The world of competitive video game tournaments explored

If you thought video games were just for teenage boys locked away in their bedrooms, think again. Video games are big business, as competitive tournaments have helped give rise to an entirely new sport. Esports now commands more fans and viewers than many traditional sports, with lucrative prizes on offer.

Video games are so much more than a hobby for the thousands of players now plying their trade in esports leagues and tournaments that take place year-round.

But if all of this sounds completely alien to you, then buckle in as we take a trip into the world of competitive video game tournaments to find out what’s really going on.

The rise of esports

Esports is the catch-all name for organized, multiplayer video game competitions. These are played by professional players, either individually or as part of a team.

Casual competitions among friends have always been part of video game culture but this has now blossomed into a professional industry with millions of fans worldwide. Games like StarCraft and Warcraft led the way in the early 2000s as large-scale online competitions were held for those games. But by the next decade, things had changed dramatically.

Esports tournaments are now major events with international audiences and prize pools to match. These tournaments are streamed live across the world on various platforms. League of Legends continues to be one of the most popular games in esports, with its 2024 world championship being the biggest esports tournament of all time.

In terms of prize money, Dota 2 remains the most lucrative game for esports players, with its annual competition The International in 2021 offering a prize pot of over $40 million.

With such big audiences, sponsors have jumped aboard the esports freight train while media rights are also fiercely contested for the biggest tournaments.

The structure of esports tournaments

Esports tournaments follow a similar structure to traditional sports. Players have to get through qualification, elimination rounds and finals if they want to win big.

Due to the size of these tournaments, many events are broken down into regional qualifiers. This is where players or teams compete to ensure they qualify for the main tournament itself. The qualifiers typically take place online, allowing greater accessibility for more players to become involved.

Many tournaments take a format that is reminiscent of soccer’s World Cup. Group stages often feature competition in a round-robin format. The qualifiers from each group move on to knock-out rounds where it’s straight elimination – lose and you go home. The final stage can be a huge multi-day event in itself, drawing in the biggest audience as the competition finally finds its champion.

There are also leagues that continue throughout the year with a format that is more like that of the NFL. Regular season matches take place in leagues such as the Overwatch League and the League of Legends Championship Series, before playoffs and finals take place. This gives players a chance to compete year-round, just as a traditional sports team would.

Popular esports titles

The esports scene is as diverse as the video game industry as a whole. But the biggest events focus on a few key genres.

Multiplayer online battle arena, or MOBA for short, is the most popular genre in esports, with two of the biggest titles – League of Legends and Dota 2 – falling under the genre’s banner. Teams of players control their unique characters with their own skills and abilities to try and destroy another team’s base.

The games are played on large maps with incredibly immersive worlds. Tournaments based around these games are now significant cultural events in the gaming calendar, launching players to superstar status in the sport.

First-person shooters make up a huge slice of the esports world as well, with titles such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty, and Overwatch. These games also require teams to work together using strategy and teamwork to take out other teams.

The ESL Pro League, which centers on Counter-Strike, now offers million-dollar prize pools to teams. FPS games have long been part of the gaming landscape but they’re now a lucrative way to make a career in esports as well.

Perhaps an overlooked part of the esports world comes from online casinos. Poker tournaments are nothing new and take place all over the world, while the card game is contested online in huge stakes tournaments.

The 2020 World Series of Poker Online Main Event was the biggest online poker tournament to date. It offered a prize pool of over $27 million, attracting over 5,000 players who all wanted a piece of that fortune. Online poker tournaments take place every week and allow players to pit their wits against opponents all over the world. Many review sites offer players the chance to find different online poker platforms, with their expert advice.

Reviews for these poker sites let you find out their key strengths and weaknesses before signing up. Do they have the right games for you? What bonuses are on offer? What payment methods are accepted? All these questions and so many more can be answered without you wasting time trying out different platforms to find the one that suits your needs, as seen from this Clubs Poker Review from WSN. For rookies to seasoned pros, these reviews are worth their weight in gold ensuring that you can have an enjoyable and safe night at the poker table.

The business of esports

Esports very quickly transformed from a niche sideline in the video game world to a multibillion-dollar industry. Tech firms, entertainment companies and even traditional sports teams have made major investments in esports.

Manchester City of the English Premier League established an esports team in 2016 to compete in FIFA tournaments. Since then, the team has also taken part in Fortnite Battle Royale tournaments, showing that traditional sports are taking notice of esports and are looking to get in on the lucrative action on offer.

Sponsorships from global giants such as Red Bull and Mercedes-Benz show how seriously esports are taken. They can introduce brands to a whole new audience of gamers and fans.

As with traditional sports, a betting culture has also arisen around the esports industry. It’s not yet that widespread but there are bookmakers out there offering odds on the biggest esports tournaments so fans can place wagers on their favorite player or team to succeed.

The future of competitive video game tournaments

Esports is an industry that’s only going to continue to grow. New games and genres are expected to enter the competitive arena in the coming years but it’s technology that could launch the next big breakthrough in competitive video game tournaments.

Virtual reality and augmented reality are set to take immersiveness to a whole new level in video games. These promise to blur the lines between the real and the digital worlds, offering a whole new experience for players and viewers at these tournaments.

Esports is a truly global endeavor and with competitions taking place all over the world, the industry is bringing people together like never before. The cultural impact of esports is massive and probably not yet fully understood. But as the years go on and more people look to esports both for their entertainment and with dreams of a career as a player, the industry has the potential to make a huge impact.