What the hell is esports?
esports is a relatively new term to mainstream society, with many people still unaware of its existence. In short, it refers to any competitive video game played at a professional level for an audience. This could be in an international tournament or something smaller within the local scene.
The industry is young but has high expectations for the future. With the vast amount of money that can be made from winning major tournaments, many players are dropping out of school to pursue their dreams on games like Dota, League of Legends, Starcraft 2, Call of Duty and more.
How big is Esports industry today?
As we all know esports industry is beginning to catch the attention of some big names in mainstream sports like American football. One NFL player announced that he had purchased a major stake in an esports team, while another has signed with an esport team for an unconfirmed amount. This is evidence of esports growing into something bigger, with the NFL looking to potentially get involved with it further in the future.
Description Of A Typical Proffessional Esports Match:
Each player takes a turn at each role in a game of Dota 2. The biggest difference between esports and mainstream sports is that teams have five people to worry about, not just one individual.
Tournaments can be watched on sites such as Twitch or YouTube, where large audiences gather at live events to watch the pros play live. This year, some major tournaments have been held in Seattle, Cologne and Anaheim, with a total prize pool of over 4 million dollars.
How Esports Compare To Traditional Sports:-
The playstyles can be very similar to more traditional competitive sports such as basketball or American Football. Every sport has its strategy that may confuse the average onlooker but is second nature for the players involved.
Esports are still in their infancy compared to traditional sports but have high expectations for the future given their rapid growth so far. It’s difficult to predict where esports will be in five years, but it’s inevitable that it will grow even bigger and bigger than it is now.
How To Get Involved In Esports:
If you’re a fan of watching sports or competitive gaming, then going out to watch it live is the best way to get involved. Organisations such as ESL and MLG have tournaments worldwide, with some even being streamed online for free so anyone can tune in from home.
If you’re new to esports and want to get started, there are some great places to get involved online. Popular broadcasting service Twitch has many channels that broadcast esports events regularly.
Types Of Esports Games:
Countless video games can be played at an esports level, but the most popular ones are StarCraft 2, Call of Duty, Dota 2, League of Legends and Counter-Strike. These are all considered MOBA games, short for a multiplayer online battle arena where you fight either other players or computer-controlled characters in a team.
LOL is currently one of the most lucrative esports scenes, with its World Championships having a prize pool of over 1 million dollars. The most-watched esports game is currently Dota 2, which had over 1 million peak viewers at its most recent major tournament.
How To Watch To Esports?
Each game has its streaming website, with the biggest being Twitch for Dota 2 and Twitch for League of Legends. YouTube also hosts many videos of past tournaments if you prefer not to watch live.
If you don’t want to watch esports on their streaming sites, then major tournaments can be watched by buying tickets for them or watching them for free at cinemas worldwide. There are also many gaming festivals held worldwide to see top players compete live.
I’ve watched competitive gaming for four years now and have attended three different international tournaments. The first was Dreamhack Winter in Sweden in 2013, where my friend and I attended. The atmosphere was totally electric as we watched the final at the Globe Arena, where thousands cheered, screamed their lungs out and waved flags from around the world as one of the most iconic plays in esports history happened live on stage.
