Constructing Authentic Spectatorship at an Esports Bar

Abstract

Spectatorship is a core element of esports. Short for “electronic sports,” esports encompasses organized, professional competitive videogaming practices produced and consumed as a spectator sport. Esports’ computerized nature grants it a placeless quality, which creates ambiguities around what authentic esports spectatorship ought to be. Notably, some notions theorized prior to the emergence of contemporary esports imply that authenticity and placelessness are incompatible. We address this conundrum by presenting an ethnographic study conducted at an esports bar; a venue designed for the spectatorship of esports alongside other fans and alcohol consumption. While embodying seemingly placeless qualities, esports spectatorship nevertheless takes place in situated places. We found spectators at the bar worked to authenticate their spectatorship by drawing on conventions of legitimacy, professionalism, and spectacle from elsewhere, particularly spectator sports. Through their spectatorship, those at the bar constructed and affirmed a convention of authenticity for esports.