The virtual social convention ShowUp opened for a second day yesterday, Feb. 2, with its more than 600 registered attendees on hand for more networking, knowledge and fun. The big, end-of-day seminar and panels discussed The Esports Explosion, which figures to play a massive role in the FEC of the future.

Sponsored by VRstudios – makers of the esports platform VRstudios Sports and the basketball game Hoops Madness – the event was led by Philip Kaplan, CEO at GameWorks, the LBE chain with a dedicated esports arena at their Las Vegas facility.

“Esports is like the league bowling 50 years later,” explained Kaplan. Host Bob Cooney added, “This absolutely has to be a key for our industry in the next 5-10 years,” something he said about VR five years ago, he mentioned.

VR, of course, was another topic of conversation during the day with sessions like How Emerging Tech Will Change FECs Forever and The Future of Location-Based Virtual Reality in 2021 and Beyond.

Head over to www.hopin.com/events/showup-trade-show-2021 to catch the final day’s programming (Feb. 3). Stay tuned to RePlay for additional coverage in our March issue.