Kilmer MichaelEsports are video game competitions held at a professional level around the world. In 2021, this industry earned over $1 billion and will continue to grow steadily. According to Newzoo, the number of video game fans grew by 6.7% in the same year and exceeded 465 million viewers.
In this regard, for esports to be considered as such, it must meet a number of guidelines. The first is that the game must take place between two or more players who must compete on equal terms, i.e. avoid any kind of cheating. At the same time, there should be official regulated leagues and competitions organized by sponsors or companies that aim to reach a significant number of fans who play or watch the games. One of the most famous platforms for enjoying this hobby through streaming is Twitch, owned by Amazon.
Esports tournaments take place like regular sports; they bring together famous players from each video game, use stadiums to play the games, have massive ticket sales, and have audiences watching from home.
Major leagues and games
- League of Legends World Championship
Organized by Riot Games, it is one of the most popular games that generates the most profit, with a prize of almost 1 million euros.
The game was developed for the Microsoft Windows operating system and a version for OS X was launched, which was improved by the users of the game themselves, giving rise to an extended version of the game.
- Fornite World Championship
There are many variables that have made this game successful. First, it is free, which encourages people to play it.
Because of this, the game’s creator Epic Games hosts this tournament every year, which distributes up to $100 million. The top 100 players and the top 50 pairs get a place in the finals.
- PUBG World Championship
It is organized by Tencent and Pub. During the tournament, teams compete in weekly rounds, and after reaching the finals, they can compete for a cash prize of up to 2 million euros.
In the game, 100 participants parachute onto an island where they will stock up on equipment to survive and kill their opponents.
4.International
This is a tournament for DOTA 2 fans sponsored by Valve Corporation. The first World Championship took place at Gamescom 2011 in Germany, where due to its success it was moved to several cities around the world, such as Seattle, Vancouver, and Shanghai.
- Call of Duty World League.
Its first edition took place in 2016, and in one of the last editions, it gave away a total of $6 million in prizes for the 2019 season. The tournament series was suspended, and in early 2020, the Call of Duty League became a franchise league with twelve teams distributed in eleven cities.
- Overwatch League
The first competition created by Blizzard Entertainment was held in 2017.
The game consists of four stages that last approximately one month each, and the distributed prizes are USD 200,000 for the winner; USD 100,000 for the second place and USD 50,000 for the third and fourth places.
7.Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Also called CS:GO, it was designed for Windows and developed by Valve Corporation and Hidden Path Entertainment in 2012.
It is one of the most successful shooter games on the market with free-to-play access. This video game creates an action-packed environment where players need to defend themselves or else they will die forever.