This white paper, brought to you by Newzoo and B2B networking event Esports BAR, aims to help brands understand the European ecosystem, its diversity, and the implications of culture on esports preferences. The report also features an in-depth look at four of the most vibrant local esports ecosystems: Sweden, Poland, Spain, and Germany.

1. FEATURING AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT
FOUR OF EUROPE’S MOST VIBRANT
ESPORTS ECOSYSTEMS
ESPORTS IN EUROPE
DECEMBER 2017
AN OVERVIEW OF
THIS REPORT IS BROUGHT
TO YOU BY ESPORTS BAR
SWEDEN POLAND SPAIN GERMANY

2. 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

3. Esports is entering a new phase toward becoming a mature
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
for almost one-third of all global esports revenues and is host to
more than 70 million esports viewers.
FOREWORD
A NEW PHASE FOR ESPORTS COMMENCES
3
Jurre Pannekeet
Senior Market Analyst
ESPORTS ENTERING A CRUCIAL PHASE TOWARDS MATURITY
© copyright Newzoo 2017

4. FACTS ON GAMING AND ESPORTS IN EUROPE
GAME REVENUES, ESPORTS AUDIENCE, AND MEDIA RIGHTS REVENUE GROWTH
4
EUROPEAN CONSUMERS
WILL GENERATE
$22BN
IN GAME SOFTWARE
REVENUES IN 2017
MEDIA RIGHTS
REVENUES WILL GROW
+500%
FROM 2016 TO 2020 IN
EUROPE ALONE
THE ESPORTS
AUDIENCE WILL TOTAL
77M
ACROSS ALL OF
EUROPE THIS YEAR
© copyright Newzoo 2017

5. KEY FACTS ON EUROPE
AND CHOOSING THE FOUR KEY COUNTRIES
NORTHERN EUROPE
EASTERN EUROPE
WESTERN EUROPE
SOUTHERN EUROPE
ONLINE POPULATION
98.7M
ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS
8.4M
Europe is a very different region
from other large markets such as
North America or China, as it
represents more countries and
cultures than these two regions. It
is important to understand the
implications of culture on favorite
games, teams, and players if you
want to engage with the European
esports fan. This report gives you
an overview of the current
European esports market, its local
favorites, biggest events, and
sponsors involved.
This report features four of the
most vibrant local esports
ecosystems, for a large part
because of their long history in
esports that is directly related to a
strong PC gaming community.
SWEDEN
POLANDSPAIN
GERMANY
3.4M
ESPORTS FANS
2,317
PRO PLAYERS
0.5M
ESPORTS FANS
1,836
PRO PLAYERS
4.1M
ESPORTS FANS
687
PRO PLAYERS
2.8M
ESPORTS FANS
1,086
PRO PLAYERS
FOCUS COUNTRIES
WITH A VIBRANT LOCAL ESPORTS ECOSYSTEM
AND LONG-TERM LEGACY IN ESPORTS
ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS
13.1M
ONLINE POPULATION
240.5M
ONLINE POPULATION
232.3M
ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS
10.9M
ONLINE POPULATION
30.6M
ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS
1.6M
5 © copyright Newzoo 2017

6. IN 2017, EUROPE
ACCOUNTS FOR
32%
OF THE GLOBAL ESPORTS
ECONOMY REVENUES

7. 25.2
MILLION
36.5
MILLION
30.7
MILLION
34.4
MILLION
42.5
MILLION
45.0
MILLION
60.3
MILLION
31.6
MILLION
YoY
+14.4%
YoY
+18.4%
CAGR
2015-2020
+13.1%
2015 2017 20202016
©2017 Newzoo
Europe will
account for
20%
of the global
esports audience
in 2017
OCCASIONAL VIEWERS
ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS
TOTAL
AUDIENCE
TOTAL
AUDIENCE
TOTAL
AUDIENCE
EUROPEAN ESPORTS AUDIENCE
EUROPE | FOR 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 | Q3 2017
7 © copyright Newzoo 2017
©Newzoo | 2017 Global Esports Market Report

