/or watches live broadcasts or
highlights of tournaments and events,
whether online or in person. The term
‘player’ is used to describe someone
who spends seven hours or more
playing games per week, regardless
of device, whether it’s PC, mobile,
console or browser-based games.
Nationally representative (nat rep)
figures have also been included, for
comparison’s sake. This data covers
the UK population aged 18+, equalling
approximately 55.4m people in the UK,
thus enabling YouGov to extrapolate
a population estimate for a specific
segment of the population.

The report has been written by
Dominic Sacco, esports consultant
and founder of online publication
Esports News UK, who spoke to
more than 20 key players in the UK
esports industry, to gather expert
commentary and case studies.
Methodology
Many major publishers have offices
in the UK. Riot Games allows Freaks
4U to operate its European Regional
League, the Northern League of
Legends Championship, and Promod
to operate its VALORANT Challengers
Northern Europe Polaris tournament
series (both tournaments are for
teams specifically in the UK, Ireland
and Nordics). Promod has worked
on a number of UK tournaments
in the past, including NSE, ESL
Premiership and Rainbow Six UKIN
broadcasts. BLAST has worked with
Electronic Arts to deliver the FIFA
ePremier League, Gfinity operates
the F1 Esports Series from the UK
and ESL UK has produced a variety
of ESL UK & Ireland Premierships,
including a recent Apex Legends
Premiership with EA. Ubisoft also runs
the UK & Ireland Nationals, Northern
Premier League and more in Rainbow
Six Siege. Game publishers earn
recurring revenues through in-game
transactions and game sales. Esports
provides a valuable ongoing marketing
and promotional vehicle for publishers
and IP owners who have invested
substantial sums in the creation and
release of their games. Publishers
recognise the enormous value and
opportunity presented by esports and
are central to its ongoing success.
Publisher Power (continued)

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12 | esports 2023 esports 2023 | 13
The early chapters of UK esports may
have seemingly been lost to time,
buried beneath the pages of more
recent success stories like world
championships and mammoth esports
prize pools. But there are those who
remember them well – with warm
memories that are sure to still bring a
knowing smile – for esports has some
solid roots in the UK.

The UK has a storied history in
esports, from the first Insomnia LAN
(Local Area Network) party in 1999,
where guests bring their own PCs
to play with friends and teams, to a
competitive arcade scene at venues
like the old London Trocadero. In
the early days, we had a long list
of talented players, from Rams
‘R2K’ Singh to Sujoy Roy, Paul ‘astz’
McGarrity and many others. The UK
was home to old teams like Dignitas
and 4Kings, and saw Birmingham
Salvo win the old Championship
Gaming Series and its $500,000
(~£412,000) top prize – a huge amount
for 2008. In the early 2000s, the UK
played host to events including the
Cyberathlete Professional League
(CPL), the World Cyber Games (WCG)
and more, with some attracting
top global talent like Johnathan
‘Fatal1ty’ Wendel. Over time, through
the golden years of online playing
of games in the 2000s to the rise of
the professional player, team and
tournament organiser in 2010s, as
fandoms have grown, so too has the
appetite for esports competition
and content. Communities rose up,
businesses were born, and an entire
industry flourished. Recognising this
demand, game publishers and IP
owners invested in esports through
tournaments, broadcasts and
prize pools.

Today the UK is home to some of
the biggest esports and games
organisations out there, from Fnatic to
EXCEL, Guild Esports (who famously
have a partnership with David
Beckham) and more. Competitive
video games giants such as Twitch,
Riot Games and FACEIT have offices
in the UK. We also have some of the
best esports journalists and broadcast
talent in the world, from desk hosts to
commentators, analysts, streamers
and content creators. In recent
years, several British pro players
have climbed to the top of their
respective games, such as Fortnite
player Jaden ‘Wolfiez’ Ashman and
Fnatic’s VALORANT personality Jake
‘Boaster’ Howlett.

And yet, while the potential is huge,
esports in the UK (and around the
world) remains at some sort of
impasse. Many teams are struggling to
turn a profit. By its nature, esports is
fragmented – just as football and golf
are completely different sports, so
too are League of Legends and
Counter-Strike.

