Why watch other people play video games? What you need to know about esports

Go behind-the-scenes at the Call of Duty World Championships in Anaheim, California. Fans prepare for the start of the inaugural season of Overwatch League. They rush to events in search of players' autographs. But these "athletes" they're flocking to see, who spend hours in scrimmages honing their skills, are not football or basketball players -- they're gamers. Competitive video game playing, more commonly known as esports, drew 258 million unique viewers globally last year, according to research firm SuperData.