When it comes to video games, there can be a lot at stake if you become really good. Namely, there's a whole lot of money you can make if you become a professional and play eSports tournaments for a living. Just look at the $18.4 million prize pool raised for last year's "The International," Valve's annual "Dota 2" tournament.
There's good reasons investors want to get behind companies entering the eSports market.
Unfortunately, not everyone has the means to become a competitive player on their own, which is why a new Cambridge startup called Gamer Sensei is launching an algorithm-based platform that matches players with "senseis" — or coaches — for training purposes, and it covers a number of competitive games, including Blizzard's "Hearthstone" and "Overwatch."
As part of its official launch on Thursday, the startup also announced that it has closed a $2.3 million seed round co-led by Accomplice and Boston Seed Capital. Other participating investors include Sigma Prime, FJ Labs, Corigin Ventures, along with angel investors Timothy and Todd McSweeney.
There are good reasons investors want to get behind companies entering the eSports market. According to research firm SuperData, the market for competitive gaming is expected to more than double to $2 billion in two years, which means there will be plenty of opportunities for new businesses to form around the hordes of players fighting for cash.
“eSports is a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide and both new and experienced players will always look for that extra edge to best their competition,” Peter Blacklow, partner at Boston Seed Capital, said in a statement.
Gamer Sensei was founded by William Collis, Rohan Gopaldas and Jiapeng Ji after they had experienced their own frustrations with losing matches in "Hearthstone" and not having a clear way to improve their skills in a time-efficient manner. So they conceived the company as a "mastery platform" that connects players with "senseis" based on skill level and other needs, with the backend being powered by proprietary algorithms to make sure every match is appropriate.
Players of all skill levels can join Gamer Sensei for free, but training sessions cost an hourly fee that varies from sensei to sensei.
In an interview with BostInno, Collis and Gopaldas said the platform already attracts hundreds of senseis and thousands of players since it launched in private beta two months ago. They said the revenue model for the future could include advertising and partnerships, but their just focusing on growth for right now. "The traction is just phenomenal," Collis said.
To boost its visibility within the eSports industry, Gamer Sensei has launched a partnership with NRG eSports, a group founded by Gerard Kelly and Sacramento Kinds co-owners Andy Miller and Mark Mastrov and backed by star investors like Shaquille O'Neal and Alex Rodriguez. It has also struck a partnership with professional player Cong "StrifeCro" Shu, whose tournament earnings have reached $52,200, according to TeamLiquid.net.
"There are countless claims and services offered to competitive gamers but few tools that are grounded in numbers and metrics to determine effectiveness," Miller said in a statement. "NRG eSports is pleased to partner with Gamer Sensei to offer our coaches, players and analysts to their elite stable of Sensei and develop customizable curricula we intend to establish as the industry’s standard."
Gamer Sensei currently employs 5 full-time people who work out of Accomplice's office in Cambridge, with a number of part-time employees who work remotely. The founders said they plan to use the seed round to grow the team, accelerate development of their platform, increase the number of games they support, increase partnerships and establish standards for credentialing senseis and improving the performance of players.
"We want to help gamers experience that feeling of winning more, and that's why we think it's a huge market," Collis said.