There also seems to be a lack of
identity in UK esports. Some question
what UK esports actually is, with
several organisations based in the UK
looking further afield to find success.
Some are hunting for that next big
thing, or wondering where the future
opportunities lie (more on that later).
Other territories like the US, China
and South Korea are dominant, with
European countries like Spain and
France also a force in esports. For now,
what does the current state of
UK esports look like?
The story so far
The current UK
esports scene
Chapter 1
Image courtesy of British Esports / Jonas Kontautas

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14 | esports 2023 esports 2023 | 15
Key UK
esports data
Percentage of UK gamers that
are also avid esports followers
While Ukie and others have worked
to provide esports reports in recent
years, such as the value of esports in
the UK (2020)
of data overall, making it difficult for
interested parties to gain deep insight
into the sector. However, new YouGov
data has highlighted the buying, play –
ing and following habits of players and
esports followers in the UK in 2022,
which we’ll reveal at different sections
throughout the report.
Players are those who spend seven
hours or more playing games per
week, regardless of device, and
esports followers are those that
actively reads about or watches
esports on a regular basis. We’ve also
compared these two, side by side,
and added in a comparison with the
general population so you can see the
differences between players, esports
followers and everyone else.
The data shows that in terms of
age, esports followers and gamers
are very similar, though the former
skew slightly younger than the latter,
with 26% of esports followers aged
25-34 years old and 21% of gamers
in the same demographic. 11% of
esports followers in the UK are aged
45-54, compared to 15% of gamers
in the same age bracket. Just 3.78%
of UK video game players say they
regularly watch esports. A YouGov
spokesperson says: “This is one of the
most interesting things I always find
myself analysing, but no one really
picks it up. With the playing of games
being the bigger part of the iceberg
below the water, and esports being the
tip of the iceberg above the water –
how big is this tip?

“The UK data shows the tip of the
iceberg is very small. A small percent
of UK gamers are esports followers.
So it’s not that much more than within
the general population. Yes of course,
playing games is one way to become
an esports fan, but it’s not necessarily
the reason for being an esports
fan. And of course, not all gamers
are automatically esports fans just
because they play.”
than the general games playing
population, with the male to female
split at 83% to 17%, compared to
players’ more diverse 66.5% to
33.5% split.
UK esports fans are young,
male and represent a small
percentage of gamers
32.85% 18-24
26.25% 25-34
17.29% 35-44
11.15% 45-54
12.45% 55+
3.78%
17.28%
Female
82.72%
Male
Age range for
esports followers
Gender for
esports followers

