How can CS:GO grow?

Over the past two years we have seen Counter Strike: Global Offensive grow dramatically.  Specifically, at Katowice 2014 there were 124,000 viewers, and over 1 million viewers at Katowice 2015.  Recently ESL and ESEA have partnered together to host a $1 million CS:GO tournament.  Although CS:GO is clearly growing, how can we make it even bigger?

            The biggest way to boost the number of CS:GO gamers and viewers is to penetrate the Asian-Pacific region.  There is such a large gaming culture in Asian countries, so why don’t we see any Asian teams at the higher levels of Counter Strike?  ESEA recently created an Asian-Pacific tournament with a prize pool of $2,000, but does not compare to Dota 2 prize pools in the region.  In Asia, gaming is a viable career choice with gaming houses and an extremely large audience.  With only a $2,000 prize pool, how can anyone feel motivated to play Counter Strike when you can make so much more money in other games?  In order to get Counter Strike in to the next level of gaming communities and money, it must appeal to the Asian market.  With this new market there will be new sponsors, leagues, teams, strategies, and stronger, larger, community.

            Another way CS:GO can become a larger Esport is by appealing to universities as a scholarship worthy, strategic, competitive game.  Robert Morris University in Michigan gives scholarships for Dota 2, LoL, and Hearthstone, and the University of Pikeville in Kentucky awards scholarships for LoL, Dota 2, and StarCraft II.  If more schools started provided Esports there would be a larger competitions between schools, and more people would view gaming as a real career option.  If CS:GO were included in the array of games played for scholarships, we would see more NA teams playing at a much higher level than before, and more players as well.

            Finally, a way to boost CS:GO’s popularity is to have events televised.  Many people don’t know what Esports is and have never watched a real game or tournament.  Even people who play the games have never seen a tournament.  If CS:GO was shown on television, more people would be aware if its existence and would become interested in the game.  There are four majors a year in Counter Strike, why can’t a small or minor sports channel show it?  It creates sponsors, advertising opportunities, and new audiences.  Some people may argue that Esports do not belong on ESPN or other sports channels.  To that I tell them of the time I introduced one of my matchmaking friends to the world of competitive CS:GO.  It was the final map between LDLC and NiP and he said, “this is funner to watch than hockey.”  That coming from a Canadian tells me that CS:GO can stand a chance on real sports channels.

            While CS:GO has grown significantly over the past year in both viewers, players, and prize pools, there is still alot of potential growth for the game’s popularity.  There are untapped markets that can truly make the game explode in relevance and popularity, along with prize pools and sponsors.  If CS:GO can be incorporated into Esports scholarships there will be a more competitive scene in NA and become a viable career path for many players.  Lastly, if Esports were broadcast on television, the scene would grow tremendously, encouraging current players to watch as well as people who did not know Esports was even a thing.  Hopefully over the next year one of these ideas might come to fruition, in the mean time we can watch the game grow.

Reviews

[Ahmiltoorly]

This game has been growing every year since its inception, and this is already more than twenty years, I have been playing it for more than ten years, and recently I have learned how to make money using various top-end betting platforms, it really brings money,