Updated January 28, 2018 12:23:54

Photo: Melbourne City esports recruit Marcus Gomes is the hottest new signing for the A-League club. (Supplied: Melbourne City)

Marcus Gomes is 20 years old, packs a slight frame and — with not one A-League goal to his name — has become one of the hottest signings in Australian soccer.

Meet the new world of competitive online gaming — or esports — a sophisticated and professional cyber sporting code which is starting to attract the attention of some of Australia's biggest traditional clubs.

The world of esports can be split into categories of games such as fighting, first-person shooter, sporting, multiplayer online battle arenas and real-time strategy.

Every esports game is different, with different games played on PC, PlayStation and Xbox and each with its own participants and fans. Some games are played in teams of up to five while others are played individually.

Australian sporting codes such as the AFL and A-league are now looking to invest in the world of esports for the first time in 2018, following the lead of international sporting clubs such as French soccer powerhouse PSG to explore new revenue-making opportunities, along with ways to attract new groups of fans.

A loyal follower of football game FIFA since 2006, Gomes is one of Australia's top ranked players and is the first marquee professional gamer signed to Australia's esports A-League.

Gomes said professional gaming would only increase in popularity in Australia.

"I can definitely see more people becoming fans of esports as more and more people begin to understand and respect professional gaming," he said.

For Gomes, an esports contract with Melbourne City allows him to fulfil a childhood dream of playing soccer professionally.

"I had a dream of playing professional football and could've pursued the dream of playing professionally [but never made it]," he said.

"I turned to FIFA to fill the void and that's a big factor in why I've played so much FIFA over the years."

Codes chase the esport dollar

Football Federation Australia will launch an Australian first FIFA '18 e-League, in collaboration with the A-League clubs, in February.

But the FFA is not the only Australian sporting code looking to get involved with esports.

In May last year, the Adelaide Crows AFL club became the first Australian sporting organisation to invest in esports by acquiring Sydney-based esports team Legacy.

Essendon also purchased an esports team, Abyss, last year. Both AFL-owned esports teams will play the online game League of Legends in the Oceanic Pro League competition this year.

An estimated 27 million people play League of Legends every day, with the best players earning more than $30,000 per tournament.

According to the AFL, 21 per cent of football fans already watch, play or follow esports, with an Australian fan base of about 1.5 million.

AFL general manager of growth, digital and audience, Darren Birch, said the potential was enormous for both domestic and international growth.

The Adelaide Crows chief operating officer and former dual-premiership player, Nigel Smart, has committed to establishing an esports high-performance centre at Adelaide's West Lakes headquarters.

Photo: Adelaide Crows legend Nigel Smart (left) sings the club song with Wayne Carey after a victory against the Kangaroos in May, 2003. (AAP: Ryan Pierse)

Expected to be operational before the midway point of 2018, the West Lakes high-performance centre will provide esports gamers with training, feedback and analytics to help improve their skills.

"Our purpose is to bring people together to achieve great things," Smart said.

"We provide a pathway with our men's, and now women's, football programs. I can see in the future we will be doing the same with esports."

According to Nielsen US research from 2016, 83 per cent of esports fans are male and 78 per cent are aged 14-34.

But Smart said he was planning to look at different ways Legacy can involve women on their team.

"Girls and women play an integral part with our members and fans," he said.

"There are some games such as Counter Strike that has teams of only girls. We are certainly looking at the space where we can provide more opportunities for girls to play and compete and hopefully we can move into that direction in 2018."

The game is on

British company Gfinity will launch the Elite Series city-based esports competition in Australia later this year, allowing players of any skill level to compete in games including Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Street Fighter V and Rocket League.

Six city-based teams from around Australia will compete against each other in live competition at a dedicated esports venue.

The world of esports is on the rise, as seen by the massive turnout for the 2017 Intel Extreme Masters in Katowice, Poland — the flagship event of the for Electronic Sports League (ESL), the world's largest esports company.

More than 173,000 gamers attended the city's Spodek Arena, with 46 million more people watching online and through social media in 19 different languages.

It was the largest esports event of all time, breaking all previous records for attendance and engagement, according to computer manufacturer and event sponsor Intel.

The event also attracted some big money. The prize pool was $US650,000 ($800,000) in three of the top esports events — Counter Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends and StarCraft II.

With 47 countries, including Australia, now recognising esports as a legitimate competition, market researcher Newzoo predicts it will become a multi-billion dollar industry by 2020.

Topics: games-industry-professional-gaming, soccer, australian-football-league, melbourne-3000, adelaide-5000

First posted January 28, 2018 09:13:16