16 | esports 2023 esports 2023 | 17
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Apex Legends
Arena of Valor/Honor of Kings Brawl Stars
Call of Duty
Clash Royale
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) CrossFireDota 2
DragonBall FighterZ Fall GuysFIFA
Fortnite Battle Royale 3.89%
1.57%
4.07%
8.35%
4.68%
5.27%
2.45%
4.14%
0.84%
2.22%
5.68%
3.43%
Forza
Free Fire
Gears of War Halo
Hearthstone Injustice 2
League of Legends
League of Legends: Wild Rift Legends of Runeterra Madden NFL
Magic: The Gathering MARVEL Super War
2.55%
0.47%
1.26%
1.59%
0.88% 1.44%
3.62%
2.71%
2.42%
2.75%
1.46%
1.85%
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
0.81%
Mortal Kombat
NBA 2KNHL
Overwatch
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG)
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG) Mobile Pro Evolution SoccerQuake
Rocket League Shadowverse SMITE
StarCraft 2.40%
1.06%
1.81%
1.56%
2.56%
1.58%
0.27%
0.27%
1.59%
0.61%
Street Fighter
Sudden Attack
Super Smash Bros.
Team Fight Tactics (TFT) Team Fortress 2Tekken
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Siege (R6) VALORANT
World of Tanks
World of Warcraft Other
Don’t know 1.74%
1.06%
2.67%
Not applicable – I do not follow any esports games/franchises 1.37%
2.47%
0.91%
1.96%
2.97% 1.42%
2.07%
1.64%
1.43%
0.96%
1.29%
70.10%
Apex Legends
Arena of Valor/Honor of Kings Brawl Stars
Call of Duty
Clash Royale
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) CrossFireDota 2
DragonBall FighterZ Fall GuysFIFA
Fortnite Battle Royale 3.89%
1.57%
4.07%
8.35%
4.68%
5.27%
2.45%
4.14%
0.84%
2.22%
5.68%
3.43%
Forza
Free Fire
Gears of War Halo
Hearthstone Injustice 2
League of Legends
League of Legends: Wild Rift Legends of Runeterra Madden NFL
Magic: The Gathering MARVEL Super War 2.55%
0.47%
1.26%
1.59%
0.88% 1.44%
3.62%
2.71%
2.42%
2.75%
1.46%
1.85%
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang 0.81% Mortal Kombat
NBA 2KNHL
Overwatch
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG)
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG) Mobile Pro Evolution SoccerQuake
Rocket League Shadowverse SMITE
StarCraft 2.40%
1.06%
1.81%
1.56%
2.56%
1.58%
0.27%
0.27%
1.59%
0.61%
Street Fighter
Sudden Attack
Super Smash Bros.
Team Fight Tactics (TFT) Team Fortress 2Tekken
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Siege (R6) VALORANT
World of Tanks
World of Warcraft Other
Don’t know
1.74%
1.06%
2.67%
Not applicable – I do not follow any esports games/franchises
1.37%
2.47%
0.91%
1.96%
2.97% 1.42%
2.07%
1.64%
1.43%
0.96%
1.29%
70.10%
Given the UK’s history in playing
console games competitively, it’s
perhaps no surprise to see Call of
Duty (CoD) as the most followed game
among esports followers (25%) and
gamers (8.35%) in the UK, followed
by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
(CSGO), which is watched by just
over 23% of esports followers and 5%
of gamers. Other shooters are also
popular in the UK, including Apex
Legends (17.7% of esports followers),
Overwatch (11.45%), VALORANT
(11%) and PLAYERUNKNOWN’S
BATTLEGROUNDS (8.6%). Even 4%
of esports followers in the UK track
classic arena first-person shooter
(FPS) Quake, a nod to competitive
shooters’ roots, combined with the
fact that the UK still has some solid
playing talent in the title today.
FIFA is also popular given the UK’s
football-centric fanbases (with 15.78%
of esports followers following that,
and 5.68% of video game players), as
is football-with-cars franchise Rocket
League, with 14.44% of
esports followers.
The world’s most popular Multiplayer
Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games,
Dota 2 and League of Legends, fare
less well than shooters, with 6% and
17.5% of esports followers watching
both of those esports respectively.

Despite the UK having a passionate
and tight-knit fighting game
community (FGC), titles like Street
Fighter and Tekken are not very well
followed compared to other genres,
with around 4% of esports followers
watching those titles.
Call of Duty and
Counter-Strike on top
Percentage of esports
followers in the UK who watch
Call of Duty, making it the UK’s
most-watched esport
25%
Which esports game
franchises do you watch
or follow? (Mutiple choice)

18 | esports 2023 esports 2023 | 19
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The strengths
of UK esports
Esports has a lot of talent in the UK,
with real potential. We produce some
of the best broadcast talent such as
desk hosts, analysts and casters (aka
commentators). A lot of these, like
Pansy, Machine and Medic, got their
start at homegrown British games
events like Insomnia and Epic.LAN.

“The number of successful UK
exports who have made it to the
world’s biggest stages as hosts or
commentators is something I have
tended to point towards as an example
of a key UK strength specifically in
esports,” says Mitsouko Anderson,
head of partnerships at agency
DotX Talent.
“This has gone from strength to
strength over time, with an increasing
number of new talent thriving as they
expand into international markets and
build global profiles as some of the
leading names in a number of major
esports titles. Whilst the UK’s talent
pool is strong, we are still behind
others in many ways: the number of
professional players who come out
from the UK to compete at the highest
levels is lacking compared to that of
the US or other notable European
esports regions; the size and brand
power of creators is significantly less
so than that of major names in other
countries, particularly the US; and we
don’t have an abundance of top tier
“identifiably UK-focused” teams who
carry the same weight and fan interest
as established powerhouses like G2,
TSM or FaZe. However, I think we’re in
a great place to grow over the next few
years and expect to see these areas
develop further.”
merchandise company Raven.
GG, agrees: “I would suggest that
esports in the UK is still a developing
ecosystem – if you look towards the
US and Asia, these markets are a
few years ahead when it comes to
esports and its adoption. They have
the biggest teams and players, so I do
think there is work to do within the UK
to improve the development of new
talent as well as elevating
existing talent.”

