eSports

eSports Tracker

Esports (competitive video gaming) has been pretty big in South Korea for a while. The industry was worth $1.2 billion in Korea alone last year. They have multiple cable TV channels dedicated to watching other people play video games, and talented players often make six figure salaries. Esports is also starting to grow in both the US and Europe thanks to game developers like Riot, Valve, and Blizzard investing their own money into big tournaments like the League Championship Series, The International, and the World Championship Series. Combined with these official venues, tournaments like GSL, DreamHack, WCG, and other various events award millions of dollars every year to the best teams and players.

As an avid eSports fan, I found myself struggling to keep up with the multitude of tournaments across various games. This challenge inspired me to conceptualize eSports Tracker, a webapp designed to streamline the spectator experience in the booming world of competitive gaming. eSports Tracker aimed to be a one-stop hub for all things eSports. The key features I envisioned included:

  • Centralized Information: Aggregating tournament data from all games into one clean, simple interface.
  • Personalized Dashboard: Allowing users to follow their favorite games, tournaments, teams, or players for a customized feed.
  • At-a-Glance Updates: Providing quick views of the week’s most important events on the main page.
  • Big Picture Statistics: Tracking industry trends like prize pools, tournament frequency, and regional data.
  • Spotlight on Smaller Games: Discovering exciting events for niche titles that might otherwise fly under the radar.

The goal was to create a platform where users could instantly see what was happening in the eSports world, from major league playoffs to up-and-coming indie game tournaments.

While developing the concept, I grappled with challenges like API integration and user interface design. The project was born from a passion for gaming and a desire to enhance the spectator experience. Although eSports Tracker never fully materialized, the concept reflected the growing need for better tools in the rapidly evolving eSports landscape of that time.