????2013年將被視為電子競(jìng)技（Electronic Sports）的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn),，全球電子游戲頂尖高手將捉對(duì)廝殺,，競(jìng)爭(zhēng)巨額獎(jiǎng)金。到今年年底,，會(huì)有超過1500萬(wàn)美元的獎(jiǎng)金分發(fā)給各支電子游戲代表隊(duì)和各種錦標(biāo)賽,。職業(yè)電子游戲比賽正在打破每一屆全新全球錦標(biāo)賽的記錄。收看職業(yè)高手開打各種經(jīng)典游戲,，如《英雄聯(lián)盟》（ League of Legends）,，《星際爭(zhēng)霸II 》（StarCraft II），《魔獸爭(zhēng)霸》（ Dota 2）和《使命召喚：黑色任務(wù)II》（Call of Duty: Black Ops II） 等的千萬(wàn)粉絲也開始吸引向傳統(tǒng)體育迷推銷產(chǎn)品的同類贊助商,。

????可口可樂公司（Coca-Cola）正是進(jìn)軍電子游戲市場(chǎng)的最大品牌之一,。上個(gè)月，《英雄聯(lián)盟》世界杯在斯臺(tái)普斯中心（位于洛杉磯中心城區(qū)的多功能體育中心——譯注）舉辦,。就在這個(gè)座無虛席的大賽現(xiàn)場(chǎng),，可口可樂公司宣布，零度可樂（Coke Zero）將贊助一個(gè)全新的小聯(lián)盟系列比賽,，它將成為游戲選手晉級(jí)職業(yè)選手的預(yù)備賽事,。

????可口可樂公司游戲部主管馬特?沃爾夫說：“我們與Riot公司的合作表明了我們對(duì)這個(gè)領(lǐng)域的重視程度。零度可樂與《英雄聯(lián)盟》攜手,，同時(shí)與Riot合作開始一個(gè)全新的系列業(yè)余比賽將會(huì)給玩家們帶來一些特別的東西,，并在國(guó)際體育界將電子競(jìng)技提升到全新高度。通過與Riot合作為玩家開辟一條晉級(jí)職業(yè)選手的道路,，我們希望為充滿活力,、激情四射的玩家們帶來一些真實(shí)而獨(dú)特的東西?！?/p>

????盡管電子競(jìng)技早在1997年左右就開始萌芽,，但直到2007年Justin.tv生活頻道（生活視頻創(chuàng)建和分享網(wǎng)站——譯注）橫空出世，同時(shí)Riot游戲公司在2009年推出了免費(fèi)的《英雄聯(lián)盟》后,，它才迎來了突飛猛進(jìn)的發(fā)展,。據(jù)電子游戲研究公司Newzoo的總裁彼得?瓦爾曼稱，全球絕大多數(shù)玩家玩的都是“多人聯(lián)機(jī)在線競(jìng)技游戲”（MOBA），即多支參賽隊(duì)伍在虛擬場(chǎng)景中捉對(duì)廝殺,。50%的玩家在亞洲,，另外一半則來自全球各地。瓦爾曼表示,，全球12億玩家中有8500萬(wàn)人玩的都是這種游戲,。他說：“我們預(yù)計(jì)今年《英雄聯(lián)盟》的總收入至少能達(dá)到3.5億美元?！?/p>

????Riot公司稱,，每個(gè)月有3200多萬(wàn)人會(huì)參加五人一隊(duì)的對(duì)戰(zhàn)。每天的活躍玩家有1200萬(wàn)人,，參賽的峰值人數(shù)能達(dá)到500萬(wàn),。毫無疑問，這使《英雄聯(lián)盟》成了世界上最流行的游戲,。同時(shí),，這種火爆也讓很多人開始關(guān)注起競(jìng)技游戲領(lǐng)域來。歐洲運(yùn)動(dòng)聯(lián)盟（European Sports League）,、世界電玩大賽（World Cyber Games）,，美國(guó)競(jìng)技游戲聯(lián)盟（Major League Gaming）和英特爾極限大師杯賽（Intel Extreme Masters）都已將《英雄聯(lián)盟》納入自己的賽事，同時(shí)與Riot公司合作在全球各地全年推廣,。

????2013 will be seen as a turning point in the evolution of eSports, or Electronic Sports, which pit the world's best video game players against one another for huge cash prizes. Over $15 million in prize money will be distributed through video game leagues and tournaments by the close of this year. Professional video gaming is shattering records with each new global tournament. The millions of fans who tune in to watch pros play video games such as League of Legends, StarCraft II, Dota 2, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II are starting to attract the same type of sponsors that market to traditional sports fans.

????Coca-Cola (KO) is one of the biggest brands to enter eSports. The company used the League of Legends World Championship at the sold-out Staples Center last month to reveal that Coke Zero will sponsor a new minor league series that will serve as a place for gamers to compete in before going pro.

????"Our partnership with Riot symbolizes how serious we are about the space," said Matt Wolf, head of gaming, The Coca-Cola Company. "Pairing Coke Zero with League of Legends and collaborating with Riot on a new amateur series will bring something special to the players and help elevate eSports to a new level in the world of international sports. By working with Riot to create a road to the pros, we hope to deliver something authentic and unique to a vibrant and passionate player community."

????Although eSports has been around since approximately 1997, it hasn't been until recently with the 2007 debut of Justin.tv (now Twitch) and the 2009 launch of Riot Games' free-to-play League of Legends that things really accelerated. According to Peter Warman, president of video game research firm Newzoo, the majority of gamers around the world play the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game that pits teams of champions against one another within a fantasy setting. Fifty percent of the players are in Asia, and the other half come from the rest of the world. Warman says that 85 million of the 1.2 billion gamers worldwide play it. "We expect the total gross revenues of League of Legends to be at least $350 million this year," says Warman.

????More than 32 million players engage in the team-based five vs. five combat action a month, according to Riot. There are over 12 million active players a day with a peak concurrent rate of 5 million gamers engaging in the game. Without a doubt, this makes League of Legends the most popular game on the planet. And this popularity has opened a lot of eyes to the competitive gaming space. Organizations like the European Sports League (ESL), World Cyber Games (WCG), Major League Gaming (MLG) and Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) have incorporated League of Legends into their events, working with Riot to make the overall season have stops around the globe.