Table of Content List of Abbreviations Lists of Images and Tables 1 Introduction 1.1 Problem Statement 1.2 Disambiguation 2 The eSports Market 2.1 Historical Development 2.2 ESports Disciplines 2.2.1 Hardware Systems 2.2.2 Genres and Games 2.3 Key Components of the eSports Ecosystem 2.3.1 Consumers: The eSports Fans 2.3.2 Players 2.3.3 Teams: eSports Clubs 2.3.4 Leagues and Tournaments 2.3.5 Events 2.3.6 Media Channels 2.3.7 Publishers 2.3.8 Brands 2.3.9 Associations 2.4 Risk Factors 2.4.1 Corruption 2.4.2 Virtual Violence 2.5 Sponsoring in Western eSports 2.5.1 Sponsoring Properties and Activities 2.5.2 Sponsor Composition 2.5.3 The Attractiveness of the Target Group 2.6 Consolidation and Future Outlook 2.6.1 Overall Market Size and Growth 2.6.2 Magic Triangle of Sports and the Flow of Money 2.6.3 New Technologies 2.6.4 Legal and Political Aspects and the Relation to Trad. Sports 3 Empirical Research on 3rd and 4th Degree Sponsoring 3.1 Previous Research on eSports 3.2 Research Problem Definition and Objectives 3.3 The Case Study 3.4 Theoretical Model, Research Design and Methods 3.5 Data Collection 3.5.1 Field Study 3.5.2 Online Survey 3.6 Data Analysis 3.6.1 Socio-Demographics 3.6.2 Verification of the Required Conditions 3.6.3 Attitude towards Sports Sponsoring 3.6.4 Awareness at Event 3.6.5 Attitude and Perception 3.6.6 Image Transfer Potential 3.6.7 Created Brand Connection with eSports 3.6.8 International Results 3.7 Summarization and Implications 3.8 Limitations and Future Research 4 Conclusion Bibliography Appendixes