Seahawks’ Russell Okung invests in Seattle eSports company

RENTON, Wash. – Is there really much of a difference between watching someone play a football game and a video game?

Ultimately, it’s all about seeing someone trying to be the best they can be at what they do, according to Seahawks left tackle Russell Okung.

“It’s just like people coming to watch us,” Okung said.

Okung is betting that, someday, the viewing of video games could be as much of a big business as is watching the NFL.

Okung recently became an investor in Matcherino, a Seattle-based start-up company that helps video-game fans fund matches between their favorite players, or even raise money for a chance to play against their favorite video gamers. It’s something commonly referred to as “crowd-based funding.”

Essentially, it would be like fans of the Seahawks and New England Patriots raising money to have them play a game against each other – or even maybe raise money to challenge one of those teams to a game.

Watching others play video games might seem foreign to those who grew up in earlier eras.

But according to GeekWire, more than 205 million people watched or played competitive gaming in 2014 – or, as it has come to be known, eSports.

More than 12,000 fans of the video game Defense of the Ancients, or DotA, filled KeyArena for five consecutive days last summer to watch the game’s biggest tournament, called The International, with more than $18 million at stake for those who were playing.

Okung, as he put on his uniform for a Seahawks practice one day, said he doesn’t see any difference between attending a football game and watching two good video gamers face off.

Matcherino hopes to plug into that fertile eSports ground.

“I had some interest in the eSports industry for a while now,” Okung said. “Saw some success over in Asia and what is going on there, and it’s pretty cool. I think a lot of companies are trying to get into the content business and trying to understand what (video game) streaming is about.”

Matcherino last week announced a $1.25 million seed round led by Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group. Okung provided an undisclosed share of the investment.

Okung calls Madrona Venture Group managing director Matt McIlwain one of his “mentors” and added that “it’s something they work with, so it kind of caught my interest.

“I really love Matcherino and the understanding of what crowd-based funding is, to see guys play and see people play against the best gamers,” Okung said. “I thought it would be something cool for me to get behind. There’s a nice parallel, too, to what I do, so I thought it would be even cooler.”

Matcherino also hopes to allow gamers to interact with followers and get paid for matches against other top gamers and fans. Okung said it would be used to set up charitable events.

Okung considers himself a fairly avid gamer, though he said his ability to play slows considerably during the football season. He said Elder Scrolls, Madden and FIFA are his favorites.

“I try to play a little bit,” Okung said. “But you talk to a couple of the guys in here (the Seahawks’ locker room), and they love the idea, that competitive spirit that they can play some of the top gamers in the world and people would pay to watch.

“I thought it was pretty cool, something to get behind and learn more about. I’m glad to be a part of it early.”