The

Red Bull eSports

Invitational

Destination: Sport 2017

Tanvi Doddanavar, Anthony Rizzolo, Tyler Sekula, Roger Zhang

 Table of Contents

Event Overview 3

Event Details 4

Team Seeding 5

Example Bracket 6

Facility Plan 7

Funding Details 8

Basic Marketing Approach 9

Legacy Goals 10

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Event Overview

O
ver the last several years, eSports, Although attendance is limited to game
or electronic sports, have developers and those highly connected
continuously grown in popularity within the gaming community, E3 draws
all over the world. A hobby that once massive crowds of fans eager to get a
attracted audiences small enough to fit in a closer look at the new developments
hotel lobby has grown into a phenomenon within the gaming world. By scheduling
that sells out major arenas in less than a our event directly after E3, we want to
day. With the help of streaming websites appeal to the built in customer base
such as Twitch.tv, gamers all across the already in Los Angeles to maximize hotel
world are able to brand themselves and room occupancy for the most amount of
make a living playing video games. nights possible. Furthermore, by keeping
According to many reports, if eSports gaming fans in Los Angeles for a longer
continues to grow at its current pace, 474 period of time, we hope to allow local
million people will be watching in some businesses the opportunity to position
capacity by 2019. This will contribute to themselves for the greatest financial
nearly $1 billion being spent on the benefit from our event.
gaming industry as a whole. In order to
celebrate the growth of eSports and help Given the fact that Los Angeles is already
expand its reach, we designed the Red Bull highly invested in the gaming community,
eSports Invitational. their brand as a vibrant entertainment and
cultural hub will only continue to grow as
Scheduled to occur in the LA Live district a result of this event. Since much of the
of Los Angeles the weekend following E3 event will take place at night in the heart
2017, the Red Bull eSports Invitational is of LA Live, fans of eSports will be in prime
an event that brings all of the best gamers position to take advantage of all that the
in the world together in one place at one city of Los Angeles has to offer. By putting
time. While traditional events only focus on this event, Los Angeles will also further
on one game at a time, this event will establish itself as the location to hold
combine all the best gamers from some of eSports events in the future.
the most popular eSports games to create
an experience that will transcend the way Finally, the timing of the event could not
people view video games. By including be more perfect for the city of Los Angeles.
multiple genres of games, we hope to Outside of the Los Angeles Film Festival,
appeal to a wide variety of people in a way and of course E3, the middle of June is
that will help accomplish all of the goals fairly bare in terms major events taking
established by the DMAI. place in that particular part of the city. In
hosting the Red Bull eSports Invitational,
Located at the Los Angeles Convention the city of Los Angeles provides yet
Center, E3 is a yearly gaming convention another unique event to add to its
that is highly regarded as one of the most portfolio.
popular gaming events in the world.

Event Details
Date: June 16-18th, 2017 What
An eSports tournament involving 8 of the
Location: Los Angeles, CA top teams from five different games in a
double-elimination format. Most eSports

W e are going to host this event in competitions and championship events

association with the E3 focus on just one specific game, but what
convention in Los Angeles. E3 is we want to do is host a tournament that
an annual video game convention that is includes all of the top games in
very well known around the world as one competitive eSports. This way we believe
of the top video game conventions. We that we can reach a wider audience of both
wanted to associate our event with E3 spectators and pro teams. Our plan is to
because it is already very well known in include five of the most popular eSports
the gaming community as well as Los games, covering many different genres,
Angeles. again so that we can reach as many people
as possible to come watch.

Each different video game will have its
own separate tournament. The goal of this
invitational is not to crown a champion
of eSports per se, but to showcase all that
eSports has to offer.

Who
Participants: The Top 8 ranked eSports
teams in each of the five games from
around the world. (Team seeds can be

found on the following page)
E3 is scheduled for a Wednesday through

Friday (June 14-16th), so our event will be
held the following weekend, Friday Spectators: We will draw a crowd
through Sunday. This is because we want consisting of both E3 attendees and
people at E3 to be able to attend both the gaming fans in the Los Angeles area, as
convention as well as our event, and well as from around the world.
because it will cause spectators and teams
to stay in LA longer.





