THIS REPORT IS BROUGHT

TO YOU BY ESPORTS BAR

AN OVERVIEW OF

ESPORTS IN EUROPE
FEATURING AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT
FOUR OF EUROPE’S MOST VIBRANT
ESPORTS ECOSYSTEMS
SWEDEN POLAND SPAIN GERMANY

DECEMBER 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Foreword 3
2. Key Facts About Europe 4
3. European Market Trends 6
4. Local Impact 10
5. Biggest Events 15
6. Using Consumer Insights 18
FOREWORD
A NEW PHASE FOR ESPORTS COMMENCES

Esports is entering a new phase toward becoming a mature ESPORTS ENTERING A CRUCIAL PHASE TOWARDS MATURITY
market. The coming two years will be crucial in how fast it
grows into a multi-billion-dollar business. The key determining
factors are the success of local leagues and the franchising
approach, the implementation of regulations, the arrival of new
game formats and competition, the uptake of content rights
sales, team profitability, and the impact of industry convergence
involving traditional media, entertainment, telecom, and sports
companies. Depending on how these factors play out in the
coming year or two, esports’ growth could accelerate and reach
$2.4 billion in 2020 in an optimistic scenario, almost $1 billion
higher than the base scenario of $1.5 billion.

Europe has been one of the most important regions in the

development of the esports industry. Some of the first
organizations that made esports popular, especially in the West,
originate from Europe. Most notable is ESL, arguably the world’s
largest esports organization, which has its roots in Germany. The
company has helped build and shape esports from small
community events to record-breaking events, including the Intel
Extreme Masters in Katowice and ESL One in Cologne. And even
now, Europe is a key region for the esports industry. It accounts Jurre Pannekeet
for almost one-third of all global esports revenues and is host to Senior Market Analyst
more than 70 million esports viewers.

3 © copyright Newzoo 2017

FACTS ON GAMING AND ESPORTS IN EUROPE
GAME REVENUES, ESPORTS AUDIENCE, AND MEDIA RIGHTS REVENUE GROWTH

EUROPEAN CONSUMERS THE ESPORTS MEDIA RIGHTS

WILL GENERATE AUDIENCE WILL TOTAL REVENUES WILL GROW

$22BN 77M +500%

IN GAME SOFTWARE ACROSS ALL OF FROM 2016 TO 2020 IN
REVENUES IN 2017 EUROPE THIS YEAR EUROPE ALONE

4 © copyright Newzoo 2017

KEY FACTS ON EUROPE
AND CHOOSING THE FOUR KEY COUNTRIES

FOCUS COUNTRIES
WITH A VIBRANT LOCAL ESPORTS ECOSYSTEM
AND LONG-TERM LEGACY IN ESPORTS
Europe is a very different region
from other large markets such as WESTERN EUROPE NORTHERN EUROPE
North America or China, as it GERMANY SWEDEN
ONLINE POPULATION ONLINE POPULATION
represents more countries and 240.5M 30.6M
cultures than these two regions. It
is important to understand the
ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS
implications of culture on favorite 13.1M 1.6M

games, teams, and players if you 3.4M 0.5M

ESPORTS FANS ESPORTS FANS
want to engage with the European
esports fan. This report gives you 2,317 1,836
an overview of the current PRO PLAYERS PRO PLAYERS

European esports market, its local

favorites, biggest events, and
sponsors involved.
SOUTHERN EUROPE EASTERN EUROPE
SPAIN POLAND
This report features four of the
ONLINE POPULATION ONLINE POPULATION
most vibrant local esports 98.7M 232.3M

ecosystems, for a large part

because of their long history in ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS
8.4M 10.9M
esports that is directly related to a
strong PC gaming community.
4.1M 2.8M
ESPORTS FANS ESPORTS FANS

687 1,086
PRO PLAYERS PRO PLAYERS
 IN 2017, EUROPE
ACCOUNTS FOR

32%
OF THE GLOBAL ESPORTS
ECONOMY REVENUES
EUROPEAN ESPORTS AUDIENCE
EUROPE | FOR 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 | Q3 2017

OCCASIONAL VIEWERS TOTAL

AUDIENCE
ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS
+13.1%
CAGR
2015-2020

TOTAL
AUDIENCE
Europe will
TOTAL
+14.4% 60.3 account for
AUDIENCE

20%
MILLION

+18.4% YoY
YoY
42.5
MILLION
36.5 45.0 of the global
31.6 MILLION
MILLION esports audience
MILLION
34.4 in 2017
30.7 MILLION
25.2 MILLION
MILLION

©2017 Newzoo

2015 2016 2017 2020

©Newzoo | 2017 Global Esports Market Report

EUROPEAN ESPORTS ECONOMY
EUROPE | FOR 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 | Q3 2017 Europe
TOTAL
REVENUES will generate
+32.3%
TOTAL REVENUES
(MEDIA RIGHTS, ADVERTISING, SPONSORSHIP,
MERCHANDISE & TICKETS, GAME PUBLISHER FEES)
CAGR
2015-2020
$209M
BRAND INVESTMENT REVENUES $403 in 2017, or 32% of global
MILLION
esports revenues
(MEDIA RIGHTS, ADVERTISING, SPONSORSHIP)