8. TOTAL REVENUES
(MEDIA RIGHTS, ADVERTISING, SPONSORSHIP,
MERCHANDISE & TICKETS, GAME PUBLISHER FEES)
$165
MILLION
$100
MILLION
2015 2017 20202016
$403
MILLION
$209
MILLION
©2017 Newzoo
$65
MILLION
$108
MILLION
$146
MILLION
$319
MILLION
BRAND INVESTMENT REVENUES
(MEDIA RIGHTS, ADVERTISING, SPONSORSHIP)
YoY
+27.3%
YoY
+65.1%
CAGR
2015-2020
+32.3%
©Newzoo | 2017 Global Esports Market Report
TOTAL
REVENUES
TOTAL
REVENUES
TOTAL
REVENUES
Europe
will generate
$209M
in 2017, or 32% of global
esports revenues
$660M
2017
32%
36%
27%
5%
EU NAM ASIA REST OF WORLD
EUROPEAN ESPORTS ECONOMY
EUROPE | FOR 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 | Q3 2017
8 © copyright Newzoo 2017

9. 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.
9 © copyright Newzoo 2017

10. OF THE NEW MAJOR
ESPORTS SPONSORS,
69%
WERE NON-ENDEMIC
BRANDS

11. NON-ENDEMIC BRANDS DRIVE GROWTH
11
NEW NON-ENDEMIC SPONSORSHIPS IN 2017 | EUROPE AND GLOBAL
EUROPEAN BETTING COMPANIES
EUROPE REST OF WORLD
© copyright Newzoo 2017

12. LOCAL TIES DRIVE FAN ENGAGEMENT
12
POPULAR LOCAL TEAMS PER COUNTRY | MAIN SPONSOR PER TEAM
MAIN SPONSOR 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.
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.
MAIN SPONSOR
Founded in 1997, SK Gaming
is one of the oldest esports
organization to date, still
competing at the highest level
worldwide.
Ninjas in Pyjamas, or NiP, is
Sweden’s favorite team. Its
teams mostly consist of
Swedish players, including its
popular CS:GO team.
SWEDEN POLAND SPAIN GERMANY
© copyright Newzoo 2017

13. EUROPE AMONG THE BEST IN THE WORLD
TOP 10 TEAMS OR PLAYERS | CS:GO, LOL, AND HEARTHSTONE | NOVEMBER 30TH 2017
1 SK GAMING EUROPE
2 FAZE CLAN EUROPE
3 CLOUD 9
NORTH
AMERICA
4 ATRALIS EUROPE
5 NIP EUROPE
6 NORTH EUROPE
7 FNATIC EUROPE
8 MOUSESPORTS EUROPE
9 OPTIC GAMING
NORTH
AMERICA
10 G2 ESPORTS EUROPE
TEAM REGIONRANK
1
SAMSUNG
GALAXY
SOUTH
KOREA
2 SKT
SOUTH
KOREA
3 RNG CHINA
4 TEAM WE CHINA
5 LONGZHU
SOUTH
KOREA
6 EDG CHINA
7 INVICTUS CHINA
8 CLOUD 9
NORTH
AMERICA
9 G2 ESPORTS EUROPE
10 LYON GAMING
LATIN
AMERICA
TEAMRANK
1 MUZZY
NORTH
AMERICA
2 PAVEL EUROPE
3 STANCIFKA EUROPE
4 ORANGE EUROPE
5 HOEJ EUROPE
6 DOG
NORTH
AMERICA
7 ZALAE
NORTH
AMERICA
8 DRJIKININKI
NORTH
AMERICA
9 RDU EUROPE
10 THIJSNL EUROPE
PLAYERRANKREGION REGION
13 © copyright Newzoo 2017

14. THE IMPACT OF LOCAL HEROES
14
LOCAL FAN-FAVORITE PLAYERS’ SOCIAL MEDIA POPULARITY | PRIZE MONEY EARNED AND PRO PLAYERS
Rekkles Mithy KuroKy
378K 397K
Pasha
273K 833K 101K 5K 197K 69K
1,836
Country earnings and Pro-players according to Esportsearnings.com
$22.3M
FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS
PRIZE MONEY
2017 YTD EARNED BY
SWEDISH PRO PLAYERS
REGISTERED PRO
PLAYERS
GAME GAME GAME GAME
1,086$6.7M
PRIZE MONEY
2017 YTD EARNED BY
POLISH PRO PLAYERS
REGISTERED PRO
PLAYERS
689$2.2M
PRIZE MONEY
2017 YTD EARNED BY
SPANISH PRO PLAYERS
REGISTERED PRO
PLAYERS
2,317$13.0M
PRIZE MONEY
2017 YTD EARNED BY
GERMAN PRO PLAYERS
REGISTERED PRO
PLAYERS
TEAM TEAM TEAM TEAM
FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS
SWEDEN POLAND SPAIN GERMANY
© copyright Newzoo 2017

