[piva00]

People weren't around or just don't remember Justin.TV, UStream and similar services.

As a former Counter-Strike 1.6 player in a decent level I do remember the transition from watching eSports on HLTV and other in-game broadcast solutions to watching on Justin.TV or UStream.

I think the major turning point was around 2011-2012 and my days of competitive gaming were way behind me at that point so being able to watch pros through a live videostream was quite exciting, now it's just a given but it's been brewing for the past 10-15 years.