Ongoing concerns of Covid-19 have quashed any hope of normal sporting events in the months to come, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to watch, as the BBC announced that it will be showing the Rocket League Spring Series on the BBC Sport website this weekend. The action will be live on Saturday, May 9 between 16:30-01:00 and Sunday, May 10 from 16:30-22:00.
The news is a pleasant surprise for the ongoing transition of esports to mainstream media. The Rocket League Spring Series was recently announced by developer Psyonix in response to the cancellation of the Rocket League Season 9 World Championship due to the pandemic. This new series has taken the existing prize pool and has since had an additional $250,000 added across each of the four regions that would have been competing had the Championship not been cancelled.
Now, the action shown on the BBC will consist of teams from all over the world showing off their skills in the mad-popular esport.
Speaking about the decision to air the esport was Ben Gallop, head of Digital for BBC Sport, who states that, “Rocket League is one of the most exciting Esports in the gaming world and to have the European Spring Series live on the BBC’s digital platforms is something we’re really pleased to be able to offer, especially for our younger audiences.”
While the news is exciting for fans of Rocket League, we hope that this is not a short-term solution that be used only while traditional sports are postponed due to the pandemic. The presentation of the highest skilled players in the world could be a launching point towards esports becoming a normalized occurrence in a medium that is reserved for traditional, live sports.
This is no easy task, but it is certainly possible if done correctly. One of the most significant obstacles that certain titles have as esports is bridging the gap between creating an enjoyable game and at the same time an exciting, entertaining spectacle for viewers. Overwatch for example can be truly exciting thanks to the production crews working hard to determine what an audience wants to see, whereas something like Hearthstone struggles because the majority of its gameplay is not friendly for a casual audience, and there can be extended periods of waiting with seemingly nothing going on.
In any case, we wish the competitors all the best in these next two days!
Source: bbc.com/sport
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