HOW ESPORTS IS UNLOCKING THE NEXT LEVEL OF LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
Major venue operators and Mayor of London ready for next phase of growth in competitive gaming, writes Dom Sacco after moderating a panel at SXSW London
E
sports is a complex area of gaming. While watching some of the world’s best gamers compete for millions of pounds on the biggest of stages is exciting, it’s not been without its challenges
over the years. The goldrush era in the 2010s - where investors poured money into
teams and didn’t always see the return on investment they expected - is over. We’ve been through the ‘esports winter’, a period of consolidation, and a new frontier of stabilisation and growth is now upon us. Team Liquid, one of the world’s leading esports organisations,
secured $35m in funding a few years ago. In 2025, the Esports Global Fund announced it was investing $50m
to support a range of gaming companies. And, most significantly, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund bought major esports operators ESL and Faceit Group in a $1.5bn deal a few years ago. Its Esports Foundation is now running the Esports World Cup, a multi- title tournament with a $75m prize pool that moved from Saudi to Paris this year, with a reported $300m invested into the running of the event. Post-covid, it was a delight for esports fans to have physical
events back, and these are now ramping up thick and fast. In the UK there’s everything from smaller grassroots community events like the UKEL finals at London’s Red Bull Gaming Sphere to larger LAN tournaments like
Epic.LAN in Kettering, and major World Championship finals, like League of Legends Worlds at the O2 and, more recently, the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Masters London at the Copperbox Arena. Speaking at a SXSW London panel, Gael Caselli, Senior VP
of Sport for AEG International (which owns and operates major venues including The O2), said: “I think what was once considered niche online competitions has evolved into a mainstream live entertainment property, and we’ve been seeing that firsthand at AEG, whether it’s venue operation, promotion and ticketing. “Our multi-purpose state-of-the-art venues provide the ideal
platform to scale top tier esports events and that community-driven festivals and partner activations that are built around them. So you’re not talking about niche products anymore, you’re talking about events that cities and governments are competing for to be able to host them. You’re talking about events that are selling out instantly, attracting fans from across the world and generating millions of
26 | MCV/DEVELOP July/August 2026
views. In my opinion, these major esports now rival traditional sports in terms of the scale, production values, energy, community passion and economic impact. “So the appetite is huge from us as a venue operator, but also from
the publishers as well, to just put these massive immersive events together across the globe.” Mitsouko Anderson, CEO and founder of Yume Talent (which
represents esports stars such as Rekkles, Sjokz and Caedrel), added: “I think there’s been a shift with the community outside of esports, being more accepting of esports and it not being, ‘Oh my God, why are you watching other people play video games?’ “I don’t think we have to fight for that legitimacy anymore. We’re
seeing the value of connecting in person with other people at esports events. But how do we then translate that into something that can be brought in as a benefit for esports as a whole, and can be really attractive to brands, to investors, to cities?” While the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, has spoken
highly of esports and events in Paris, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is also making a drive for more esports events in the UK capital. He has set out an ambition for London to be at the heart of global esports, with a separate push for free gaming as part of a £30m investment in youth clubs. A new report also found that esports is predicted to grow from
$2bn to nearly $10bn by 2033. It is one of the fastest-growing forms of entertainment globally and reaches an audience of more than 640m people worldwide. Sadiq Khan said: “Esports is experiencing phenomenal growth across
the globe and I am determined for London to be at the heart of this success. We have already hosted one of the biggest and most popular esports events in the world, but I want us to be leading the way by hosting major events regularly and developing the talent of the future.”
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