With the markets playing seesaw, it's been pretty well documented here we've liked SPYR, Inc. (OTCQB: SPYR) even more after the stock hit bottom late last month, and it hasn't disappointed at all. Although it's a bit of a volatile ride, traders and investors in the idea have done very well following its $.40 cent low on May 31st. So goes the nature of penny stocks, but it also goes to show what we always say about being in the right penny stocks - buy them when nobody else is, or buy them when they've drifted down to key low levels. And sure enough, SPYR has done it again. Even more importantly though, there's a big technical scenario setting up - something we should all pay close attention to - and also some great news this morning that further solidifies the company's entry into the multi-billion growth opportunity known as eSports. First, for those of you not familiar with eSports, the competitive video gaming industry has taken Millennial participation by storm. eSports are a form of competition that is facilitated by electronic systems, particularly video games; the input of players and teams as well as the output of the eSports system are mediated by human-computer interfaces. Most commonly, eSports take the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players. The most common video game genres associated with eSports are real-time strategy, fighting, first-person shooter (FPS), and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). Tournaments such as The International, the League of Legends World Championship, the Evolution Championship Series and the Intel Extreme Masters provide live broadcasts of the competition, and prize money to competitors. Although organized online and offline competitions have long been a part of video game culture, these were largely between amateurs until the late 2000s when participation by professional gamers and spectatorship in these events saw a large surge in popularity. Many game developers now actively design toward a professional eSport subculture. Total time spent watching eSports is steadily rising, according to IHS estimates reported on by The Financial Times. More than six billion hours were dedicated to watching professional gaming last year, up 19% since 2015. By 2021, IHS expects global eSports viewing to surpass 9 billion hours. As engagement with this content increases, revenue models will surface and solidify. Along with advertising, major revenue generators that are beginning to form include rights sales and e-commerce. eSports is far from fulfilling its revenue potential. About $280 million was generated from eSports advertising last year and IHS forecasts this will rise to $1 billion by 2021, but this will still be less than 1% of the more than $115 billion digital advertising market that eMarketer expects will exist then. The big thing holding eSports back is audience fragmentation, as different sets of viewers tune in for a wide array of gaming competitions. However, as the space continues to grow, it's small companies like SPYR that have the potential to hit a homerun within the competitive online gaming space. All it takes is one game to make it to the top of the participation player leaderboard, and it's game over. And it appears SPYR is absolutely hell bent on leveraging their new multi-player cross platform gaming engine to be among the winners in the space when it's all said and done. Just this morning, SPYR announced that its flagship game, Pocket Starships (www.pocketstarships.com), now includes the newest phase of its player vs. player (PvP) feature, continuing its journey toward entering the growing competitive electronic sports or "eSports" market. Players of Pocket Starships can engage in direct PvP arena battles, either one on one, three on three or five on five, simply by pressing a "quick match" button in the game. In the battles, players can go solo or team up to defeat their opponents and move up the new game leaderboards and league system. The PvP "quick match" system allows players to compete directly with or against their friends and encourages players to come back to the game frequently to engage in battle and reap the rewards of victory. In addition to the important PvP features, the recent update also includes these additional enhancements of the game to optimize performance on all published platforms: Rework of the Asset and Graphic system Upgrade Frontend Engine New Leaderboards New League System Rework of the Backend Instance System Pocket Starships will also soon be adding "team PvP" play and a tournament system, which will allow Pocket Starships to dive headfirst into eSports. "We are constantly working with our development team to iterate Pocket Starships in a way that keeps the game updated and relevant, as well as being responsive to the needs and desires of our players," said James R. Thompson, CEO & President of SPYR. "Doing so can only serve to increase retention and monetization. This most recent update adds many new elements that are designed to accomplish these goals; the most notable of which is the added competitive aspects of the game that come with the new PvP functionality, laying the groundwork for SPYR to enter the eSports arena," Thompson continued. Many of you probably remember just last week the company also announced a licensing deal for the Star Trek IP, which could be one major fundamental event to take the stock and the company to the next level. Why? Because as you can read above, the company's cross platform gaming engine is the key to its future. And now with its multi-player functionality having been integrated into its flagship game Pocket Starships, adding new skins like Stark Trek is likely to be well received by the online competitive gaming community. As for the stock, it's been doing well since its May 31st bottom, but it's the monthly chart traders and investors may want to pay close attention to, because if the horizontal line shown in this monthly chart below can get a break above the $70 cent level its recent monthly highs represents, it could be a whole new ballgame. Many you know the stock has had an abnormally high amount of short interest, so assuming the stock can continue to find legs, a break above $.70 cents could spark enough short covering to take the stock back up above around buck, a technical event that's already taken place on two separate occasions over the last few years. Let's hope that ends up being the case, because it would represent a tremendous win for everyone involved - except the short sellers of course.