TOTAL
$319
REVENUES MILLION
5%
TOTAL +27.3%
REVENUES
YoY
+65.1% 32%
27%
YoY $209
MILLION
$660M
$165 $146 2017
MILLION
MILLION
$100
MILLION $108
MILLION

$65 ©2017 Newzoo

36%
MILLION

2015 2016 2017 2020

EU NAM ASIA REST OF WORLD
©Newzoo | 2017 Global Esports Market Report
SPORTS TEAMS EMBRACING ESPORTS
EUROPEAN SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS ENTERING ESPORTS WITH PLAYERS AND TEAMS

INVOLVED TEAMS
The involvement of sports clubs and personalities, leagues, and
agencies will significantly accelerate the development of the
global esports industry and help local esports scenes grow.
Traditional sports clubs and leagues bring with them an
established local fan base, along with a well-known and
respected brand. By leveraging this, they can ensure their
esports initiatives are instantly perceived as top-level
competitions. Agencies bring their vast experience in sports
marketing to the space, telling stories around the teams and
players that suit their client base of sponsor brands.

Furthermore, the inclusion of well-known sports teams gives a

boost to the awareness and acceptance of esports as a
legitimate form of mainstream entertainment. It will also give a
boost to esports activities around sports games such as Madden
and FIFA, as a significant share of esports initiatives are built
around these franchises.
 OF THE NEW MAJOR
ESPORTS SPONSORS,

69%
WERE NON-ENDEMIC
BRANDS

10 © copyright Newzoo 2017

NON-ENDEMIC BRANDS DRIVE GROWTH
NEW NON-ENDEMIC SPONSORSHIPS IN 2017 | EUROPE AND GLOBAL

EUROPE REST OF WORLD

EUROPEAN BETTING COMPANIES

11 © copyright Newzoo 2017

LOCAL TIES DRIVE FAN ENGAGEMENT
POPULAR LOCAL TEAMS PER COUNTRY | MAIN SPONSOR PER TEAM
SWEDEN
MAIN SPONSOR
Ninjas in Pyjamas, or NiP, is
Sweden’s favorite team. Its
teams mostly consist of
Swedish players, including its
popular CS:GO team.
12 © copyright Newzoo 2017
POLAND
MAIN SPONSOR
Polish organization Virtus Pro is
the longest standing 5-man roster
in CS:GO to date, called the
‘’Golden Five’’. Its players have a
very large following in Poland.
SPAIN
MAIN SPONSOR
G2 Esports is the only team to
operate both the LCS and the
LVP. Through its founder Carlos
‘Ocelote’ Rodriguez, it has deep
Spanish roots.
GERMANY
MAIN SPONSOR
Founded in 1997, SK Gaming
is one of the oldest esports
organization to date, still
competing at the highest level
worldwide.
EUROPE AMONG THE BEST IN THE WORLD
TOP 10 TEAMS OR PLAYERS | CS:GO, LOL, AND HEARTHSTONE | NOVEMBER 30TH 2017

RANK TEAM REGION RANK TEAM REGION RANK PLAYER REGION

SAMSUNG SOUTH NORTH

1 SK GAMING EUROPE 1 1 MUZZY
GALAXY KOREA AMERICA
SOUTH
2 FAZE CLAN EUROPE 2 SKT 2 PAVEL EUROPE
KOREA
NORTH
3 CLOUD 9 3 RNG CHINA 3 STANCIFKA EUROPE
AMERICA

4 ATRALIS EUROPE 4 TEAM WE CHINA 4 ORANGE EUROPE

SOUTH
5 NIP EUROPE 5 LONGZHU 5 HOEJ EUROPE
KOREA
NORTH
6 NORTH EUROPE 6 EDG CHINA 6 DOG
AMERICA
NORTH
7 FNATIC EUROPE 7 INVICTUS CHINA 7 ZALAE
AMERICA
NORTH NORTH
8 MOUSESPORTS EUROPE 8 CLOUD 9 8 DRJIKININKI
AMERICA AMERICA

NORTH
9 OPTIC GAMING 9 G2 ESPORTS EUROPE 9 RDU EUROPE
AMERICA

LATIN
10 G2 ESPORTS EUROPE 10 LYON GAMING 10 THIJSNL EUROPE
AMERICA

© copyright Newzoo 2017 | Rankings from gosugamers.net

THE IMPACT OF LOCAL HEROES
LOCAL FAN-FAVORITE PLAYERS’ SOCIAL MEDIA POPULARITY | PRIZE MONEY EARNED AND PRO PLAYERS

SWEDEN POLAND SPAIN GERMANY

$22.3M 1,836 $6.7M 1,086 $2.2M 689 $13.0M 2,317

PRIZE MONEY REGISTERED PRO PRIZE MONEY REGISTERED PRO PRIZE MONEY REGISTERED PRO PRIZE MONEY REGISTERED PRO
2017 YTD EARNED BY PLAYERS 2017 YTD EARNED BY PLAYERS 2017 YTD EARNED BY PLAYERS 2017 YTD EARNED BY PLAYERS
SWEDISH PRO PLAYERS POLISH PRO PLAYERS SPANISH PRO PLAYERS GERMAN PRO PLAYERS