involved with esports, casually or more competitively,
and now the UK has the largest collegiate
esports community in Europe”
Image courtesy of Rocket League / Flickr

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“The UK esports scene has
experienced ebbs and flows of its
reputation internationally,” admits
Heather Dower, founder and CEO
at Hotdrop, “but ultimately it is
one the founding locations for our
modern interpretation of esports,
with international players regularly
travelling to play UK LANs for decades
as a key part of their respective
competitive calendars. Whilst our
endemic UK esports scene has
struggled as of late, we still continue
to export world-class esports talent
be that in broadcast and production,
players and coaches, or in services
such as marketing. UK esports is
also seeing powerful crossover
collaborations into other creative
industries such as music, tech,
traditional sport and events.
These crossovers bring the
opportunity to slowly create more
jobs within the sector across various
industries such as law, games
development, broadcast and more,
contributing a huge amount to
the economy.
” Becky Wright, senior partnerships
manager at university esports body,
NSE, adds: “The biggest strength
we have in the UK is the esports
community and fans here. There’s
a huge appetite for more events to
take place in the UK as we’ve seen
how popular major events have been
in the past. Over the years, we’ve
seen more and more students want
to get involved with esports, casually
or more competitively, and now the
UK has the largest collegiate esports
community in Europe.”
director of separate university
tournament operator, NUEL, says:
“It feels like we’re in the process of
transitioning from cottage industry
to professionalisation – which is
necessary for the industry to grow and
thrive, but comes with challenges and
growing pains too; I think more help
navigating this would be a really great
investment by government or trade
bodies like Ukie.
EXCEL esports Strategic advisor
Wouter Sleijffers comments: “From a
community perspective there’s a lot
of pride and efforts that go into UK
esports, as has always been the case.

“There’s great talent on the
international stage and equally
there are so many initiatives in the
amateur, grassroots and not-for-profit
areas. But let’s not forget about the
personalities, casters, creators and
businesses who are based in the UK.
If you add it all up, a very significant
amount of (competitive) gaming
development has originated from
the UK.”
grassroots scene with many
entrepreneurial types and hard-
working teams, as seen from the
YouGov data which shows plenty of
18 to 34 year olds working in esports,
some of which have organised their
own events.
Highest esports player
earnings by country
1
China
$220,112,580.83
6,422 Players
2
United States
$218,547,757.26
22,880 Players
3
Korea
$124,186,648.63
4,881 Players
4
Russia
$61,892,937.75
4,556 Players
5
Denmark
$48,354,093.92
1,851 Players
7 France $43,014,544.53 5,059 Players
6 Sweden $46,832,667.29 2,918 Players
10 Canada $38,584,595.32 3,486 Players
12 Finland $30,376,000.61 1,904 Players
11 United Kingdom $34,816,434.79 4,239 Players
9 Germany $39,210,095.73 5,437 Players
8 Brazil $41,591,353.67 3,989 Players
2022, esportsearnings.com

esports 2023 | 23
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22 | esports 2023
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2021 Global World Championship: 4m
Global Mid-Season Invitational: 2.19m
South Korean LCK: 681,000
European LEC: 342,000
European Masters: 296,000 (Spring)
Chinese LPL: 121,000
French LFL: 210,000
Spanish Superliga: 205,000
DACH Prime League: 44,000
Polish Ultraliga: 20,500
UK/Nordics NLC: 14,000
Italian PG Nationals: 12,000
Greek GLL: 11,000 (Spring)
Balkan EBL: 4,000 (Spring)
League of Legends peak
viewer numbers by tournament
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After two tough years since the
outbreak of Covid-19, the UK esports
community has welcomed the return
of live events. The Rocket League
Championship Series 2021-22 Spring
Major took place in London’s 7,500-
seat Copperbox Arena from June
29th to July 3rd 2022, packing it out
with its hordes of fans and creating an
electric atmosphere. And two British
players – Joyo and Rise – were on
the winning team with Moist Esports
along with French player Vatira.
Birmingham also played host to the
inaugural Commonwealth Esports
Championships in August 2022,
as well as VSFighting X and bring-
your-own-computer esports event
Insomnia Gaming Festival. University
esports body NSE reported a 69%
growth in team numbers at its British
University Esports Championship,
the finals of which were hosted at
Insomnia. Epic.LAN has also returned
to the UK esports calendar, giving
rising talent a chance to shine on a
smaller esports stage. We have more
cafes and centres nowadays too, from
the likes of Sidequest to Pixel Bar,
Meltdown, Belong and others, many
of which will host their own grassroots
tournaments. In 2023, London’s
Copper Box Arena is hosting several
Apex Legends Global Series events,
as well as the League of Legends
Mid-Season Invitational. And industry
events also returned, with the likes
of ESI London drawing hundreds
of people to Boxpark Wembley for
conferences and networking, and
Tournament trends and
the return of events
the ESIC Global Esports Summit also
taking place at Excel London and the
Esports Venue Summit in Swansea.
Prior to the pandemic, the UK had
been home to Wembley Arena’s sold
out League of Legends 2015 World
Championship Quarter-Finals, and
Arena Birmingham saw a footfall of
more than 24,000 fans for the ESL
One Birmingham Dota 2 event in
2019, while 306,070 tuned in to the
broadcast online. We’ve also hosted
the FACEIT CSGO Major in 2018,
as well as the Clash Royale Crown
Championship finals in 2017, which
saw the London Copperbox stage
transformed into a giant smartphone
screen displaying the mobile game’s
action live. Summer 2022 Seasons Esports Charts
(unless stated otherwise)

