Couch to Champions: Behind EA’s Ambitious Esports Expansion

Enormously influential video game publisher Electronic Arts has been synonymous with sports games for decades. The success of the Madden NFL and EA Sports FC franchises has led EA to expand its footprint into the realm of esports, regularly hosting tournaments, fan events, and brand activations that both organize and celebrate the communities around these games. 

A major factor in EA’s success in the esports programs around its biggest titles, including the hero shooter Apex Legends, is Monica Dinsmore, Head of Esports. Dinsmore identified esports as a gateway for younger gamers to get introduced and interested in real life sports, something EA is perfectly placed to encourage and facilitate with its EA Sports titles. With EA’s esports programs, players not only find EA’s sports game more accessible and inviting, but foster an interest in the sports themselves through EA’s numerous partners with the professional leagues and teams.

Dinsmore hosted her own panel at SXSW 2025 in Austin, Texas, Engaging the Core: Esports as a Player Retention Tool, speaking to her years of experience in the esports scene. Since joining EA in 2021, Dinsmore has organized numerous events and programs to record-breaking attendance as a testament to her expertise. After her panel, Dinsmore met with Den of Geek over coffee to discuss EA’s role in shaping the future of esports.

Prior to joining EA, Dinsmore was introduced to esports through her work with Riot Games, observing the power of these public events firsthand at a League of Legends tournament in Seoul. Seeing how much the game mattered to both players and the community around it, Dinsmore not only parlayed that experience into her work with EA’s esports brands, but doubled down and expanded upon it, with each game getting its own series of events and programs. That entails not just chasing viewership on streaming platforms, but encouraging players to get involved themselves, whether it’s participating in events or competing in the games’ various tournaments. The cornerstone of this is EA’s couch to champion programs, showcasing that a video game champion can come from anywhere.

“A guy called Henry [Leverette] won the Madden Championship Series last year. He picked up the game during COVID and he became the first millionaire from playing Madden. It was in a short amount of time, he got his family out of poverty by playing video games,” Dinsmore says about one of EA’s biggest esports feel-good stories. 

“You’ve also got athletes who are playing Madden,” she says. “I love seeing that engagement where it’s a big deal to them with what their rating is and where they show up in the game. We have some cool collaborations with Henry. He’s good friends with [Dallas Cowboys linebacker] Micah Parsons. He teaches him how to play Madden and they stream together.”

Similar sensibilities inform developing the esports scenes around Apex Legends and EA Sports FC, with the Apex Legends Global Series and the multifaceted FC Pro program, which includes the FC Pro Open for players of all skill levels, the international FC Pro World Championship, and the FC Pro Leagues, leveraging EA’s continued partnerships with numerous soccer entities worldwide. EA’s commitment to publishing renowned soccer games has remained as its partnership with FIFA has changed in recent years, with EA holding licensing partnerships with over 19,000 players, 700 teams, 100 stadiums, and 30 leagues, including MLS, the Premier League, and Bundesliga. For Dinsmore, EA taking a more autonomous role with its soccer titles allows for an unprecedented opportunity to work with their league partners in shaping the esports scene and its narrative.

“The thing that has been unlocked for me and my team in the FC world is now we own the entirety of the ecosystem,” Dinsmore explains. “We have the couch to champion part, we have the League Partner portion of the program, with all the league partners operating their own esports programs within this window of time, and we own the championship.”

For all global success in cultivating the EA Sports esports programs, including brand partnerships, Dinsmore keeps sight of the spirit of the community that she witnessed in South Korea years ago. EA’s next major Apex Legends event will be a massive LAN party in New Orleans, featuring an open tournament with 160 teams coming in to link up together and play at the local convention center. For Dinsmore, events like this keep the signature esports energy and passion alive as it revisits its roots, albeit on a grander stage.

“It’s very rare that you actually get to see, in-person, all the impact that your work had on those people that are so passionate about what you do. That’s another thing that keeps me coming back,” Dinsmore says. “For the latest Apex Legends Global Series [in Sapporo, Japan], we had 3,400 people come through those doors and my job on the floor, every single time, never gets old.”

From staying aware of esports’ roots to bringing in new generations of players to the games, the importance of Dinsmore’s role extends beyond just what she does directly for EA, but also in fueling fan interest in established sports for new generations through EA Sports titles. This is something picked up on by the biggest professional leagues in the world, leading to collaborative partnerships with EA to build out their respective esports communities through high-profile events.

“Esports is a gateway for Gen Z and Gen Alpha to get introduced to real-life sports,” Dinsmore observes. “MLS, Premier League, Bundesliga, all the big ones have esports programs that are contractual with EA for us to help us put these programs on and then they exist within our ecosystem. Why they care about esports is to reach a younger demographic.”

EA has long been a household name in the gaming community, especially for sports games. With Dinsmore at the helm of the veteran publisher’s esports communities, EA has not only focused on a revamped approach to esports, but is quickly changing how the industry thinks about its own esports strategy and partnerships beyond just people tuning in to see their favorite players compete on the world stage.

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