????2013年將被視為電子競技（Electronic Sports）的轉(zhuǎn)折點,，全球電子游戲頂尖高手將捉對廝殺,，競爭巨額獎金。到今年年底,，會有超過1500萬美元的獎金分發(fā)給各支電子游戲代表隊和各種錦標賽,。職業(yè)電子游戲比賽正在打破每一屆全新全球錦標賽的記錄。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）,，《星際爭霸II 》（StarCraft II），《魔獸爭霸》（ Dota 2）和《使命召喚：黑色任務II》（Call of Duty: Black Ops II） 等的千萬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）正是進軍電子游戲市場的最大品牌之一,。上個月，《英雄聯(lián)盟》世界杯在斯臺普斯中心（位于洛杉磯中心城區(qū)的多功能體育中心——譯注）舉辦,。就在這個座無虛席的大賽現(xiàn)場,，可口可樂公司宣布，零度可樂（Coke Zero）將贊助一個全新的小聯(lián)盟系列比賽,，它將成為游戲選手晉級職業(yè)選手的預備賽事,。

????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這個領域的重視程度。零度可樂與《英雄聯(lián)盟》攜手,，同時與Riot合作開始一個全新的系列業(yè)余比賽將會給玩家們帶來一些特別的東西,，并在國際體育界將電子競技提升到全新高度。通過與Riot合作為玩家開辟一條晉級職業(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而獨特的東西?！?/p>

????盡管電子競技早在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Riot游戲公司在2009年推出了免費的《英雄聯(lián)盟》后,，它才迎來了突飛猛進的發(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)機在線競技游戲”（MOBA）,，即多支參賽隊伍在虛擬場景中捉對廝殺。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8500萬人玩的都是這種游戲。他說：“我們預計今年《英雄聯(lián)盟》的總收入至少能達到3.5億美元,?！?/p>

????Riot公司稱，每個月有3200多萬人會參加五人一隊的對戰(zhàn),。每天的活躍玩家有1200萬人,，參賽的峰值人數(shù)能達到500萬。毫無疑問,，這使《英雄聯(lián)盟》成了世界上最流行的游戲,。同時，這種火爆也讓很多人開始關注起競技游戲領域來,。歐洲運動聯(lián)盟（European Sports League）,、世界電玩大賽（World Cyber Games），美國競技游戲聯(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.