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In football, more fans will want to
watch the World Cup and the Premier
League over lower-tier regional
leagues. And the same goes
for esports. Speaking of football, the
ePremier League is another well-
polished tournament series the UK has
to offer, featuring FIFA esports players
representing the 20 Premier League
clubs. Ironically, it was Norwich who
won the virtual tournament in 2022,
despite their physical team being
relegated from the top flight of English
football on the pitch. Robbie Douek,
CEO of ePremier League tournament
organiser BLAST, says: “Leading game
publishers are extending their reach
and presence in the UK. We have been
thrilled to work closely with EA Sports,
who are doing exactly this with their
commitment to the annual
ePremier League. We saw an
incredible uptake in participation for
this tournament with thousands of
players signing up and taking part
in the event, where the final was
then broadcast on mainstream TV
via Sky Sports. “A huge strength of
the UK scene is also the impressive
and vital work British Esports is
doing to support grassroots esports
and accessibility. British Esports is
working hard to create pathways
and awareness of esports, it only
recently supported and played a
key role in Birmingham hosting the
inaugural Commonwealth Esports
Championship. This event saw esports
representation from countries all over
the world – where England, Wales and
Scotland all claimed medals. Hosting
and staging events like this is key to
the long-term success of esports
in the UK.”
Champs for school and college
students aged 12+ in games like
League of Legends, VALORANT,
Rocket League and Overwatch,
and Ukie’s own Digital Schoolhouse
initiative also caters to students aged
12-18, as well as those in junior schools
aged 8-11 with competitions in Super
Smash Bros. Ultimate Team Battle,
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and more.
Going up to the university level, the
UK has the likes of NSE and NUEL
tournament series in multiple games
including higher age rated titles like
Counter-Strike and Rainbow Six
Siege, all providing that path to pro
for young players of games to pursue
through the years. While there are
now thousands of students taking
part in these tournaments, collegiate
bodies have also implemented a
greater focus on diversity in recent
years, recognising a lack of female
playing talent in esports, particularly
at the top, professional level. British
Esports has its Women in Esports
initiatives, with its own Committee,
women-only tournaments, panels
and networking activities, while
NUEL and NSE also have Women
and Non-Binary university esports
tournaments. Other grassroots UK-
based tournament providers have run
women and non-binary tournaments,
like The Goose House’s Birds of Prey,
the FIFA ShEsports Cup and more.
This is reflective of global esports
diversity initiatives, like ESL Impact,
VALORANT Game Changers, the
GirlGamer Esports Festival and the
work of FemaleLegends, Women in
Games International and more.
Collegiate esports
and diversity
“More casual tournaments are happening everywhere, both in
person and of course online and this is bringing gamers together, across
borders and cultures, which can only be a positive thing given the state
of the world right now. This has seen esports being legitimised by
media, policy makers and of course parents and carers.”
Image courtesy of British Esports / Jonas Kontautas

