Cover	1
	Table of Content	7
	List of Abbreviations	9
	Lists of Images and Tables	12
	1 Introduction	14
	1.1 Problem Statement	14
	1.2 Disambiguation	15
	2 The eSports Market	17
	2.1 Historical Development	17
	2.2 ESports Disciplines	20
	2.2.1 Hardware Systems	20
	2.2.2 Genres and Games	20
	2.3 Key Components of the eSports Ecosystem	21
	2.3.1 Consumers: The eSports Fans	22
	2.3.2 Players	26
	2.3.3 Teams: eSports Clubs	27
	2.3.4 Leagues and Tournaments	30
	2.3.5 Events	33
	2.3.6 Media Channels	36
	2.3.7 Publishers	41
	2.3.8 Brands	44
	2.3.9 Associations	45
	2.4 Risk Factors	47
	2.4.1 Corruption	47
	2.4.2 Virtual Violence	50
	2.5 Sponsoring in Western eSports	51
	2.5.1 Sponsoring Properties and Activities	52
	2.5.2 Sponsor Composition	54
	2.5.3 The Attractiveness of the Target Group	57
	2.6 Consolidation and Future Outlook	58
	2.6.1 Overall Market Size and Growth	58
	2.6.2 Magic Triangle of Sports and the Flow of Money	62
	2.6.3 New Technologies	63
	2.6.4 Legal and Political Aspects and the Relation to Traditional Sports	65
	3 Empirical Research on 3rd and 4th Degree Sponsoring	68
	3.1 Previous Research on eSports	68
	3.2 Research Problem Definition and Objectives	68
	3.3 The Case Study	69
	3.4 Theoretical Model, Research Design and Methods	72
	3.5 Data Collection	76
	3.5.1 Field Study	76
	3.5.2 Online Survey	77
	3.6 Data Analysis	78
	3.6.1 Socio-Demographics	78
	3.6.2 Verification of the Required Conditions	78
	3.6.3 Attitude towards Sports Sponsoring	79
	3.6.4 Awareness at Event	80
	3.6.5 Attitude and Perception	80
	3.6.6 Image Transfer Potential	85
	3.6.7 Created Brand Connection with eSports	86
	3.6.8 International Results	88
	3.7 Summarization and Implications	89
	3.8 Limitations and Future Research	90
	4 Conclusion	91
	Bibliography	95
	Appendixes	125