Skyesports, one of prominent South Asian esports tournament organizations, recently announced that they would be charging a minimal fee of ₹20 to allow viewers to watch the highly anticipated Skyesports Championship 5.0 on Loco. This decision, although a strategic one, has stirred up a significant controversy and backlash from the gaming community. Notably, the criticism is not centered around the nominal sum itself but the challenges it poses to the younger audience. Renowned Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) caster, Zeeshan “Mazy” Alam, recently discussed the problem associated with this decision.

In a recent livestream, Mazy stated that the problem was not the amount of money the tournament organizer was charging, but it was the means of payment. He acknowledged that ₹20 is an amount that most individuals can afford, yet the problem lies in the accessibility of the medium through which the fee could be paid.  “If you ask someone for cash, they can easily give you ₹20 without any trouble. The problem is that there are no means to give ₹20. Our audience is all under 18 years of age. They don’t have bank accounts, they don’t have UPI, they don’t have any means to make their own transactions. When there are no means, how can they give ₹20? The problem lies there,” he said.

Mazy further argued that if the fee was charged for the entry at the LAN event, it would not have generated the same level of opposition. “They would go to the venue, buy a ₹20 ticket, enter, and there would be no commotion or issues. Nobody would question why it is like that. Everyone is willing to pay for LAN for all esports. But the problem is where will these young children get it from.”

While charging a nominal fee to watch an eSports tournament is a step forward in terms of monetization and sustainability for tournament organizers, a fine balance must be struck between revenue generation and ensuring accessibility for the majority of the audience. It will be interesting to see how this decision turns out.

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