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British Esports chair Andy Payne
OBE comments: “All publishers
have community managers who
work with the esports communities
to encourage, support and sustain
grassroots activity and we only see
this activity increasing year
in year out. More games, more
players, more leagues, more teams
and more communities. More
casual tournaments are happening
everywhere, both in person
and of course online and this is
bringing gamers together, across
borders and cultures, which can only
be a positive thing given the state of
the world right now. This has seen
esports being legitimised by media,
policy makers and of course parents
and carers. I think, overall for UK
esports, progress has been far more
evolutionary than some would like to
see, but steady progress over time
is always preferable to revolutionary
boom and bust.”
9.38%
0.62%
3.53%
2.68%
15.50%
Capcom Pro Tour
2.87%
1.10%
2.36%
1.76%
2.63%
2.35%
4.01%
ESL One
ESL Pro League
ESL Pro Tour StarCraft II European eTour EVO
FIFA Global Series Flashpoint
Formula 1 (F1) Esports Series
Fortnite Summer/Spring /Secret Skirmish Fortnite World Cup
Free Fire World Series Gears Pro League
1.50%
5.85%
3.78%
1.08%
2.45% 1.43%
9.30%
1.54%
7.89%
3.80%
2.98%
1.68%
Halo Championship Series
1.70% 2.68%
Hearthstone Grandmasters
2.40%
Intel Extreme Masters
League of Legends All-Star Event
League of Legends Mid Season Invitational (MSI) League of Legends World Championship Madden Championship SeriesMythic Dungeon International NBA 2K League
NHL Gaming World Championship Olympic Virtual SeriesOverwatch League
PUBG Continental Series 3.55%
4.24%
4.86%
8.37%
0.20%
2.22%
3.11%
1.56%
0.06%
Race to World First
Rainbox Six Siege (R6) Pro League
Rocket League Championship Series Six Invitational
SMITE World Championship Smash World Tour
The International Dota 2 Championships (TI) Twitch Rivals
VALORANT Champions VALORANT Masters
VALORANT First Strike
VALORANT Ignition Series
3.08%
6.48%
0.29%
World of Warcraft Arena World Championship
Other
Don’t know
Not applicable – I have not followed any esports leagues/ competitions/events in the last 12 months
2.16%
1.59%
1.06%
0.34%
0.37% 1.20%
9.64%
3.21%
4.70%
3.29%
3.25%
5.61%
7.55%
3.55%
36.12%
PUBG Mobile Global Championship
3.71%
What tournaments
do UK fans watch?
Percentage of esports followers in the
UK who watch the League of Legends
European Championship (LEC)
11.56%
Collegiate clout
and diversity
MSI 2023 Image courtesy of British Esports / Jonas Kontautas

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Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLOL)Copenhagen Games
eChampions League eDivisie
eLigue 1
eSerie A TIM
ESL Meisterschaft FACEIT
Gamers Assembly Gamescom
La Liga Esports / eLaLiga La Ligue Francais (LFL) 5.31%
3.71%
3.19%
4.54%
5.04%
ePremier League (ePL)
2.03%
1.24%
2.07%
5.11%
1.00%
1.41%
4.01%
League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK)
League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) League of Legends Continental League (LCL)
League of Legends European Championship (LEC) League of Legends European Masters
League of Legends Japan League (LJL)
3.89%
1.27%
5.41%
13.24%
3.39% 11.56%
4.76%
League of Legends Pacific Championship Series (SEA) League of Legends Prime League
League of Legends Pro League (LPL)
League of Legends Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) Liga Latinoamérica (LLA)
Russian Esports Championship Russian Major League (R6)
Turkish Championship League (TCL) Virtual Bundesliga
World Electronic Sports Games 2.28%
2.06%
7.55%
1.69%
1.44%
PUBG Mobile Club Open
1.05%
0.66%
1.03%
1.29%
2.00%
3.65%
eAllsvenskan
eSuperligaen
Nordic Masters
Wild Rift Origin Series Other
Don’t know
NA – I have not followed any esports leagues
0.45%
3.41%
0.51%
19.50%
0.71%
11.22%
41.25%
League of Legends Oceanic Pro League (OPL)
1.69%
What other tournaments
do UK fans watch ?
The UK’s strong heritage in traditional
sports has seen many athletes
and clubs branch into esports.
Initiatives like the ePremier League
and Commonwealth Esports
Championships, and notable English
football clubs like Manchester City,
West Ham and Wolves have made
real inroads into esports. The latter
partnered with North American games
giants Evil Geniuses in 2021.
Unlike other sports clubs, Wolves
haven’t just stuck to virtual sports
games like FIFA – they have teams
around the world in more endemic
esports titles like Rocket League
and Rainbow Six Siege.
London-headquartered Fnatic have
previously teamed up with football
club AS Roma. British sporting
personalities like David Beckham
(Guild Esports co-owner) and Lando
Norris (Quadrant founder) have
embraced esports, bringing their
millions of fans into the world of games
through their team organisations.
And global stars have partnered
with UK and Ireland-based esports
organisations, such as Usain Bolt
with Ireland’s Wylde and Virgil
van Dijk with Tundra Esports.
Sports crossover
“Esports crossing over with sports has both advantages and
disadvantages. When the esport directly ties to the sport, then it is
clear that the core media product will always be the sport as opposed
to the esport, and it is important that the gaming and esports strategy
reflects that reality. This provides a huge marketing machine to
piggyback on with gaming and esports initiatives.”
Percentage of esports followers
in the UK that also watch football
47%

