A brief history of how sponsors evolved esports
With the series tied and the match in a constant deadlock, fans were on the edge of their seats at San Francisco’s Chase Center as DRX pushed for the title in the 2022 League of Legends World Championship Final. Riot confirmed Worlds 2022 Finals were hosted at Chase Center.
Home to the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, Chase Center has seen its share of historic moments—but this spectacle wasn’t a traditional sports matchup. It was esports: a category that has evolved from small-room competitions into arena-scale events with broadcast production, sponsorship ecosystems, and global fan bases.
What is esports? Esports (electronic sports) is organized competitive video gaming—played in leagues and tournaments, online or in-person, with structured rules, officiating, and spectators
Where it all began
Dating back more than 50 years, the 1972 Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics—often cited as the first recorded video game tournament—was held at Stanford University. The contest was organized in connection with a Rolling Stone piece and was won by graduate student Bruce Baumgart, with a one-year Rolling Stone subscription as the prize.
As technology developed over the years, games became more accessible. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, home consoles helped competitive gaming move from isolated lab environments into living rooms. Atari’s Space Invaders Championship in 1980 is widely cited as an early large-scale tournament, with participation commonly reported in the five-figure range.
Around the same time, arcades became a cultural hub: local score-chasing and small tournaments created community identity, rivalries, and early “spectator energy.” As coverage expanded, competitive gaming became easier for brands and media to notice.Direct Answer:When did esports start? A widely cited starting point is the 1972 Spacewar tournament at Stanford, often described as the first documented video game competition.
The influential 90s and beyond
The 1990s were a major inflection point. More powerful PCs, LAN culture, and foundational titles (such as Doom, Quake, Counter-Strike, StarCraft, and GoldenEye 007) helped formalize competitive formats. Leagues and conventions emerged, tournaments moved into expo halls, and publishers began supporting events more directly.
Nintendo’s 1990 World Championships is one of the most frequently referenced early examples of a nationwide competitive tour (and a signal that major consumer brands understood the marketing value of competitive play).
By the 2000s, broadband and streaming-era distribution changed everything: the audience didn’t have to be in the room. Competitive gaming could finally scale globally.
Sponsors helped turn esports into an event business
Once organizers could reliably reach large audiences, sponsorship became a growth engine. Hardware and accessory brands naturally fit early on, followed by food and beverage, media platforms, and mainstream consumer brands.
From the 2000s onward, tournament ecosystems increasingly combined:
- Publisher support (rights, formats, competitive rules, broadcast access)
- Brand sponsorships (cash, equipment, activation, and media buys)
- Streaming distribution (Twitch/YouTube and later multi-platform models)
- Venue production (lights, staging, audio, and fan experience)
Why do sponsors matter in esports? Sponsors fund production, prize pools, travel, and broadcast packaging—and they help events scale from small community competitions into reliable, repeatable tournament properties.
What this means for sports event planners
Esports has matured into a venue-and-operations business. If you’re evaluating esports as a tournament product (or adding it as a track within a broader event weekend), planning success typically depends on:
- Connectivity: dedicated bandwidth, redundancy, and low-latency network design
- Power + staging: clean power, cable management, safe stage load-in/out
- Back-of-house space: player warm-up/practice rooms, secure equipment storage
- Show flow: match timing, broadcast cues, sponsor reads, intermissions
- Spectator experience: sightlines, audio, screen placement, concessions, crowd control
- Governance: ruleset clarity, competitive integrity, anti-cheat policies, and dispute handling
Esports competitions are now held in major arenas with intricate lighting, displays, and broadcast production. Streaming and live attendance have expanded esports’ reach, and sponsor investment continues to shape what the biggest events can become.
By Aviraj Gokool
Main photo: Sold out stage for the 2022 League of Legends Championship at Oracle Arena in Oakland. Photo courtesy of Riot Games.
