Esports is a term used to refer to video games played competitively for spectators, typically among professional players. It can also be referred to as electronic sports. Video game competitions have been organized for decades, but the rapid increase in popularity of esports since about 2010 has led to wider interest and participation outside of the traditional gamer and tech circles.
The most popular Esport events are usually held by large-scale tournaments such as The International Dota 2 Championships or League of Legends World Championship Series which attract many audiences and bettors worldwide.
This industry has gained so much attention and some industries like betting and technology have also joined the pool. We can see many crypto betting sites who offer wagering on esports. Furthermore, the technology industry has also started investing in the development of the esports arena by introducing new games or game genres that directly attract players and audiences to these events.
The list below shows 5 of the most popular Esports event to date
The International Dota 2 Championships
The International Dota 2 Championships, often referred to simply as The International, is an annual e-sports tournament hosted by Valve Corporation, the developers of the video game Dota 2.
The inaugural event was held in Cologne, Germany from August 17-21 with a total prize pool of $1.6 million. The Second International was held in Seattle, the United States from 2012 to 2013, and featured a $2.8 million prize pool.
In 2014, the prize pool reached $10.93 million and Valve announced that 25% of all such revenues would be added to the total prize pool for The International 2015 tournaments. It had one of the largest prize pools in the history of esports tournaments at $18.4 million. The International 2016 featured a $20 million prize pool.
League of Legends World Championship Series
The League of Legends World Championship is an annual international LoL championship hosted by Riot Games, with a League of Legends World Championship Series.
It is the most widely attended tournament in the competitive League of Legends, with over 40 million unique viewers from more than 100 different countries tuning in to watch the events every year.
It features eighteen of the top LoL teams throughout the world, twelve teams qualifying by winning their regional leagues and another six teams qualifying by winning the international Wildcard competitions.
The tournament has been widely viewed and streamed within China, South Korea, Europe, and North America as well as many other places such as Brazil and Australia.
Esports Championship Series (ECS)
The Esports Championship Series (ECS), is an international professional electronic sports tournament held in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The ECS Season 3 was the first season of the League organized by FACEIT and Twitch with offline finals which took place at SSE Arena, Wembley, London.
HearthStone Continental Championships (Hearthstone World Championship)
The Hearthstone World Championship is an annual esports competition for the multiplayer online video game Hearthstone. The first World Championship was held at the end of 2014 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Players from 13 different countries competed for a $250,000 prize pool, with William “Amnesiac” Barton coming out on top and claiming the title of World Champion and the $100,000 grand prize.
The 2017 Hearthstone World Championship was the fourth edition of the tournament and took place in Amsterdam from January 18 – 21. The prize pool for the event was $1,000,000 with $250,000 going to the winner.
The event had a total of 24 competitors, consisting of the 20 players who qualified through Regional Championships and 4 players who qualified through the Last Call Invitational.
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These events attract many audiences and bettors who hope to see their favorite players take home a big prize pool. Esports is an industry that has grown tremendously over the past few years and events like these not only showcase professional competition but also provide entertainment for viewers around the world.