GAME TEAM GAME TEAM GAME TEAM GAME TEAM

Rekkles Pasha Mithy KuroKy

378K 397K 273K 833K 101K 5K 197K 69K

FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS

14 © copyright Newzoo 2017 Country earnings and Pro-players according to Esportsearnings.com

 OF ALL EUROPEAN LOL,
CS:GO, OR DOTA2 ESPORTS
VIEWERS,

26%
DO NOT PLAY ANY OF
THESE GAMES THEMSELVES

15 © copyright Newzoo 2017

BIGGEST EVENTS IN EUROPE
TOP 10 EVENTS HELD IN EUROPE BY HOURS WATCHED ON TWITCH | 2017

HOURS PRIZE
EVENT ORGANIZER MAIN GAME WATCHED ATTENDEES MONEY

2017 Kiev Major PGL Dota 2 23.3M 14,800 $3,000K

SL i League StarSeries Season 3 SLTV, ImbaTV CS:GO 18.9M 3,700 $300K

IEM Season XI – Katowice ESL CS:GO 14.5M 173,000 $760K

2017 EU LCS* Riot Games LoL 25.0M 91,800 $339K

CS:GO is the most

2017 ESL One Cologne ESL CS:GO 11.2M 15,000 $250K
represented main
2017 PGL Major Krakow PGL CS:GO 10.0M 34,500 $1,000K
game in Europe’s

2017 DreamHack Masters Malmo Dreamhack CS:GO 8.6M 13,000 $250K biggest events

Epicenter 2017 Epic Esport Event CS:GO 7.4M 7,000 $500K

ESL One Hamburg ESL Dota 2 4.8M 20,000 $1,000K

Dota Pit League Season 5 Dota Pit Dota 2 4.4M 11,000 $140K

TOTAL 128M 384,000 $7,500K

16 © copyright Newzoo 2017 | * Both spring and summer split

BIGGEST EVENTS BY COUNTRY IN 2017
BY VIEWERSHIP | FEATURING A KEY SPONSOR AND VIEWING/ATTENDANCE NUMBERS

SWEDEN POLAND SPAIN GERMANY

Dreamhack Winter 2017 IEM Katowice 2017 Dreamhack Valencia 2017 ESL One Cologne 2017

KEY SPONSOR KEY SPONSOR KEY SPONSOR KEY SPONSOR

2.3M 26K 14.5M 173K 3.0M 40K 11.2M 15K

VIEWING HOURS ATTENDEES VIEWING HOURS ATTENDEES VIEWING HOURS ATTENDEES VIEWING HOURS ATTENDEES

17 © copyright Newzoo 2017

 IN-DEPTH CONSUMER PROFILING
TO MATCH YOUR TARGET GROUP AND OPPORTUNITIES IN ESPORTS

200+ VARIABLES
Newzoo’s esports consumer insights allows you to profile your audience on 200+ variables,
QUANTIFY
including demographics, media behavior, esports participation and viewership, favorite
POTENTIAL REACH
franchises, spending habits, and brand attitude. Find a factsheet with the full topic list here.
“Ultimately, we were able to quantify,
per country, the number of Esports
28 COUNTRIES DIRECT ACCESS & SUPPORT Enthusiasts who currently do not use
our product yet and could potentially
be reached through our envisaged
12-MONTHS ACCESS esports sponsorship.”
TO OUR CONSUMER
UNITED STATES CANADA SINGAPORE MEXCIO RUSSIA CHINA AUSTRALIA INSIGHTS
DASHBOARD

UNITED GERMANY FRANCE NETHERLANDS BELGIUM SOUTH KOREA INDONESIA INCLUDES:

KINGDOM DEDICATED EXPERT
ANALYST SUPPORT

SPAIN ITALY SWEDEN TURKEY POLAND JAPAN ARGENTINA CROSSTABS & GRAPHS EXPORTABLE TO:

SUBSCRIBE FOCUS
MARKETING SPEND
BRAZIL MALAYSIA PHILIPPINES VIETNAM THAILAND TAIWAN INDIA

PER COUNTRY

$5000/YR
“Understanding the demographic
profile and complete media behavior
of the community around the major
CLICK HERE TO: GET A QUOTE >>
esports franchise allowed us to
CONTACT define our own target audience and
spend our sponsorship money most
effectively.”
WYBE SCHUTTE
VP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
WYBE@NEWZOO.COM
www.newzoo.com

18 © copyright Newzoo 2017

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