McGrath provides an fascinating view into a unique individual. That is, he is using Scarlett to talk about e-sports, not the other way around. And I think this causes him to miss the whole story. Scarlett does not represent e-sports, unfortunately. The fact that she was able to climb onto a global stage, starting as a nobody, is undeniably incredibly. However, with "The Rise of the Professional Cyber Athlete" as its title, I expected the article to be about the rise of e-sports, not of a singular e-sports athlete.
E-sports is on the cusp on exploding, and video-game live-streaming service Twitch.tv plus the increasing availability of the internet at all times (smartphones help) are a large part of the reason why. Dota2 and League of Legends (both MOBAs) lead the forefront when it comes to players and money, but Starcraft II (real-time strategy a la Age of Empires), while declining, is not going anywhere. Additionally, Hearthstone (Blizzard's online card game) has exploded onto the scene in the past year, proving to appeal to casual and competitive gamers alike with its free-to-play model and low learning curve. Rounding out the pack are the fighting game communities (Super Smash Bros, Ultra Street Fighter IV) and first-person shooters (Halo, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive). Yes, console-based games have a harder time creating a high-level competitive scene, but it isn't impossible. Starcraft 1, Counter-strike: Source, and Super Smash Bros Melee have all been being played competitively since the turn of the century, almost.
I'm rambling at this point...
If anyone has any questions regarding the e-sports scene, from local grassroots tournament organization to being a high-level competitive player, to other Scarlett-esque people, please ask. I'm most familiar with Hearthstone and Super Smash Bros.
I haven't even read the article yet, but the title "The Rise of the Professional Cyber Athlete" heavily implies a focus on not the sport, but the people that practices that sport.
I wouldn't think that it only focuses on one specific person though.
I think the problem with the console games has always been that the development of their scenes was not organic. MLG dropped Halo almost immediately (or possibly as a result of) after Microsoft stopped sponsoring it.
Smash and Street Fighter on the other hand, have developed somewhat organically and Smash is starting to grow in spite of Nintendo (or at least Nintendo's decision making 5 years ago).
I wish there was more Smash content on Twitch, because the game is incredible to watch.
Smash is very difficult to stream, with the two biggest factors being that it's not on a computer and the lack of built-in PvP in Melee and Project M. GIMR of VGBC is doing some very innovative things, though.
E-sports is on the cusp on exploding, and video-game live-streaming service Twitch.tv plus the increasing availability of the internet at all times (smartphones help) are a large part of the reason why. Dota2 and League of Legends (both MOBAs) lead the forefront when it comes to players and money, but Starcraft II (real-time strategy a la Age of Empires), while declining, is not going anywhere. Additionally, Hearthstone (Blizzard's online card game) has exploded onto the scene in the past year, proving to appeal to casual and competitive gamers alike with its free-to-play model and low learning curve. Rounding out the pack are the fighting game communities (Super Smash Bros, Ultra Street Fighter IV) and first-person shooters (Halo, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive). Yes, console-based games have a harder time creating a high-level competitive scene, but it isn't impossible. Starcraft 1, Counter-strike: Source, and Super Smash Bros Melee have all been being played competitively since the turn of the century, almost.
I'm rambling at this point...
If anyone has any questions regarding the e-sports scene, from local grassroots tournament organization to being a high-level competitive player, to other Scarlett-esque people, please ask. I'm most familiar with Hearthstone and Super Smash Bros.