The meaning of esports by actors in the esports industry in their daily experinces

Electronic sports (esports), which is shaped by the professional playing of competitive video games, is becoming an increasingly popular area for young people. People who have a certain level of talent and success in competitive video games are making great efforts to take part in the esports industry and to benefit from the opportunities offered by this industry. This study focuses on how the actors in the esports industry make sense of and position esports in their daily experiences. The questions of what meanings esports corresponds to in the daily lives of the actors in the esports industry, what kind of experience it is subject to with what motivations, and ultimately what role esports plays in the future plans of these actors were sought to be answered. In this research, which was conducted with phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods, a total of 16 people were interviewed, including 12 esports professionals, 2 social workers, 1 psychologist and 1 university community manager. In-depth interviews were conducted with a semi-structured interview form, and observations were made during multiple visits to esports centres. It was found that esports is a phenomenon that is at the very centre of life, especially for the actors who strive to do this job professionally, which involves responsibility as well as entertainment, and requires coping with stress as well as excitement. As a result of the thematic analysis, the findings were summarised under 5 main themes: meaning, biography, family, education and career. The contributions of esports in the lives of young people, as well as potential and existing problem areas are included. The findings obtained from the experiences in line with the interactions of the systems that the actors in the esports industry are in relation with each other are discussed in micro, meso and macro dimensions. From micro systems such as family to macro systems such as politics, it is emphasised how the interconnections of systems shape the esports experience of the actors.