Team Seeding

League of Legends Dota 2 Counter Strike: Global
Offensive
1 SK Telecom T1 1 NewBee 1 Natus Vincere
2 KOO Tigers 2 Team Liquid 2 Luminosity Gaming
3 fnatic 3 fnatic 3 fnatic
4 Origen 4 OG 4 Ninjas in Pajamas
5 Immortals 5 The Alliance 5 EnVyUs
6 H2K 6 Evil Geniuses 6 Team Liquid
7 Vitality 7 compLexity Gaming 7 Counter Logic
8 KT Rolster 8 Natus Vincere 8 Cloud9 Gaming


Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Halo 5: Guardians

1 Optic Gaming 1 Allegiance

2 Rise Nation 2 Counter Logic Gaming

3 Faze Clan 3 Evil Geniuses

4 Splyce 4 Team Liquid

5 Millennium Gaming 5 Renegades

6 OrbitGG 6 EnVyUs

7 Team Infused 7 Noble eSports

8 MindFreak 8 Optic Gaming

Double-Elimination Bracket

In the double-elimination format, teams will be placed in a bracket based on their seed, and
will play head to head match until there is a champion. For example, this is the bracket for
the League of Legends tournament.

With 14 games in each individual tournament, with the potential for a 15th, we will have to
accommodate for anywhere between 70 and 75 head to head matchups.

Where these matchups will be taking place will be discussed in the following section. The
actual dates and times of each matchup will be determined at a later date, once we have a
better idea of attendance.

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Facility Plan

T
he actual competition will be hosted configured specifically for eSports and
at LA Live an entertainment area serve as the location for mid-level games.
right next to the convention center

where E3 is held that is home to the Club Nokia

Staples Center, theaters, restaurants and Club Nokia is also a venue for music and
hotels. The Staples center holds 11,000. theater, but with a smaller capacity of
The Microsoft Theater holds 7,000 and 2,300. It will be host to less popular games
club Nokia holds 2,300. These three and early rounds of the tournament.
venues are where we will be hosting our All venues are within walking distance of
tournament. In addition to these venues, one another; so traveling between
LA Live is also home to a 1,000 room hotel locations will not be a problem for
complex as well as an ESPN broadcast participants or spectators.
center, which we will put to good use.
Lodging
Staples Center Located at LA Live is a 54-story, 1,001
The Staples Center, home to the Los room hotel complex consisting of both a
Angeles Lakers, Clippers and Kings, is the JW Marriott and a Ritz-Carlton. The JW
centerpiece of LA Live. In its normal Marriott hotel is located on floors 3
configuration, it has a capacity of about through 21 and has 879 rooms. The Ritz-
19,000, but when set up specifically for Carlton is located on floors 22 through 26
eSports, like it was for the League of and has 123 rooms. In addition to the
Legends World Championship in 2012, it main hotel structure, there is an additional
has a capacity of 11,000. The Staples two-hotel hybrid tower just across the
Center will serve as our main competition street, with 393 rooms, made up of a
venue, as well as the location for all of the Marriott Courtyard and a Residence Inn. In
finals. 2015 it was announced that another JW
Marriott tower would be built next to the
Courtyard/Residence tower, and would
connect to the original JW Marriott by way
of a bridge over the roadway. When
complete, the new JW Marriott complex
will have 1,756 rooms.

ESPN

There is an ESPN broadcast center located
Microsoft Theater at LA Live. We will work with ESPN to get
The Microsoft Theater is a music and coverage of our event on television as well
theater venue that holds 7,100 people. It is as online streaming. ESPN has been
host to the ESPYs and is also home to increasing their coverage of eSports with
major concerts and shows like American their rise in popularity, and broadcasting
Idol. The Microsoft Theater will be

our event will help them get their foot
further into the door of eSports.

