Cal State Long Beach: Grassroots Growth of an Esports Giant

At its heart, esports is about teamwork, both on and off the playing field. Whether its a tense teamfight over the Kraken on Halcyon Fold or a tie-breaking round on Inferno, there are people outside of the game that help support and fund these competitions. Collegiate StarLeague is one of them, as are the universities and colleges nationwide who help students pursue their esports dreams. However, it’s also the little guys who play a big role as well: The people who help run local esports clubs and schedule local tournaments, those who help scrape together money for prize-pools and for charity, the workers who represent the backbone of the esports scene — it is these good men and women that allow esports be what it is today, and continue to grow as one of the world’s biggest growing industries.