Spectatorship is a core element of esports. Short for “electronic sports,” esports encompasses organized, professional competitive videogaming practices produced and consumed as a spectator sport. Esports’ computerized nature grants it a placeless quality, which creates ambiguities around what authentic esports spectatorship ought to be. Notably, some notions theorized prior to the emergence of contemporary esports imply that authenticity and placelessness are incompatible. We address this conundrum by presenting an ethnographic study conducted at an esports bar; a venue designed for the spectatorship of esports alongside other fans and alcohol consumption. While embodying seemingly placeless qualities, esports spectatorship nevertheless takes place in situated places. We found spectators at the bar worked to authenticate their spectatorship by drawing on conventions of legitimacy, professionalism, and spectacle from elsewhere, particularly spectator sports. Through their spectatorship, those at the bar constructed and affirmed a convention of authenticity for esports.

观众是电子竞技的核心要素。“电子竞技”的简称，电子竞技包括有组织的、专业的竞技电子游戏实践，作为一项观众运动产生和消费。电子竞技的计算机化性质赋予它一种无处可去的品质，这使得人们对真正的电子竞技观众应该是什么产生了歧义. 值得注意的是，在当代电子竞技出现之前理论化的一些概念暗示真实性和无场所性是不相容的。我们通过展示在电子竞技酒吧进行的民族志研究来解决这个难题；一个专为观看电子竞技以及其他粉丝和饮酒而设计的场地。虽然体现了看似无处可去的品质，但电子竞技的观众却发生在有地点的地方。我们发现酒吧里的观众通过借鉴其他地方的合法性、专业性和奇观的惯例，特别是观众运动来证明他们的观众身份。通过他们的观众，酒吧里的人构建并肯定了电子竞技的真实性惯例。