Some Esport in golf but why not go on the course? Yes but from a business point of view it would be a shame for the European Tour to deprive itself of it. Starting this week, the European Tour teams up with DreamHack to launch the first Esport competition at the Made in Denmark tournament. How will the test unfold? What is there to gain? What platform will they play on? Here are the details of a first for the industry.
8 of the best WGT players
The 8 best players on the platform WGT (World Golf Tour) bought some time ago by Top Golf, will face face to face in a Knock-out matchplay format to share $ 5000.
The competition will take place at the Himmerland Golf Village for the Made in Denmark tournament. From May 23rd will start the quarterfinals, then the next day the semi-final will be followed directly by the grand finale. Of course a live stream will be planned to not miss anything of the action.
But what is the World Golf Tour?
What is World Golf Tour?
World Golf Tour is a platform that brings together nearly 15 million players around the world. Its very realistic graphics allow you to play in your browser or on mobile.
Available in freemium model (purchase of improvements are possible), the player creates his avatar and can play several hundred ultra realistic courses. Indeed the courses are modeled according to photos and topographic survey carried out on site. Captivating, the game offers you the opportunity to play tournaments against other players or friends. Thanks to the freemium model, you can play directly after your registration. On the other hand if you want the last series Callaway or TaylorMade, it will have to spend several tens of euros. For example a set of Titleist 718 AP2 will cost 3,745 Credits. For 50 dollars, you buy 5000 credits, so the dematerialized club series will cost 37.45 euros.
An innovation opening up to other opportunities
Marcus Lindmark CEO of Dreamhack the organizing company has found that with its experience of esport event organizer and that of the European Tour for tournament organization, this opportunity is the ultimate crossover between competitive golf and Esports. Richard Bunn in charge of media rights and programming for the European Tour added that the European Tour has always been innovative. Playing the esport card, the Tour gives itself the opportunity to engage with the fans differently. “This will create other opportunities for potential sponsors or business partners.”
In all honesty we must admit that the European Tour does everything to be innovative and break with tradition. Esport is one of them. Certainly, WGT is far from draining as much as League of Legends, Overwatch or Fortnite. In 2016 the League of Legends World Championships attracted 43 million spectators. The industry explodes with a turnover exceeding one billion dollars. Sponsors flock en masse because of an outstanding visibility to an ultra-qualified target.
What if it was a way to introduce golf to a younger audience? WGT is simple to learn, and free. And if this target came to see the reruns of this first epsort event on YouTube or Twitch? She could do it especially if there is money is part of the game.
What do you think ?
Tell me in the comments.
