Page 48 - Forbes Magazine-September 30, 2018

Technology ESPORTS

advertisers to look at social media and stream- competitions will be structured or even broadcast.
ing to help make decisions about where to spend. But TSM and Dinh are used to leaps of faith. Gaming
TSM and its players have 60 million followers From a working-class family of nine in Camp- Changers
across various social networks. Forbes estimates bell, California, Dinh was a perennial C student If you want to build anoth-
that TSM had revenue of $21 million for 2017, on in high school but found his calling aft er discov- er New England Patriots or
the high end for an esports company. ering the fl edgling League of Legends in 2008, Dallas Cowboys in esports,
who better to do it than
Despite all this success, Dinh admits TSM when he was 16. Playing under the name Regi-
the actual owners of those
could better take advantage of new opportunities nald, he soon became the top-ranked player in teams? Esport leagues are
in the rapidly evolving market. Th e next big op- the world and started his own team in 2009. He beginning to franchise,
and old-school brands like
portunity may be the 2017 video game Fortnite, and his brother Dan decided to create communi-
Dinh’s TSM are getting
a billion-dollar sensation that 125 million play ty websites and author guides for the game. Long bought up or pushed
around the world, including celebrities such as before ESPN and Amazon thought to broadcast out by deep-pocketed
Drake and Chance the Rapper as well as pro gam- League of Legends competitions, Dinh was host- moguls. Here are three of
the billionaire sports titans
ers who stream their matches online to tens of ing and streaming them.
who already own esports
thousands of viewers every day. Soon aft er, Dinh dropped out of college and teams.
Fortnite is like a mix of Th e Hunger Games, borrowed $5,000 from his mother to invest in
Minecraft and Lord of the Flies: 100 players drop his vision. His gaming-guide site, solomid.net—
down on an island and battle it out until only one named aft er his position in League of Legends—
player or team is left standing. attracted millions of visitors, which meant Dinh
was pocketing around $60,000 a Stan Kroenke
month. In 2013, Dinh retired as a play- NET WORTH: $8.3 BILLION
HOW TO PLAY IT BY JOHN DOBOSZ SPORTS FRANCHISES:
er at 21 to focus on his business, which Los Angeles Rams,
Denver Nuggets,
Founded in 1979, Activision Blizzard originally sold still includes gaming sites. Colorado Avalanche,
games on cartridges for the Atari 2600. Today it’s Five years later, he remains hungry, Colorado Rapids, Arsenal
ESPORTS TEAM: L.A. Gladiators
the name behind blockbuster franchises like Call taking aggressive new steps in the in-
of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch and Candy GAME: Overwatch
dustry he helped pioneer. In July he re- BIG SCORE: His L.A. stadium
Crush. Revenue has grown 17.9% a year for the past and entertainment district will
ceived $37 million in Series A funding
decade, and it’s expected to grow 4.7% to $7.49 bil- host Overwatch matches.
from a group of investors that includ-
lion this year. Wall Street looks for earnings to surge 15.3% to $2.63
ed the A-list venture capital fi rm Bes-
per share. It’s no yield gusher, but since 2010 Activision has paid
annual dividends, and the payout has grown 127% over the past semer Ventures Partners, the Hall of
eight years to $0.34 per share last March. The average price target Fame NFL quarterback Steve Young
among analysts for Activision is $80. and the three-time NBA champion Robert Kraft
John Dobosz is editor of Forbes Dividend Investor and Forbes Steph Curry. “It only made sense to go NET WORTH: $6.2 BILLION
SPORTS FRANCHISES: New
Premium Income Report. with the best of the best,” says Curry, England Patriots, New
who plans to use his cachet to help England Revolution
ESPORTS TEAM:
TSM reach even more young men. Boston Uprising
One superstar gamer, 19-year-old Ali “Myth” With the new capital, Dinh plans to double GAME: Overwatch
BIG SCORE: First undefeated
Kabbani, was signed by TSM early this year as the staff to 100 and use up to $15 million to build a team in an Overwatch stage.
team’s Fortnite stud. Th e signing soon led to a $1.5 25,000-square-foot training facility and operational
million investment by TSM: Th e team now leases headquarters in Los Angeles next year. Th e new
a 4,300-square-foot house for its roster of four to headquarters will generate revenue through spon-
live, practice and stream for hours a day. Th e sev- sorships and fan events and serve as a base where
en-fi gure bet is already paying off . Kabbani has be- players can train, infl uencers can create content and Jerry Jones
come the second-biggest star on Twitch, with 4.1 TSM can develop as a household name for a new NET WORTH: $5.6 BILLION
SPORTS FRANCHISE:
million followers, driving new fans to the TSM generation—and much of this is well under way. Dallas Cowboys
brand. Th at ever-growing audience helped bring At TSM’s Fortnite game house, Myth Kabbani ESPORTS TEAM:
Complexity Gaming
about a new sponsorship from Chipotle, which recalls watching TSM play when he was in middle GAMES: Counter-Strike:
sees TSM as a means to intersect with pop culture. school and realizing esports was a realistic career Global Off ensive, Dota 2,
Call of Duty
Th ough it’s undeniably a blockbuster game, goal. When the organization reached out to talk BIG SCORE: Opening
a training facility at
there are still questions about Fortnite’s potential about a partnership, he says, his heart started to Dallas Cowboys’ World
as an esport. And while the game’s creator, Epic beat out of his chest: “Joining TSM is less like join- Headquarters.
Games, is off ering $100 million for prize pools ing an organization and more like fi ghting crime GETTY IMAGES
across a year of tournaments, it’s unclear how these with your favorite superhero.”
FINAL THOUGHT
“Man is a gaming animal. He must always be trying to get the better in something or other.” —CHARLES LAMB

50 | FORBES SEPTEMBER 30, 2018