SMU Guildhall Graduate Catalog Spring 2019 — Cohort 27 | Page 72

Cole Thatcher Production « Esport Ecosystem Evolution: Fan Loyalty and Engagement My thesis investigated esports fan I chose to study esports because it has includes esports teams, esports players, to League of Legends years ago. behavior in the esports ecosystem, which and content streaming platforms. Through a quantitative survey of the esport fans of The Overwatch League, the researchers measured fan loyalty and fan engagement at both the team and player level. After collecting data from esports fans online, I analyzed the results and created a case study recommending business solutions to esports teams and brands. 72 PRODUCTION been my passion since being introduced Esports is a rapidly growing industry with an increasing amount of significant investments. Through this study, I hoped to better understand esports fans and the ecosystem as a whole. Over the eight months I worked on this project, I was able to achieve my goals and grow my passion for the industry.