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Coronavirus pandemic causes rise in e-sports coaching

Video game coaching is seeing a boom during the coronavirus pandemic.

It is a billion dollar business and its getting bigger.

Video game coaching has exploded over the last few months during the pandemic, as e-sports programs have increased in colleges, and major tournaments have emerged around the world online, not in person.  

Online marketplace fiverr.com saw a 43% jump in the number of coaching sessions booked between January and March as much of the world shut down.  

In March, another company, GamerCoach, sold more than a thousand hours of virtual coaching, up from 650 hours in February. 

In fact, GamerCoach is fielding about 10 applications a day from people that want to sign up to be coaches. 

These coaches can make up to $25 dollars an hour these days, that's a ten dollar boost since before the coronavirus.  

The games themselves vary, whether its Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, or Overwatch, that's a multiple player shooting competition.  

These coaches usually have other jobs, but a dozen hours a week of coaching has become their new normal, in addition to their regular gig. 

As millions file for unemployment benefits across the country, many are starting to see online e-sports competition as not a hobby, but a career. 

And platforms like google-owned YouTube are benefiting from that trend.

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