Are E-sports considered real sports?

The mass trend sweeping across the world right now is playing the battle royale video game Fortnite. Fortnite is a game in which 100 players are dropped into a hunger game-esque arena.  The players compete against each other in a free for all fashions, eliminating other players with guns and other explosives, attempting to be the last man or squad standing, all the while a deadly zone closes in around the arena and players, forcing the players to encounter each other.

Famous celebrities such as Drake and Travis Scott as well as NBA superstars like Gordon Hayward and Josh Hart stream Fortnite on the gaming website Twitch.tv raking in hundreds of thousands of views with each broadcast. Many DeMatha students also consider themselves top Fortnite players, shamelessly posting wins on their snapchat story as often as they can.

Fortnite is more than just entertainment however, multiple colleges are now offering Esports scholarships in games such as Fortnite. Top Twitch.TV streamers such as Tyler “Ninja” Blevins rake in $500,000 dollars a month in revenue streams such as paid subscribers, ad revenue, and other sponsorships.

When asked about his reaction to Ninja making over half a million dollars a month from Fortnite, Junior Sean O’Conner said “he makes 500,000 dollars a month? That’s insane.”

“Maybe I should start streaming Fortnite then,” joked Junior Garret Foran

Professional Fortnite leagues have been springing up where players can win thousands of dollars a month by winning games.

Other popular Esports such as CSGO and League of Legends, which have worldwide major tournaments with prize pools of millions of dollars and have millions of viewers tune in to watch them. Players also get payed salaries by their organizations as well, just like real sports.

Esports rake in money that can compare to professional sports, have millions of people tune in online to watch major tournament, and require a very high level of skill, so why shouldn’t they be considered sports?