UP357 UP does BLAST: The business of esports

Unofficial Partner podcast: Insights from Blast's eSports event in Copenhagen

In this episode Richard and Sean travel to Copenhagen to go behind the scenes at the BLAST Fall Finals, one of the big esports moments of the year, featuring the leading Counter Strike teams including FaZe Clan, Vitality and Cloud9 at the Royal Arena, Copenhagen.
We talk to Tom Greene, COO of BLAST, who shared his insights about eSports, the event and esports ecosystem business model, the dynamic between publisher, event holder, team and star players, and the future growth potential of the eSports industry.

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Episode timeline
00:00 Introduction and Sponsorship Message
00:56 Live from the Counter Strike Final
09:14 Post-Event Discussion with BLAST COO Tom Greene
17:38 Understanding the Business Model of eSports
25:58 The Role of Streaming in eSports
27:47 Exploring the Reach of eSports
27:57 Understanding Sponsorship in eSports
29:01 The Role of Media Partnerships 
34:23 The Evolution of eSports and its Impact on Brands
37:44 The Role of Athletes in the eSports Ecosystem
41:28 The Intersection of eSports and Traditional Sports
42:07 The Influence of Sponsorship in eSports
44:09 The Global Reach of eSports
48:32 The Role of Storytelling in eSports
51:58 The Impact of Long-Term Investment in eSports
54:05 The Relationship between eSports and Mainstream Brands
55:25 The Future of eSports: A

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