Ever since the rise and popularity of esports, there have been debates that they will soon replace real sports. Then there are others who completely deny it and say that, since esports are, they’re not real. So are esports real sports?

Over the years, sports enthusiasts and gamers have baffled on to this Idea of whether esports should be considered a sport. As by definition a sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment, however there are other activities considered as a sport, yet not having too much physical activity but instead focusing more on selected areas like hand-eye coordination in golf and balance and agility in darts.

Similarities include viewership as esports competitions draw large crowds of audiences, similar to that of major sports events. Often greater than the viewers of traditional sports, esports continues to be recognized as a sport as it slowly enters collegiate sports too. Selected universities have even had their own esports varsity team. Soon enough, esports may become the next college football.

Overall both traditional sports and esports have different meanings, but by strict definition, esports and physical sports all involve their own respective plays whether on a field or in front of a screen. That’s not where the similarity ends. In fact, you’d be surprised at how alike they are. So whether you believe that esports are real sports or not, here are some facts and statistics that you may want not be aware of.