If you were to ask anyone ten years ago if they expected something like this, they'd more than likely laugh in your face. Perhaps a larger majority, if random people were asked, wouldn't have even heard of eSports at all. In some places, it's still the same story! But now, "watching the game with dad" just got a lot more interesting.

Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) has recently aired their first live television eSports event, under the branding of "ELEAGUE." It is a biannual ten-week Counter-Strike league that pits 24 teams in a head-to-head battle for glory, and their share of $1.4 million. The teams compete in groups over LAN inside a massive 1000x1000ft stage in Atlanta, Georgia; the home of Turner. The beginning stages of each group are streamed live on Twitch, and the finals are aired every Friday at primetime on TBS. The first of six group finals, a best-of-three between Luminosity Gaming and Cloud9, garnered 509,000 viewers.

Now that you've got the basics, let's talk. It's obvious that eSports has seen a dramatic spike in popularity over the past few years. Even in the past year the scene has seen major improvements, such as prize pools increasing and viewer counts skyrocketing. The most recent Major at MLG Columbus received the highest amount of viewers on Twitch of any CS:GO tournament to date, with 1.6 million in attendance online. It's obvious that eSports is massive; to suggest otherwise would be a falsity. But even with this information, enacting a large risk to put CS:GO on television is something no one saw coming. eSports has had its chance with television before; CGS was an earlier attempt during the Counter-Strike: Source days, and it failed disastrously. What's changed? Why take the risk now? The answer to that is highly debated. Some would say that the world has changed; people want fast entertainment in ways that can be easily consumed, and television is the natural step-up from online streaming.

Richard Lewis, Jason "moses" O'Toole, and Mohamad "mOE" Assad sitting at the analysts' desk during ELEAGUE's Twitch debut last week. Photo courtesy of Turner Sports

eSports fans have no problem with Turner's attempts with ELEAGUE; everyone understands the risks being taken, and most look forward to seeing their favorite teams on the small screen for the first time. Even ESPN is starting to climb aboard the eSports hype train. The real obstacle, however, is adapting the eSports world as we know it for the mainstream audience. The minds at TBS have gone about this process the same way they would in any other sport; analyst desks, advertising, branding, and excellent production all come together to create something akin to what the everyman would see on any other sports channel. Suggestions and opinions were also taken from the most influential and experienced members of the eSports community. They've even brought in Shaquille o'Neal, basketball legend and co-owner of NRG, to create a fun video about the game itself. Highlights, lowlights, debates, and statistics are all shown in beautifully crafted charts and tables for the analysts to pick apart and decide who the outstanding players and teams are before each week's matchups. It's typical sports television, and it works. Turner's attempts at modernizing and perfecting the atmosphere have outshone previous efforts, taking the good from successful tournaments and leaving the bad from failed ventures.

Perhaps the most impressive detail from Turner's endeavoures is the outright confidence and drive for improvement. It's needless to say that a multi-billion dollar company is taking on a large risk. Their goal is to literally invent a demographic; to attempt something that's never been attempted before on live television. They want to turn people into fans of something they've never even heard of, to put video games next to things like hockey and basketball in a serious environment. And the best part is, it's working. On the first night it aired, its hashtag on Twitter became trending nationally. Large media news outlets began releasing articles talking about how revolutionary this new project is. Despite how most people have never even heard of eSports, it reached enough viewers in its first day to put the entire televised sport of hockey in America to shame. We've got video games in sports bars across the country and it's giving a fresh new take into the world that so many are still oblivious to.

The only problem with all of this is consistency. At the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding, and in this case it's ratings and numbers. Turner is a company, first and foremost. Without positive numbers, the league will not continue, and no one can blame them for making the decision that could make or break eSports on television. Despite the thousands watching, if more cannot be brought in or if numbers drop, the analysts at Turner won't have a choice. The question isn't in ELEAGUE itself; it's that if this fails, who would want to try it again? Why would a company try to start something new in a market that's failed twice in the last decade? Some might argue that television doesn't need eSports, and that eSports doesn't need television. This is up for debate, but it's for certain that gathering followers to a growing trend that affects so many is crucial to the survival of the scene. If that means taking a massive leap of faith, that's what it'll have to come down to.

Everything has a beginning, and this is where eSports will have its own genuine birth to television. TBS has a lot on its plate, and only time will tell if Counter-Strike on TV was ever a good idea to begin with. With word spreading and numbers growing, however, the future looks bright for diehard fans and newcomers alike. ELEAGUE airs group finals on TBS every Friday at 9PM Central.

See Team Dignitas compete on ELEAGUE against FaZe Clan, Team Solo-Mid and Fnatic on the week of June 13th. All pictures courtesy of Turner Sports.

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