Video games are not just for fun anymore, thanks to esports (electronic sports), also known as live-streamed professional gaming. In a typical esports competition, teams of expert game players face off against each other in a range of popular titles, like League of Legends and Dota 2. Their every move is watched, scrutinized, and analyzed by millions of viewers digitally logging into live streams, attending live events, or watching match recaps. The top players in the world, often known better by their on-screen handles than their real names, get paid a fortune in prize money. Esports teams play live events in the actual arenas used for traditional sports and rock concerts, like the Crypto.com If this all sounds a little serious for playing games, that is because it is.

AI is rapidly changing the face of traditional games and sports. Whose side are you on? He sees an opening on the left flank and immediately punishes them. After rushing to the side, he finds his teammates in the center and quickly crosses for the finish! Turn on any sports channel and you'll hear something similar. Chances are you've imagined Ronaldo or another star player running down a new pitch.

Though 26 is a remarkably young age at which to retire in traditional sports, in esports it's the norm. In Activision's Call of Duty League, the average competitor is around 22 years old, according to league data. In Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch League, the average player is about 20 years old. In both leagues, players retire extremely young compared to traditional sports. While only six players have retired from the Call of Duty League since it was launched in 2020, the median age is 26.

Assistant Principal Miles Carey oversees a Rocket League practice at Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington, Va. Assistant Principal Miles Carey oversees a Rocket League practice at Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington, Va. Nowadays, if you're a teenager who's good at video games there's a lot more to be had than just a pot of virtual gold. Today, more than 170 colleges and universities participate. Naturally, high schools have followed suit.

Thousands of people will fill Brooklyn's Barclays Center on July 27 and July 28, but not for basketball, not for hockey and not for a concert. They'll be there for the Grand Finals of the Overwatch League, an e-sports league video game developer Blizzard Entertainment runs with its popular team-based, first-person shooter, Overwatch. The sold-out finals will mark an end to the Overwatch League's first season, with teams from Philadelphia and London (city-based teams are a league hallmark) set to compete for $1.4 million in prizes. Matches will be broadcast live on ESPN and Disney XD, marking the first time e-sports have been broadcast live on ESPN's main channel in primetime, Blizzard says. Ahead of the big event, TIME sat down with Blizzard Entertainment President and CEO Michael Morhaime to talk about the tournament, Overwatch, and the gaming industry more broadly.

"Game developers don't like me," said Sabina Hemmi. "Before I came around, there was no insight into how balanced a game was." As the co-founder of DotaBuff, a site that provides statistics about Dota 2 gameplay, she can show with hard data if certain characters are stronger or weaker, and in what areas. As access to such data is becoming more commonplace, she says, players are starting to expect it, and are reacting to it. "If I'm focusing hours of my time into the game, I want to focus on playing the characters that are actually competitive," she said. Just as it did with traditional sports, the collection, analysis and use of all kinds of data is beginning to change the way that competitive games are played and understood. But while many scenes such as Dota 2, League of Legends and Overwatch are coming around to the value of statistics, the breadth and sophistication of statistical coverage in general is still in its beginning stages. The numbers that Sabina Hemmi's team have pulled down from Dota 2 over the years are, in a word, expansive. You can view stats from your own match history stretching back years.

"Game developers don't like me," said Sabina Hemmi. "Before I came around, there was no insight into how balanced a game was." As the co-founder of DotaBuff, a site that provides statistics about Dota 2 gameplay, she can show with hard data if certain characters are stronger or weaker, and in what areas. As access to such data is becoming more commonplace, she says, players are starting to expect it, and are reacting to it. "If I'm focusing hours of my time into the game, I want to focus on playing the characters that are actually competitive," she said. Just as it did with traditional sports, the collection, analysis, and use of all kinds of data is beginning to change the way that competitive games are played and understood. But while many scenes like Dota 2, League of Legends, and Overwatch are coming around to the value of statistics, the breadth and sophistication of statistical coverage in general is still in its beginning stages. The numbers that Sabina Hemmi's team have pulled down from Dota 2 over the years are, in a word, expansive. You can view stats from your own match history stretching back years.

The burgeoning esports business just got a well-connected partner: AT&T. The telecom giant has signed on as a partner with the esports operator ESL to sponsor several upcoming mobile video game competitions in North America. AT&T and ESL staged a surprise mobile game competition with several pro gamers playing the game Clash Royale as part of announcing the partnership Sunday at the telecom company's annual Shape tech and entertainment event in Los Angeles. Already well-known for its involvement in more traditional sports -- there's AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, and AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants -- AT&T has expanded into other entertainment sponsorships including the Tribeca Film Festival. Esports is at the "intersection of tech and entertainment," said Shiz Suzuki, assistant vice president for AT&T corporate sponsorships.

Tens of thousands of screaming fans will fill the TD Garden this weekend, cheering for their favorite players -- not the Bruins or Celtics, but some of the nation's best professional gamers, competing for a place in the League of Legends world championship later this year. Organizers say they have sold out the Garden for the final on Sunday, and expect to sell out Saturday as well. This is the first major esports event to come to the Garden. In League of Legends, two teams of five try to destroy their opponent's base, battling with everything from ninjas, knights and robots. The matches are best of five.

"Overwatch" broadcasters stand beside the trophy awarded to the winner of the "Overwatch" World Cup, a tournament held by Blizzard Entertainment last year. "Overwatch" broadcasters stand beside the trophy awarded to the winner of the "Overwatch" World Cup, a tournament held by Blizzard Entertainment last year. More than 6,000 people waited in a snowstorm to buy New England Patriots season tickets after Robert Kraft bought the struggling football franchise in 1994. "If the fans really believe you're committed to winning, you have a great opportunity to build a great franchise," he recalled at an investment conference in Beverly Hills last year. Kraft, who saved the Patriots from moving and turned them into a perennial Super Bowl contender, is now wagering millions of dollars that New Englanders will get behind him once again.