"Hello everyone, I'm Dan."
"And I'm Jude."
"Welco to our latest Football League eSports tournant!"
"Today is quite an important day, as the top four players in the European division will be decided. These top eight will go on to compete against players from around the world at next month's Gastar Carnival."
"That's right. Now let's welco the CEO of Gastar Electronic Entertainnt Europe, Ms. Makoto Matsubashi, to deliver a speech."
In Manchester, England, stands the largest football stadium in the country—Heathrow Stadium, ho ground of Manchester United. The venue can host over 70,000 spectators.
Usually, it's packed with fans from all over the world coming to watch traditional football matches. But today, things are a little different.
Because today, the ones filling the seats are countless video ga fans.
Today marks the European Division Finals of the Gastar World Cup eSports Tournant.
As one of Gastar Electronic Entertainnt's key partners, the Premier League, upon learning about this event, didn't hesitate to offer their biggest stadium for use. Manchester United's owner even waived all venue rental and ticket fees.
Of course, he also hoped his newly ford eSports club could get a few extra qualification slots.
It was a mutually beneficial deal—and Takayuki happily agreed.
The event was held in grand fashion. The stadium was packed to capacity with fans donning their favorite players' jerseys and chanting their favorite video ga titles with enthusiasm.
At this mont, the Manchester United owner was watching the event unfold from a private suite that offered the best view of the entire stadium.
Even though he had already acknowledged the popularity of video gas, he hadn't expected eSports to draw such massive heat.
"Unbelievable..."
The Man Utd owner muttered, slightly stunned.
His assistant cautiously asked, "Sir, what are you surprised about exactly?"
"Look at the crowd out there."
He pointed at the roaring wave of spectators outside.
Right now, a match in the football eSports league was underway—one of the most popular eSports divisions in Europe. Each team had two players, and four contenders were fiercely battling it out on the big stage.
"Carson! Carson!"
"Hausmann! Hausmann!"
Player nas were being shouted like magic spells, whipping the crowd into a frenzy.
The Man Utd owner continued, "Look at this turnout. If soone had told ten years ago that video gas would beco a world-class form of competitive entertainnt, I would've called them crazy."
His eyes were sharp. "But now, if anyone says eSports won't beco mainstream, they're the crazy ones."
"Boss, that just proves how forward-thinking you were, choosing to partner with Gastar Electronic Entertainnt early on," the assistant flattered.
"No, I wasn't convinced at first," the owner shook his head. "Back then, I knew nothing about video gas. I thought it was just kids' stuff—sothing people grow out of when they get older."
The assistant feigned curiosity and asked, "So what changed your mind?"
"For one, Gastar offered too much money. Just by licensing our brand for a football video ga, we easily pulled in seven figures. That was hard to say no to."
The owner added with a regretful expression.
Clearly, he was starting to think maybe they'd undersold.
If only he'd known how hot eSports would get, he would've pushed for more in licensing fees. But with long-term contracts already signed, he could only wait until renewal ti to negotiate a better deal.
"On top of that, the Premier League organizing committee wanted to break free from FIFA's dominance, so they looked for a new direction. At the sa ti, FIFA had found a different entertainnt company to develop their football ga. It basically turned into a bet—one league backing Gastar, the other backing their own choice. The question was who would win."
"And clearly, you bet on the right one," the assistant replied.
"Exactly." The Man Utd owner bead. "In the end, Gastar Electronic Entertainnt triumphed, and every Premier League club reaped massive benefits. And I also realized that video gas aren't just for kids—look at all the n and won out there, young and old. That's all the proof you need."
"You truly have a visionary mind, sir."
"Ha! What I'm hoping now is that the kid I just signed—Carson—can bring ho the eSports World Cup football title."
He turned his gaze toward the massive screen above the center of the stadium. It was showing a live feed of Carson and his teammate, both intensely focused on the match.
Once a troublemaker, Carson had turned his life around thanks to video gas—just like many others.
Their opponents were a top French eSports team. Both sides had already qualified for the World Cup finals; now, they were fighting for the title of European Champion.
The crowd was chanting passionately, cheering every goal scored.
Unlike traditional football, video ga football had a much faster pace, delivering stronger bursts of excitent.
In real-life football, even a close match might end with a score of 1–0 or 2–1, and most of the 90 minutes is spent in tactical play and possession battles.
But in football eSports, scoring seven or eight goals in a match wasn't uncommon, and each ga was shorter in duration. More matches were played overall, making for just as long an experience—but with way more adrenaline.
The audience's cheering barely paused. So fans had gone hoarse from yelling but still scread with joy. Many of them weren't even video ga fans—they'd just heard there was a football tournant.
When they realized it was a video ga version, not only did they stay, but they beca genuinely interested in eFootball, swept up in the hype and atmosphere.
Finally, after an hour of intense play across five matches, Carson's team won the final 3–2, claiming the European championship title amidst roaring applause.
"Well then, ti to head down. I need to personally reward my star player!"
With a European title in the bag, the Man Utd owner couldn't have been happier.
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