The Esports phenomenon sounds like a novel invention, but in fact it dates back to October of 1972.
At Stamford University students competed in a game called
Spacewar, and the winner got a year's subscription to Rolling Stones magazine. Years later, in 1980, a Space Invaders championship truly ushered in the era of esports, with over 10,000 participants and lots of media coverage.
In the 90s, with the dawn of the Internet, esports had an opportunity to grow beyond one room and truly cover the globe. Big brands, including
Blockbuster and
Nintendo, began sponsoring esport events and championships further promoting this exciting activity.
1997 saw the Red Annihilation tournament which featured competition on
Quake and saw the winner take home the Ferrari which belonged to the game's developer.
As more events started taking place, often offering greater cash prizes, the audiences who watch esports also grew.
Today, the esports industry is estimated to be worth
over $1 billion and by 2020, the figure is expected to be closer to $1.5 billion. Similarly, prize pools have grown significantly, from a magazine subscription decades ago, to millions in prizes awarded to winners today.
You can find all the upcoming events and see the live broadcasting of the game sessions for free on
esportsguide.com website.
Are esports different from traditional sports?
For those who don’t watch esports, there may be some confusion as to what they truly are.
Esports are video game competitions where, at the very least, there is a winner and a loser. Just like with traditional sports, participants of esports can be individuals or teams. In the same way that individuals compete in tennis, and teams compete in football, different esport games allow for different team sizes.
Another similarity is that both esport and traditional sports events attract cheering fans. In fact, certain esports live events garner the same multi-million audience numbers as major sporting events. Audiences can be in the arena or watch the action through esports live portals. The winners of esports are considered heroes and superstars by their loyal fans.
Just like with professional sports, players who train and compete throughout the year and receive income from traditional sporting events, professional esport teams also make a living playing video games.
Whilst this may sound like a fun and easy career, it requires a mental ability and coordination. The teams which combine the right set of players can expect an income in the millions of dollars, participation in hundreds – if not thousands of esport events.
Major esport events are spread out throughout the year in various smaller leagues. Normally, these leagues are region-specific and welcome teams from the same area to compete, with the winners moving on to international competition.
If this competing mechanism sounds familiar, it is because it very much resembles how
the FIFA World Cup is organised. Mentioning FIFA, it is quickly becoming one of the most popular esports, with football clubs actually engaging players to form their own virtual team.
There are numerous similarities to esports and traditional sports. One of the major differences is that participants of esports are not as physically active as those of most traditional sports.
Nevertheless, the pinpoint accuracy and split-second decision needed to become an esports champion mean that the mental abilities should not be underestimated.
Big Names in Esports
This guide is meant to serve as a starter pack to those who are new to the world of esports.
Those who would like to watch esports should start with some of the major annual events in the industry. The International is probably the best-known esports event, with a prize pool running into the tens of millions of dollars!
The event has been happening in Seattle annually since 2015, but those who cannot journey to the location can instead watch the esports live.
The
League of Legends World Final is another major event with a cool
$1 million prize pool. It has been held annually in Los Angeles for five years. A smaller event, known as
ESL One, is held in Frankfurt, Germany, and features the very popular DotA game.
In 2019 it looks like the number of esports events will be increasing across the world, with Asian countries, especially Korea and China, set to dominate the industry.
Apart from DotA, and now DotA 2, several games are used during esport events.
Counter-Strike Global Offensive is probably the most popular one in terms of participants and number of tournaments worldwide.
League of Legends, StarCraft II and
Fortnite also place in the top five positions. Surprisingly, even less popular games, such as
Gears of War or
Battlefield 4 are played in hundreds of events annually and have prize pools in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Beyond reading about the industry in this esportsguide, you should now enjoy some of the fun.
Watch esports live and get the latest information on the industry by visiting
esportsguide.com today.
