By Joe Favorito @JoeFav @TheDailyPayoff
A few weeks ago E-Sports veteran turned commentator Rod “Slasher” Bresleau was asked at a New York Sports Venture event what the next wave of fantasy sports will be.
The answer might have surprised a few audience members.
“Why not e-sports fantasy,” he said “These guys are engaging, have millions of followers, produce great content and are highly highly competitive. It is a natural fit just like any sport or series of athletes would be for the fantasy world,” he offered.
Then came the laughs.
Bresleau, one of the e-sports’ loudest voices, was dead serious though, and this past week some serious money came along to back up his prophesy.
Vulcun, a tournament site for fantasy e-sports, announced it raised $12 million in venture capital from Sequoia Capital and other investors, a sure sign that the watching of e-sports is getting as big as the playing of games like “World of Warcraft.”
The premise for Vulcun and its $1 Million prize pool is the same as any traditional fantasy sports platform, A fan assembles a team of his favorite e-sports players from games like WOW or League of Legends and puts real dollars against them during live competition.
Founder Ali Moiz told Venture Beat that the investment amazingly came along after running the game platform for 11 weeks, enough time to prove concept, gain followers and most importantly, snag big dollars.
“We had no idea that in just 11 weeks we’d be receiving such an investment. I am deeply humbled and grateful to the community for making this possible and for making Vulcun the No. 1 place where they choose to play fantasy e-sports games,” he said.
The story also said that about 858,000 teams have been created, with 6.7 million player picks. Vulcun has paid out $760,000 in prizes, and its top winners include Baldr, who won $32,000; yjingtong, who won $27,000; and RealAZMan, who won $18,000, according to Moiz.
Sequoia partner and Vulcun board member Omar Hamoui, added in a published statement, “We really believe in the long-term potential of e-sports and fantasy leagues. Vulcun allows fans to really participate in the thrill of competitive gaming at the highest levels, without the need to go pro. Vulcun founders Ali and Murti have a strong background in running a successful e-sports team and passionately believe in what they do.”
The issues with pay e-sports fantasy are much different than what is going on with the professional leagues in the United States, where ESPN and MLB recently invested in Draft Kings and a host of companies like the NBA and Comcast have anted up for Fan Duel.
Bresleau pointed out that each game in e-sports is like its own sport, so gaining knowledge enough to put dollars down on players needs a hyper local and affluent audience. He also pointed out that game fixing is becoming a bigger issue as e-sports grows professionally, with as many as 18 players being banned in the past six months for taking money to throw games in a highly unregulated marketplace.
Still the audience, at least 120 million online viewers in North America alone, is growing and companies are noticing, making e-sports pay fantasy an intriguing option for investors looking for a new “in” in what is becoming a fast moving and potentially profitable pay fantasy business down the road.
Football and baseball take note, the millennials may have a pay fantasy option of their own.