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Funding Details

I
n order to secure the necessary funds streaming websites such a Twitch.tv, a
for the event, we will utilize several gaming website that draws nearly 100
different revenue-generating streams. million unique viewers per month. By
Although vastly different, each method selling streaming rights to major eSport
works together to take advantage of all websites, our event could further generate
aspects of a traditional eSports event on a money to help offset production costs.
greater scale. These websites would see a drastic return
on their investment through increased
Naming Rights Agreement website views, as well as massive potential
One of the major sources of funding will ad revenue during the event. In addition to
come from a naming rights agreement Twitch, we hope to form a partnership
with Red Bull. We believe that Red Bull is with ESPN to help increase the exposure of
the best choice for our event because it is a eSports worldwide.
highly recognizable global brand that is
already heavily involved in eSports. In
partnering with a company already well
established within the eSports community,
we hope to legitimize our event as the
premier place to watch all of the best
eSports athletes compete.

Crowdsourcing
One of the most effective ways for current
eSports events to gain revenue is through
crowdsourcing efforts by fans. With this
method, fans donate funds to be used as
prize money for events; these funds are
Television/Streaming Rights then doubled by major event sponsors
Given the rise in viewership of eSports looking to improve the perception of their
over the last several years, another brand. Recently, the Halo 5 World
potential revenue-generating source for Championship successfully crowdfunded
our event is through the selling of $2.5 million to be split between the top 16
television or streaming rights. In 2014 it Halo teams. This prize pool allowed for
was estimated that roughly 89 million nearly $1 million to be awarded to the
people considered themselves to be eventual winner of the event, the biggest
frequent viewers or enthusiasts of eSports. individual pool prize in console gaming
These fans watched 3.7 billion hours of history. Given the prior success of this
eSports events throughout that year alone. method within the eSports community, we
A majority of these hours were spent on plan to utilize crowdfunding as a way for
fans to directly contribute to the Red Bull Volunteers
eSports Invitational. Through generous One potential way to decrease operational
donations from fans that are doubled by costs is to enlist the help of volunteers
sponsors, we hope to create a prize pool from UC Irvine to help run the event. Two
that will draw in participants of the months ago, UC Irvine announced the
highest quality possible. launch of the first innovative eSports
arena to be located on a college campus. In
Ticket Sales constructing this facility, the school
In order to help pay for facility costs, fans became the first major institution to invest
will be charged a $50.00 admission fee in the future success of eSports. With the
prior to the event. Tickets will be available help of students from UC Irvine, we are
at a discounted price for those who creating a means to fast track influence
attended E3 in order to incentivize within the eSports community by
attendance to both events. increasing exposure among students.

Basic Marketing Approach

T
he viewership market for eSports Counter Strike and League of Legends
has grown so much over the last few matches could be a potential opportunity
years that ESPN has extended for companies to expose their products
coverage of eSports in order to maintain among this niche demographic.
relevance. The worldwide eSports market
offers the potential for unprecedented and
massive exposure for marketers willing to
sit up and pay attention. Red-bull eSports
Invitational Event Marketing focuses on
the current strategies available to yield
success in this technology-driven market


Demographics Team and Event Sponsorships
ESports fans are a captive, niche audience
Sponsorships have been the driving force
in the coveted 16-34 demographic, which
behind eSports growth, and it appears as
is known for being fiercely loyal to certain
though the market will not be saturated at
product lines, vis-a-vis their favorite
any time in the foreseeable future.
console brands and game franchise series.
Through sponsorships alone, eSports have
Fans are also more diverse than expected
made upwards of $578.6 million, or
U.S. eSports viewership is currently
approximately 78% of all revenue. Red-
27% female with efforts being made to
bull eSports Invitational sponsorships
expand the base and diversity even more.
range from Nissan sponsoring North

American professional League of Legends
Additionally, this demographic is one of
players on Team Curse to Intel sponsoring
young consumers. Advertising during
the Extreme Masters tournament series.

