The global rise of e-sports has transformed competitive video gaming into a multi-billion-euro industry. Unlike traditional sports, however, e-sports is shaped by the intellectual property rights of game publishers, who retain copyright over their titles and exercise control through restrictive licensing practices. This chapter examines the legal challenges posed by publisher dominance in the esports ecosystem, particularly for downstream actors such as tournament organizers, broadcasters, and players. Framed by the European Parliament’s 2022 call for a long-term video game strategy, the chapter explores three regulatory pathways under existing EU law. First, it considers the limits of copyright reform—assessing whether doctrines like fair use or compulsory licensing could expand access to competitive play, and why such reforms remain unlikely without amendments to the InfoSoc Directive. Second, it evaluates the potential of EU competition law to address abuses of dominance, drawing on recent jurisprudence and regulatory developments in digital markets. Third, the chapter examines whether ex ante intervention—modelled on the Digital Markets Act—can offer a viable framework for e-sports. Concluding that ex-post or traditional competition law offers the most feasible legal tool, the chapter calls for a more assertive and context-sensitive application of existing EU law to ensure a fair and inclusive future for e-sports.