Endemol Shine Beyond’s Smasher Network has launched the second season of the American adaptation of Legends of Gaming. The show, which is produced at YouTube Space Los Angeles with Pizza Hut as the title sponsor, pits eight of the nation’s top YouTube gamers in a six-round tournament featuring 24 video games.
Contestants this year include Legends veterans TmarTn (4.6 million subscribers) and Terroriser (1.4 million), who both participated in the U.S. edition’s first season, as well as new players Reckless Tortuga (1.2 million), Gassy Mexican (1.5 million), Moo Snuckel (1.6 million), Misses Mae (400,000), mcsportzhawk (500,000), and TheZombiUnicorn (200,000).
The U.K. version of Legends of Gaming has attracted nearly 70 million views since launching in 2014, and is the region’s fastest-growing gaming digital channel. In addition to the U.S. and U.K., the Legends of Gaming format has successfully launched locally in France, Germany, Chile and Brazil.
Tom “Syndicate” Cassell, who has 11 million YouTube and Twitch subscribers, has competed in both the U.K. and U.S. versions of this show over the years. Now he’s the host, and the new series is being broadcast in virtual reality through the YouTube mobile app and Google Cardboard. He talks about the future of eSports in this exclusive interview.
How did you find success in reaching your audience on YouTube?
I first replied to every single comment possible and got to know them as individuals. I asked them to share it with friends and family. I even got to the point where I started Skype and added a lot of people and told them about a new video. So, it was my personal way of letting them know a new video was out.
What role did eSports and competitive gaming play in growing your subscriber base?
My involvement with eSports has been awesome. I’ve had the pleasure of being involved in four seasons of Legends of Gaming. In the first season, I absolutely sucked. Thought I would have some sort of skill, but turned out not to. Also, in the first season of the American Legends of Gaming, I sucked at that one. In the second season in the U.K., I started stepping up my game. In the fourth season I’ve been a part of, the second season of Legends of Gaming America, I’m now the host. So, I get to put my amazing talents to rest and leave it to the others to wish they were as good as me.
What are your thoughts on the rise of eSports into the mainstream?
I’m really excited how mainstream eSports is getting. It’s growing each year, if not every damn month. The revenue generated from it is incredible. The players are winning normally from it. Smite had a tournament at one point where each person involved in the winning team took home one million dollars each. I have quite a few friends who are involved in eSports, especially friends who own some of the top tier teams, so it’s really exciting to see them growing and taking over stadiums worldwide.
How have you seen Legends of Gaming evolve since you were first involved in the U.K.?
The way I’ve seen Legends of Gaming evolve since I’ve been in the U.K. has been pretty simple, to be honest. The scale of production hasn’t increased massively, but what has streamlined is the time it takes to make it. It’s been done before, now with season one and season two, especially with the mid-season they just had. So, everything just runs like clockwork. Production was super smooth, super professional and everything was organized. It was really nice just to go in, get the job done and leave at the end of the day.
What are your thoughts on the adaptation for the U.S. audience?
The adaptation for the American audience for Legends of Gaming is that Americans do everything bigger and better. That’s just how it is. The sets are bigger, the cameras are bigger, the people are bigger, so are the televisions. Yeah, Americans just like to do it one step beyond.
What’s new with this online series this year in terms of format and games being played?
One of the biggest changes this year is that I’m actually the host, so no more playing games for me, which is unfortunate. But there’s always a host in every season, so it was a pleasure to take that role on. It’s still the same format as having players versus other players in teams and eventually the competition will head to 1vs.1, which will be awesome. Another change is that instead of having a coach this year, the players will no longer have a coach for their team and it’s pretty much up to them to carry their own weight, so good luck to them!
How has fan feedback impacted this series?
The fans really enjoy seeing familiar faces return to the series. As nice as it is to have a whole new cast, it’s nice to have someone familiar to come back to. For example, people behind me are really excited for season two in the U.K. as well as seeing me host in the U.S. So, it’s nice to have familiar faces to keep it like that. It’s nice to have that familiarity with some of the players so it doesn’t feel like they’ve been abandoned by people they’ve loved and once watched, and it’s a natural progression to be able to introduce new people into the new season.
How do you see this series tapping into the popularity of eSports?
Two words: Rocket League.
How might this type of online show be a gateway into eSports for the more casual gamer?
This is a really good way for people to get into more competitive eSports or competitive gaming in general because this is genuinely just a good group of people and good friends playing against each other in a competitive environment. If this is even a percentage of what eSports is or could be, it might open their eyes to be like, “Hm, I might check out an ESL or MLG match,” which again is great for the industry and great for us. Hopefully if fans enjoy what we do, they’ll enjoy what they do and come back for season three.
What are your thoughts on eSports graduating to real sports stadiums around the world?
I think I’m right in saying that eSports has just been picked up at the Olympics, and this is super new and random, but when I was at the gaming awards show, they talked about how the Olympics is going to get involved in eSports. If that’s the case, then that is absolutely incredible that eSports is going into major, major sports, especially with companies such as ESPN picking on up eSports teams and hosting desks. At the end of the day, it just means more money is coming into the franchise and a larger audience is coming on board, so it’s great for us as community.
Where do you see eSports five years from now?
I see eSports filling stadiums like it’s already doing, but with a much more engaged VR audience at home.
Photo credit: Endemol Shine Beyond USA
