# After A Historic Summer, What is Next For Esports?

Published 2019-09-25 · Updated 2026-07-23 · Sports & Entertainment on MarketScale
Canonical: https://www.marketscale.com/industries/sports-entertainment/contributor-esports-business

> Competitive gaming has become a multimillion-dollar industry for players and executives alike, and in such a burgeoning field, the best might be yet to come. New Yorkers have no shortage of opportunities to pack a 20,000-seat arena given the abundance of professional sports teams in the city. One of this summer’s top draws however…

Competitive gaming has become a multimillion-dollar industry for players and executives alike, and in such a burgeoning field, the best might be yet to come.

New Yorkers have no shortage of opportunities to pack a 20,000-seat arena given the abundance of professional sports teams in the city. One of this summer’s top draws however was to see a championship event the likes of which few had previously seen.

[The *Fortnite* World Cup](https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2019/07/26/fortnite-world-cup-by-the-numbers/#2d33250d6be0), a competitive gaming contest, consumed Arthur Ashe Stadium, the home of the U.S. Open of Tennis, for a three-day event that saw a 16-year-old take home the $3 million prize. For perspective, that is a bigger winner’s check than Tiger Woods took home from this year’s Masters Tournament. Overall, $30 million in prize money was awarded.

The staggering prize totals turned heads around the country and put esports on the radar for the general public.

[Southern Methodist University](https://www.smu.edu/) professor [Gary Brubaker](https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/gary-brubaker/) examines where esports has come from and where it might head next.

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