15. OF ALL EUROPEAN LOL,
CS:GO, OR DOTA2 ESPORTS
VIEWERS,
26%
DO NOT PLAY ANY OF
THESE GAMES THEMSELVES

16. BIGGEST EVENTS IN EUROPE
16
TOP 10 EVENTS HELD IN EUROPE BY HOURS WATCHED ON TWITCH | 2017
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
2017 ESL One Cologne ESL CS:GO 11.2M 15,000 $250K
2017 PGL Major Krakow PGL CS:GO 10.0M 34,500 $1,000K
2017 DreamHack Masters Malmo Dreamhack CS:GO 8.6M 13,000 $250K
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
EVENT ORGANIZER MAIN GAME
HOURS
WATCHED ATTENDEES
PRIZE
MONEY
CS:GO is the most
represented main
game in Europe’s
biggest events
TOTAL 384,000 $7,500K128M
© copyright Newzoo 2017

17. BIGGEST EVENTS BY COUNTRY IN 2017
17
BY VIEWERSHIP | FEATURING A KEY SPONSOR AND VIEWING/ATTENDANCE NUMBERS
KEY SPONSOR
2.3M 26K 14.5M 173K 3.0M 40K 11.2M 15K
KEY SPONSOR KEY SPONSOR KEY SPONSOR
VIEWING HOURS ATTENDEES VIEWING HOURS ATTENDEES VIEWING HOURS ATTENDEES VIEWING HOURS ATTENDEES
Dreamhack Winter 2017 IEM Katowice 2017 Dreamhack Valencia 2017 ESL One Cologne 2017
SWEDEN POLAND SPAIN GERMANY
© copyright Newzoo 2017

18. IN-DEPTH CONSUMER PROFILING
TO MATCH YOUR TARGET GROUP AND OPPORTUNITIES IN ESPORTS
www.newzoo.com
“Ultimately, we were able to quantify,
per country, the number of Esports
Enthusiasts who currently do not use
our product yet and could potentially
be reached through our envisaged
esports sponsorship.”
QUANTIFY
POTENTIAL REACH
“Understanding the demographic
profile and complete media behavior
of the community around the major
esports franchise allowed us to
define our own target audience and
spend our sponsorship money most
effectively.”
SUBSCRIBE
WYBE SCHUTTE
VP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
WYBE@NEWZOO.COM
PER COUNTRY
$5000/YR
CLICK HERE TO: GET A QUOTE >>
Newzoo’s esports consumer insights allows you to profile your audience on 200+ variables,
including demographics, media behavior, esports participation and viewership, favorite
franchises, spending habits, and brand attitude. Find a factsheet with the full topic list here.
28 COUNTRIES
UNITED STATES
UNITED
KINGDOM
SPAIN
BRAZIL
GERMANY FRANCE NETHERLANDS BELGIUM SOUTH KOREA INDONESIA
CANADA SINGAPORE MEXCIO RUSSIA CHINA AUSTRALIA
ITALY SWEDEN TURKEY POLAND JAPAN ARGENTINA
MALAYSIA PHILIPPINES VIETNAM THAILAND TAIWAN INDIA
FOCUS
MARKETING SPEND
CONTACT
200+ VARIABLES
12-MONTHS ACCESS
TO OUR CONSUMER
INSIGHTS
DASHBOARD
INCLUDES:
DEDICATED EXPERT
ANALYST SUPPORT
CROSSTABS & GRAPHS EXPORTABLE TO:
DIRECT ACCESS & SUPPORT
18 © copyright Newzoo 2017

19. THIS REPORT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
Esports BAR is the world’s most efficient and meaningful B2B event bringing together top-level management people and opinion
leaders from around the world. After two editions (Cannes, 15-17 February 2017 & Miami 18-20 September 2017), Esports BAR
scheduled its third expanded edition in Cannes 12-14 February 2018.
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Contact Esports BAR at:
BARtender@reedmidem.com
Visit Esports BAR at:
www.the-esports-bar.com
19© copyright Newzoo 2017