Esports is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, with the United States and Asia leading the way. The Esports scene has continued to thrive and now brings in millions of dollars across the globe, including Europe and Canada.
Sponsorship deals mean the prize money for the big tournaments has gone through the roof and more people than ever before are trying to make the breakthrough as a professional Esports player.
While the US and Asia still attract much of the attention in the Esports world, Canada has been growing in the Esports scene. In fact, Canadian teams and players have been winning Esports titles for several years. For example, Team Canada claimed second place in the 2017 Overwatch World Cup. Canadian Sasha ”Scarlett” Hostyn made history as she became the first woman to win a major StarCraft 2 tournament at the 2018 IEM championship in Pyeongchang.
In terms of the global Overwatch League, there are now regular Canadian teams participating in events, including the Toronto Defiant and Vancouver Titans. The teams are part of larger Esports organizations, with OverActive Media and Luminosity Gaming considered two of the major players in the Esports gaming industry. If you wish, you can choose to bet on Toronto Defiant and Vancouver Titans when they are participating in big Esports events and enjoy playing games at the safest online casino in Canada. With Esports continuing to grow in popularity in Canada, it is only a matter of time before Esports betting odds become common place.
OverActive Media are a good indication of how the Esports scene is exploding in Canada. In February 2021, the company announced it intends to build a 7,000-seat esports venue in Toronto at a cost of $500 million. Talking about the project, CEO and president Chris Overholt said, “There is and has been a market gap in the city of Toronto around the opportunity for premium entertainment acts that land in the city,” before continuing, “Toronto is a great market for entertainment, and has been for a long time”.
Luminosity Gaming, another Canadian-based Esports company has several teams competing in various games around the world, including Overwatch, Fortnite, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Call of Duty, and Apex Legends.
However, without talented individuals, the teams would not succeed and Canada is producing some of the world’s best Esports players. Arteezy is a good example and he studied in Vancouver before becoming part of the Evil Geniuses team. Now 25 years old, Arteezy is one of the most popular streamers among the Dota2 community and he produced an incredible individual performance at The International 2019.
Staying in Vancouver and NAF is another of the leading Canadian Esports players to come from the city. He is a professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player for Team Liquid. NAF has plenty of achievements on his CV, including winning the DreamHack Masters Dallas 2019, ESL One: Cologne 2019, and BLAST Pro Series: Los Angeles 2019.
So, there is plenty to be excited about as the Esports scene continues to grow in Canada.
