What else are Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and other top drivers going to do?

With the decline of the major broadcast networks, the balkanization of the cable channel landscape, and the growing legions of cord-cutting consumers, many brands are finding it increasingly difficult to reach their target markets -- in particular, the elusive 18-to-34 consumer. It is little wonder, then, that many organizations are exploring gaming as a channel for advertising and sponsorship.

YouTube's media-rights deal with Activision Blizzard Esports is valued at around $160M USD over three years, according to people briefed

Touchdown.

Activision Blizzard is dealing with a fan revolt and intense public scrutiny after punishing Blitzchung — a Hong Kong-based esports competitor who voiced support for Hong Kong's protesters during a Blizzard-run event on October 5. Blitzchung, whose real name is Chung Ng Wai, is a grandmaster-level player in "Hearthstone," Blizzard's very popular digital card game.

From the meteoric growth of Twitch and mega moves in esports, to the ease of on-the-go gaming with Nintendo Switch and rise of cloud gaming subscriptions, the video game industry has many reasons to show off their success.

You wouldn’t find your usual television programs while channel surfing in South Korea because you might stumble upon Starcraft gaming leagues airing live on national TV.

Riot Games' League Championship Series is an esports phenomenon. But do its contracts treat players fairly?

Back in 2011, Jonathan Belke was a professional gamer. He had modest success with strategy game StarCraft 2, culminating in a 1,000 euro prize at the ESL Pro Series in his native Germany. But while many of Belke's fellow pros struggled for cash, he found a lucrative side career: betting on matches. In February of 2014, he said on Reddit he made five figures in euros, exponentially more than his tournament winnings — though he didn't bet on his own matches.

Top video game players in South Korea are household names. Millions of people tune in to watch game competitions on television. The largest Internet portal, Naver, has its own section covering the results.

Last month, surrounded by around 45,000 fans in a Seoul stadium built for the World Cup, Samsung White put the final dagger into Star Horn Royal Club's dreams, claiming a championship live on ESPN 3.

Yesterday, ESPN 2 aired a live broadcast of a video game. A bunch of people on the Internet did not like what they saw. That alone is not news. A similar thing happened last year when the channel promoted the championship of a different video game, DOTA 2, which — like the game that was broadcast this weekend, Heroes of the Storm — is near-unwatchable unless you’ve played it, or games like it. For most channel-surfing viewers, it’s an easy invitation to yell, “Nerds!” and then keep clicking.

Although the main event of ESL One Frankfurt kicks of Saturday, June 20 a very important Seeding Bracket will take place at the ESL One studios two days prior the LAN stage will start. 

A convenient combination of tools wants to take the guesswork out of esports fandom.

Look around the eSports world lately, and it's clear that Venture Capital (VC) money has made its way into the picture.

It’s the same as every other startup.

Vulcun, AlphaDraft, and Unikrn give eSports fans the chance to play fantasy leagues and place bets on big eSports events.

Nathan Lindberg is the Vice President of Sales for Curse, a Huntsville-based company specializing in add-ons and other video game services. The company credits Nathan for growing Curse's direct sales team from four to 25 people in three years. Curse is active in eSports, and Lindberg discusses how eSports should look at past sports media successes to allow future growth.

Kim Phan shares the secrets of the studio's success with the competitive gaming community

Evil Geniuses are sometimes described as the New York Yankees of eSports, a backhanded sort of compliment that both grants that EG consistently field one of the strongest, most star-studded lineups around, but also that they owe their reputation to their deep pockets.