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YouGov data shows that UK esports
followers are big watchers of football
(47%), motorsport (37%), boxing (27%)
and tennis (25%), while dedicated
players who don’t watch esports
are also much less likely to watch
traditional sports. 33% of gamers
watch football, 14% watch motorsport,
15% watch boxing and 13% watch
tennis. These differences are also
reflected in the genre of video games
which UK people like to play. Shooters
and sports games are among esports
followers’ most played genres (55%
and 49% of esports followers say
they play those titles respectively),
compared to 29% of video game fans
who play shooters and 22% who play
sports titles.
Esports is sedentary, but some games
have tried to add physical elements
to them. The International Olympic
Committee has experimented with
‘virtual sports’ like baseball, cycling,
rowing and sailing.

Augmented Reality (AR) game HADO,
which sees teams target each other
with attacks only visible to players and
live feed spectators, partnered with
the ESL UK Premiership tournament
in 2022 and had matches take
place at Insomnia Gaming Festival
in Birmingham. Esports in the UK is
not recognised as a sport, and the
discourse has moved on from whether
it is or not, to how esports is its own
legitimate activity in its own right
and how sports wants a slice of
it, regardless.

Kieran Holmes-Darby, EXCEL Esports
co-founder and now Formula E
gaming director, says of this ongoing
convergence: “Esports crossing over
with sports has both advantages
and disadvantages. When the esport
directly ties to the sport, then it is
clear that the core media product will
always be the sport as opposed to the
esport, and it is important that the
gaming and esports strategy reflects
that reality. This provides a huge
marketing machine to piggyback on
with gaming and esports initiatives.”
7.24%
16.75%
18.56%
4.84%
5.75%
Baseball
6.36%
15.21%
6.35%
27.60%
3.16%
3.20%
20.45%
Cycling
Dancing
Extreme Sports (i.e. Skateboarding, Snowboarding, BMX) Field Hockey
Figure Skating Fishing
Football (i.e. La Liga, English Premier League, Bundesliga) Golf
Gymnastics Handball
Horse Racing
7.25%
16.57%
10.24%
17.50% 3.97%
7.10%
9.55%
46.79%
16.39%
14.20%
4.00%
Horse Riding (i.e. Equestrian)
10.07% 6.89%
Action / Adventure
Driving / Fighting / Shooting Fighting
Massively Multiplayer Online
Music, Singing, Dance and Rhythm Games
Platformer Racing RPG
Sports
Strategy Shooter
Casual Games / Traditional Board Games 59.26%
47.89%
38.37%
29.68%
20.16%
Party
35.45%
44.19%
42.60%
46.19%
48.97%
37.17%
54.93%
Browser
Social network
Other
Not applicable
– I don’t play console or computer games
36.09%
25.25%
17.65%
14.99%
14.98%
Which sports do game
players and esports followers
watch in the UK?
Which of the following types of games do you
personally play on a console or computer?

