With all four major American sports leagues currently on hiatus due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, esports is poised to break into mainstream in a way that it has never been able to before.
With the NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL all currently inactive, virtual sports tournaments now stand alone in a vacant market, and organizations are taking advantage as dealmaking heats up and marquee broadcast networks welcome live competitive content. "While bringing the community together to experience the sport live is very important to us, being a digital-first sport has allowed us to quickly adapt and move to online-only competition," a spokesperson for Riot Games tells The Hollywood Reporter.