Everything You Need to Know about eSports

ESports has been around for some time now, and it’s known as the battle between video game players. Usually, there will be a number of players participating in eSports, engaging in multiplayer video game fights, either in teams or as individual players. The matches take place between professional players most of the time. It was only later that the industry gained traction, though, when live streaming the competitions boosted the popularity even more.

The most popular eSports games that people can get into are Dota, Overwatch, StarCraft, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and many others. In addition, there are a series of events surrounding each game, with competitions between players and big money prizes. An important thing that brings so much money to eSports tournaments is eSports gambling.

How ESports Were Born

ESports has its roots in the 1970s when Stanford University decided to host a game competition.  The game used was Spacewar, and a number of students have participated in the contest back in October 1972. The prize for the competition was a Rolling Stone subscription for a whole year. But after this, the eSports industry started to slowly evolve.

In 1980, Atari held the Space Invaders Championship, which was one of the largest video game events in the earlier times. Over 10,000 people have participated in the competition. This is what made competitive gaming a thing.

The Growth

Although it all started in the 1970s, when the best player was decided based on score, it wasn’t until 1991 when actual competitions between two gamers have gained popularity. Street Fighter II was actually relying on true competitions between two players who had to fight to decide who the best is out of the two.

As a result of the popularity of face-to-face confrontation games, the Evolution Championship Series has been established in 1996. But many other tournaments have taken place in the 1990s, such as the World Game Championships held by Blockbuster Video, or the Nintendo World Championships. And as internet connectivity was spreading and becoming more common in the 1990s, it had a positive effect on the eSports industry.

Once the 2000s started, electronic sports have been continuously evolving, with the number of people playing or watching the games increasing. Since there was a financial crisis in Asia in 1997, people without a job wanted something to do to pass the time, so they turned to video games. The Korean eSports Association was then established in 2000.

But there was an even bigger growth in popularity for eSports due to the fact that more people started watching professional eSport competitions and prizes have gotten bigger. This period saw a lot of new tournaments, such as the Intel Extreme Masters or Major League Gaming.

Popular eSports Games

With the rise of eSports, more and more games have gained more fans, either among professional gamers or non-professional ones. Many games have been loved over the years, but from the 2010s until now, there’s a list of games that continue to prosper. Nowadays, you hear people who play eSports talk about the same games. They are often League of Legends, Smite, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, Hearthstone, StarCraft II, Heroes of the Storm, and many others.

Sport Classification

There’s a lot of confusion around whether eSports can be classified as sports or not. Many people think that electronic sports are deserving of the “sports” title, mostly due to the popularity and the timing, execution, and planning that it requires.

But there are also those who laugh at the thought of electronic sports being classified as sports. Sports require physical effort and special playing areas usually, something that professional eSports don’t possess, not even sports eSports. So, some consider video games a mind sport instead.

But despite this thing, eSports were considered a real sport starting from 2003, in China, because the government thought it’s essential in training the body. Today, people who are into eSports also qualify as professional gamers. Starting with 2019, playing eSports was considered an official profession. This is why many eSports fans have registered themselves as professional gamers.

Aside from China, other countries such as Turkey and Canada started giving player licenses or visas to professional players in the game industry.

ESports Tournaments

Tournaments are commonly held to entertain eSports fans and give eSports professional players something to look forward to. Basically, there are multiple stages in a tournament, with teams going against each other until they are eliminated and one of them wins. In general, these events are physical ones, with real live audiences. Officials or referees are also there in order to monitor players and prevent cheating.

Money is being generally offered at the end of the tournament. The big winner takes the biggest prize home, but some events are also offering smaller money prizes to teams situated in other places. Also, the tournament can either be the entire event, or just part of a bigger one, like in the Dreamhack situation.

Some popular eSports tournaments include the North American Major League Gaming, the Fortnite World Cup, and the Electronic Sports World Cup.

Popular Players and Teams

In all tournaments, people have the chance to see their favorite players and teams in action, showing their hard work and trying to win the big prize. There are various teams consisting of professionals that participate in eSport tournaments on various video games. Some famous teams are Natus Vincere, Fnatic, Cloud9, Evil Geniuses, Counter Logic Gaming, Mineski, and FazeClan.

Gambling

One thing that helps the eSports industry a lot is gambling. As it’s possible to do live streaming of the tournaments, a lot of fans want to try their chance to win some money through betting. For those into e-Sports, eSports gambling is one of the most entertaining teams. Their cash is also supporting the teams and the tournaments, making the betting community a key piece for any eSport organization that wants to maintain the events.

Overall, eSports are a huge thing and can be expected to grow even more in the following years.