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Esports’ handling of the pandemic
illustrates the industry’s resilience
and ability to adapt. Esports was
one of the only sporting broadcasts
that managed to continue through
the pandemic, with tournaments
going online-only, or, in the case of
broadcasts like the League of Legends
LEC, going ahead in the studio, with
pro players of games playing remotely.
The pandemic also changed our
playing and viewing habits, with
YouGov data illustrating the behaviour
of gamers and esports followers in the
UK. A joint report by IDC and Esports
Charts found that hours watched
on streaming platform Twitch rose
99% from 867m hours in December
2019 to 1.7bn in May 2020, around the
height of the pandemic. UK consumers
spent £45.6m through donations and
subscriptions on platforms like Twitch,
making up for a notable decline in
physical event revenues.
Esports has naturally evolved over the
years. The UK scene is undoubtedly
more professional than it was a
handful of years ago, with more
tournaments and more investment
coming in over time. Where the 2016
Ukie whitepaper looked at what
esports is, why it matters and where
it may go in the future, in 2020, we
set out esports principles along with
various other games bodies around
safety and wellbeing, integrity,
respect, diversity and more. This
is a trend reflected by tournament
organisers and teams in the UK and
around the world.
Persevering through
the pandemic
2.13% 30 minutes or less
1.84% More than 30 minutes, but less than 1 hour
7.95% More than 1 hour, but less than 7 hours
26.04% More than 7 hours, but less than 14 hours
12.99% More than 14 hours, but less than 21 hours
5.56% More than 21 hours, but less than 28 hours
0.71% More than 28 hours, but less than 35 hours
10.77% Don’t know
18.92% Not applicable – I do not play video games
13.10% Don’t know
In a typical week, how much time, if at all,
do you spend playing video games that
require an occasional or full-time
connection to the internet?
21.19% Hardcore Gamer –
I take video games seriously, or play competitively
36.35% Core/Mid-Core Gamer –
Video games are one of my top interests, but I don’t take them too seriously
26.27% Casual Gamer –
I like video games, but they
aren’tone of my top interests
11.70% Non-Gamer –
I am not interested in video games
0.00% Other
4.48% Don’t know
24.82% Solo offline
6.47% Multiplayer offline
8.74% Solo online (i.e., play an online game, but not specifically with anyone)
39.63% Multiplayer online (i.e., play an online game with friends or a particular group)
0.00% Other
4.80% I do not have a preferred way of playing video games
0.92% Don’t know
14.62% Not applicable – I do not play video games
What is your preferred way of
playing video games?
Which, if any, of the following
categories best describes you?
Percentage of esports followers in the UK that
spend between 7 and 14 hours a week playing
video games that require an internet connection
26%

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Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3)
Sony Playstation 4 (PS4)/ PS4 Slim Sony Playstation 4 (PS4 Pro)
Sony PlayStation Vita (PS Vita)/ PS Vita TV Microsoft Xbox 360
Microsoft Xbox One S
Microsoft Xbox One X Nintendo SwitchNintendo Wii
Nintendo Wii U
Nintendo 2DS/ 2DS XL
Nintendo 3DS/ 3DS XL 10.45%
30.33%
16.76%
7.11%
13.58%
Microsoft Xbox One
15.42%
7.91%
10.81%
24.91%
19.58%
6.90%
5.71%
Nintendo Classic Mini: SNES
An older video game console or handheld not listed here Virtual reality headset
(e.g. Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, Samsung Gear VR etc.)
A Windows-based desktop/ laptop
An Apple desktop/ laptop
Smartphone or mobile device capable of playing videogames
(e.g., Android phone, iPhone, Windows phone, iPod Touch, etc.)
An Apple iPad
A Tablet or e-Reader (non-iPad) capable of playing video games (e.g., Samsung Galaxy, Kindle Fire, etc.)
Other
None of these
Don’t know
13.09%
4.17%
17.12%
13.57%
52.73% 10.39%
50.44%
20.52%
17.15%
6.47%
5.59%
0.72%
With more and more young
people getting involved in esports,
safeguarding has come to the fore,
with more teams like Fnatic publishing
safeguarding policies, as well as
placing a greater emphasis on player,
fan and staff wellbeing.
Overall, the pandemic also demon –
strated the strength and unity of the
esports community, with many coming
together to raise millions of pounds
for charities during lockdown through
online game competitions, streams
and other special online events.
Which, if any, of the following
devices are used by you or
anyone else in your household
to play games on?
“The pandemic gave more prominence to the ‘bedroom streamers’ to
become larger personalities than the competitive gaming pros. Hence,
I believe now it’s again a great time for the pro, and the fandom that’s
created with the wins and losses. To show off skills when so much is at
stake, when surrounded by friends and foes in a live studio or stadium,
is simply of anot