Because the OP asked that exact question?
Well, then let’s answer no (the SuperBowl, and the World Cup for that matter, are outliers even in sports viewership) and move onto the more interesting question of whether it’ll be as popular as other traditional sports.
Eventually you reach the point of asking “will it be as popular as unpopular sports that basically no one watches” which is a legitimate question but probably not how the eSports fans would like it phrased. It might become as popular as women’s basketball but virtually no one cares about women’s basketball aside from a sit-com punchline.
Heck, even bowling looks like it draws in between 600k-800k viewers. I guess an eSport can be more popular than professional bowling. Heck, it looks as though League of Legends IS more popular than professional bowling, although its popularity is largely confined to China.
Even if no one cares about women’s basketball, it’s still something when an eSport league eclipses it (and leads to greater sponsorship deals and money). Having eSports even in the conversation with women’s basketball, bowling, etc. tends to change how people think of eSports in comparison to other traditional sports. And of course it’s a sport that is in its nascency. Big tourneys may hit a few million viewers in the US in the next decade or so, which means it may eclipse bigger sports (in the US), such as hockey or NASCAR.
I guess that brings us back around to “popularity”. For an international sponsor, six million viewers is no doubt exciting stuff and I’m not trying to downplay it. For a guy working at a grocery store in North Carolina, “More people in China watch eSports than people in the US watch bowling” is a pretty meaningless metric and is unlikely to shift perspectives. More likely, people will say “Haha, those wacky Chinese people” and forget about it. Either we need US market penetration or to wait until the Chinese invade us before eSports really matters here.
I’m not really trying to fight it. The last traditional sporting event I watched was the last few games of the Cubs World Series and heaven knows what was the last before that. Conversely, although I don’t watch eSports, I can at least follow a conversation about Overwatch or R6 Siege. It would be to my benefit if eSports was a topic of conversation at the office Christmas party but I don’t see rapid movement towards that goal.
I think it’s not about physicality, and only indirectly about violence. Most people watch pro and college sports to see people doing something entertaining they can’t do themselves, and to see it done at the highest levels.
There’s something about watching say LeBron or Kobe play that going to the Y and playing with some other forty-something buddies just doesn’t capture. Or watching a pro football game, for a more extreme version.
But I can go play Overwatch and have it rank me appropriately and have a whale of a time doing so- probably more than watching some twitchy guy play the exact same game a hair faster. That’s usually the difference between a mid-level and top level player- fractions of seconds, not 7 inches, a bench press of 200 pounds more and 3 seconds faster on the 40.
I think that’s what esports have to overcome- the spectating has to be MORE entertaining than just playing the game. Otherwise, why watch if you can participate?
So? Why does it matter if the majority of viewers are from China? Or the US for that matter?
I explained why. In one sense, it doesn’t matter at all. If I’m the CEO of ACME eSports, I might not care who is watching so long as I can reach umpteen million eyeballs and use those metrics to sell advertising/sponsorships. That’s a legitimate metric for “popularity”.
If I’m a guy in Oregon who likes eSports and would like to talk about them at office parties and backyard barbecues without people looking at me funny, the number of people in China watching eSports is basically irrelevant to me. People are still going to look at me funny when I interrupt a conversation about the football season with “And how about that Dota 2 match, am I right?” This is also a legitimate metric for popularity.
The OP asked about eSports becoming as popular as traditional sports. There’s multiple ways to tackle that question.
But that’s the thing, for a lot of young folks, it is more entertaining to watch someone who is far more skilled at the game than you, than just playing the game. Or even, watching is something you can do on your phone when you are away from your console (which the aforementioned teens from Church do before service). Or it can help inform your own game.
They just do it on a better level. It’s like watching speedruns of Mario - it’s amazing seeing someone with far more skill play the game.
What is going to be interesting is seeing the growth in eSports if, as some reports are suggesting may happen, the 2024 Paris games include eSports as an Olympic Sport
In the short term, the IOC seems to be saying that eSports contain too much violence to meet Olympic standards.
They should just do Mario Kart.
I know very very well the physical exertion the drivers go through. My point is that’s not why the vast majority of people are watching. 98% of NASCAR fans are not thinking, ‘wow I wonder what his average heart rate has been for the last three hours, I wish they’d have an overlay of G’s the drivers face and temperatures in the cars’. 98% of viewers are hoping to see cars going really really fast and then crashing.
something something Blue Shell joke 
98% definitely do not watch to see them crashing. Most NASCAR fans aren’t into crashes, especially if it involves their driver. Some casuals may be watching for crashes - similar to casual hockey fans who want to see fights. However, most NASCAR fans watch because of the skill it takes to drive those cars at 200mph mere inches from each other, while trying to be first over the line.
This post is correct and true.
OMG it is so not.
Show us then. IOW: cite?
It might be a legitimate subjective metric for a random guy in Oregon, but it is not an objective one. I really don’t see what relevance it has for this discussion. What if I’m a game developer in Helsinki who watches cricket? Should my experiences around the margarita-machine in the workplace determine the popularity of the sport?
That both the number of viewers and the money involved has risen pretty dramatically over less than a decade is indicative of esports becoming more popular. If it matters, EU and US players and fans are slowly starting to pick up pace. Though It might be a while until you can interrupt people in the middle of a conversation without being looked at funny.