Esports may be ready for ESPN, but ESPN viewers don't seem to be ready for esports.
On Sunday night, the sports network aired a collegiate-level Heroes of the Storm tournament finals. The game is a MOBA developed by Blizzard, the company behind Diablo, Hearthstone and World of Warcraft, and it's currently in open beta.
It was a huge moment for video game and esports fans, as it was the first time esports were broadcast on the main ESPN networks (ESPN2, specifically.) But for those tuning in for regular sports content, seeing video games was a little confusing.
@espn how is playing video games considered a sport? You need to get back to your roots and show real sports.
— Mark Chevremont (@mchev_18) April 27, 2015
ESPN is showing video games so playing 2k15 for days straight in your underwear is now legit
— Desus Nice (@desusnice) April 27, 2015
A lot of people even assumed it was World of Warcraft, Blizzard's super-popular massively multiplayer title, being played.
WHY IS ARIZONA STATE PLAYING UC BERKELEY IN WHAT LOOKS LIKE WORLD OF WARCRAFT ON ESPN 2
— Boone Moody (@boone_moody) April 27, 2015
And I thought poker on ESPN was a stretch...now they are showing guys playing World of Warcraft or whatever this game is...what is going on?
— James Wallace (@james_wallace5) April 27, 2015
Competing MOBAs League of Legends and Dota 2 are the dominant players in the pro gaming space; the former has 80 million active players. The latter's last worldwide tournament had a prize pool of more than $10 million raised by fans. Heroes of the Storm is Activision Blizzard's attempt to break into a very popular genre. The televised event coincided with the announcement the free-to-play Heroes of the Storm would enter full release on June 2.
Sunday's tournament was the grand finale for "Heroes of the Dorm," a collegiate-level tournament which pitted school-sponsored teams against each other. The final matchup was between UC Berkeley's Golden Bears against Arizona State University's Dream Team. The Golden Bears pulled it out at the end of the five-game matchup, winning three games to two.
"Heroes of the Dorm" took 64 college teams down to a final four, which played out last weekend. The five members of the Golden Bears each win a scholarship of $25,000 per year for their remaining years of undergrad or graduate school.
Mashable reached out to Blizzard and ESPN for viewership numbers following the tournament, and will update this story as they are reported. But numbers from Twitter show the trend was getting attention.
ESPN 2 is now the #1 trend in the United Sates because of esports and all the snark that comes with it. What a night. pic.twitter.com/jpgPg3rf7A
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) April 27, 2015
Heroes of the Dorm - I have never been so proud. Go Pac12, no truck stops here. Just reporting the facts
— Bill Walton (@BillWalton) April 27, 2015