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Just like in other professional sports, more Invitational is more akin to conventions
opportunities may arise for other types of than traditional sports matches, opening
creative sponsorships. opportunities for event marketing,
complete with on-site demos and
On-Stage Advertising installation displays.
Live event streams watched by millions
create an opportunity for big-time Off-Stage Marketing
exposure. Now, with networks like ESPN We will seek partnerships with certain
and TBS getting in on the action, live TV hotels and airlines to provide potential
broadcasts could mean a whole new spectators and participants with
frontier for advertisers. discounted prices for lodging and airfare.
We will have ticket packages that combine
tickets to our event with discounted hotel
rates at LA Live hotels. This way visitors
will be encouraged to stay in the area
where the event is taking place. We will
place banners advertising for our event on
During the event, advertising on signage the busiest streets of Los Angeles, to
like banners, light boxes, escalator and further get the word out about the Red
stair riser graphics can be utilized by Bull eSports Invitational.
sponsors. The Red Bull eSports

Legacy Goals

T
his eSports initiative will positively involved in this event when taking into
impact the community on a variety consideration all of these factors.
of levels. To some extent, it has been

years in the making. This is partially due City of Los Angeles

to the significant and exponential growth The games will be a good opportunity for
in the sophistication of the technology Los Angeles to showcase their heritage,
involved as well as the gameplay
scenic beauty, and entertainment
experience. PC gameplay has made games
accessible without the cost or commitment offerings. L.A. is forecasted to generate
of purchasing a dedicated console. 465 million dollars in revenue in 2017
Furthermore, the introduction of the from the entertainment industry. Our
Internet made it easy to play games with event will be a contributing factor to the
remote friends, creating international profits within the tourism, hotel, aviation,
gaming communities and altering the and food industries. By keeping the
experience from predominately solitary to
gaming community in the city for longer,
overwhelmingly social. It is clear to see the
value for the various entities that would be companies in and around LA will get the

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opportunity to promote themselves to a hard work and dedication that it takes to
new market for a longer period of time. be a professional gamer. Increased
exposure will lead to even more
opportunities for players to brand
themselves and gain support from the
gaming community. The event also serves
as an opportunity for forge lifelong
friendships with people who share
common interests.

Fans
Unlike any other event in the past, the Red
Bull eSports Invitational will be an event

eSports fans will not soon forget. By
Sponsors featuring all of the best eSport athletes in
Sponsors of the event will benefit greatly one place at one time, fans will experience
from the increased exposure of their the best that eSports has to offer.
brands to a wider audience. Given that Furthermore, fans of gaming will have the
much of the games will be streamed online opportunity to come together and
to millions of viewers, all sponsorship celebrate the growth of eSports, as well as
images will be broadcast to a variety of have direct access to some of the most
potential consumers. Sponsors who influential people within the gaming
represent teams who do well at the community given the events proximity to
tournament will inevitably see an E3.
increased demand for their products as
fans want to idolize people who succeed. The Sport
More specifically, Red Bull will greatly
Given the scale of the event, eSports will
benefit from the event as they attempt to
attract a larger following as more people
cement themselves as the gold standard of
are exposed to competitive video games.
eSports sponsorships.

This will lead to increased success of
future tournaments and eventually to the
Participants
legitimation of eSports as a sport. The new
Perhaps the greatest beneficiaries of this
buzz created by this event will lead to the
event are the players who are invited to
growth and development of the future
compete in front a packed crowd of
stars of eSports who idolize current
people. Along with receiving recognition
competitors.
and appreciation for the superior gaming
ability, participants will compete for
significant cash prizes and bragging rights
in an environment that appreciates the

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Society heightened aggression is the cause of
Although not as obvious as other entities school shootings and other traumatic
involved in the event, the Red Bull eSports events within society. Our event will serve
Invitational will also have a tremendous as a means to debunk these thoughts and
effect on the society overall. There is promote the positive cultural diversity
currently a negative stigma associated that exists within gaming. Given the
with video games in that they lead to obvious social connection necessary to
heightened aggression among players. compete at high level, the gamers in
Many people believe that this is due social attendance will be a testimony to the
separation that caused by lack of positive culture surrounding gaming and
interactions with live people. Additionally, will work together to negate any negative
it a common misconception that this preconceived notions.

The Red Bull eSports Invitational

Destination: Sport 2017

Tanvi Doddanavar, Anthony Rizzolo, Tyler Sekula, Roger Zhang

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