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A Glossary Of Esports Terms
Esports has its own vocabulary, which you will no doubt learn over time. But in case you’re new to the industry, here are some of the most important esports terms:
- ADS (Aim Down Sights): Zooming in with a weapon for better accuracy.
- AFK (Away From Keyboard): When someone has stepped away from the game and isn’t currently playing.
- Ability: A skill or special move that a character can use, often with a cooldown.
- Anchor: A player who holds down a position on the map, often defending an area.
- Anti-Strat: Creating a plan to counter what another team usually does.
- Bot: A computer-controlled player, or slang for someone playing poorly.
- Bracket: The tournament structure showing who plays who.
- Buff: When a game makes a character or item stronger.
- Camping: Hiding in one spot waiting to ambush others.
- Choke: Failing to win despite having the advantage.
- Clutch: Winning a tough situation, especially when outnumbered.
- Comp (Composition): The characters or roles a team picks.
- Cooldown: The wait time before an ability can be used again.
- Crosshair: The marker you aim with in shooting games.
- Crowd Control (CC): Abilities that stop or slow players.
- DPS (Damage Per Second): A measure of how much damage a character or weapon deals.
- Double Elimination: A tournament format where teams must lose twice to be out.
- Drop (Landing Zone): Where a player chooses to land in a battle royale game.
- Drop Shot: Shooting while dropping to dodge return fire.
- Eco Round: Saving money in-game by buying less.
- Elo / MMR: A number showing how skilled a player is.
- Entry Fragger: The player who goes in first to try get a kill.
- FPS (First-Person Shooter): A type of game played from the player’s view.
- Feed / Feeding: Dying too often and helping the enemy team.
- Flank: Attacking the enemy from the side or behind.
- Frag / Fragged: A slang term for killing another player.
- Frag Movie: A short video showing off great plays.
- GG (Good Game): Said at the end of a match to show sportsmanship.
- GGWP (Good Game, Well Played): Another way to end a game nicely.
- GLHF (Good Luck, Have Fun): Said at the start of a match as a friendly gesture.
- Grind / Grinding: Playing over and over to level up or improve.
- Hard Carry: A player who performs much better than others.
- Headshot: A shot that hits the enemy’s head.
- IGL (In-Game Leader): The player who gives team directions.
- Jiggle Peek: Quickly moving in and out of cover.
- KDA: Stands for Kills / Deaths / Assists – used to track performance.
- LAN (Local Area Network): A tournament played in person.
- Lag / Lagging: When the game slows or freezes due to connection issues.
- Loadout: The gear or weapons you bring into the game.
- MVP (Most Valuable Player): The best player in a match.
- Map Control: Owning key areas of the game map.
- Melee: Close-up fighting with fists or short weapons.
- Meta: The current best strategies or characters.
- Minor / Major: Different tournament levels. Majors are big; minors are smaller.
- Nerf: When a game weakens a character or item.
- Noob / Newbie: A beginner player.
- OP (Overpowered): Something that’s too strong or unfair.
- Observer: Someone who controls the camera during a broadcast.
- Org (Organisation): A professional esports team or brand.
- Peek: Quickly looking out from cover.
- Ping: Measures how fast your game connects to the server.
- Placement: Where a team finishes in a tournament.
- Pop Off: To play really well suddenly.
- Prize Pool: Total money available in a tournament.
- Pub (Public Game): A casual game open to everyone.
- Push: To move forward and attack.
- Queue / Queuing: Waiting in line to join a game.
- Rage Quit: Leaving a game suddenly due to frustration.
- Ranked / Ranked Match: A competitive mode that affects your skill rating.
- Refrag: Getting a kill right after a teammate dies.
- Reset: Backing off and starting fresh.
- Respawn: Coming back to life after being eliminated.
- Rotate / Rotation: Moving to another area on the map.
- Scrim: A practice match between teams.
- Set Play / Setup: A planned move or strategy.
- Shotcaller: The person who gives commands in a match.
- Split: When a team divides up on the map.
- Spray: Firing your weapon non-stop.
- Stacking: When several players go to the same area.
- Streak: A series of wins, kills, or losses.
- Streamer: Someone who plays games live online.
- Sweaty / Sweat: Someone who tries really hard to win.
- Talent: The casters, hosts, or analysts of an event.
- Tilted / On Tilt: Playing worse due to frustration.
- Toxic: Being rude or negative during the game.
- Ult / Ultimate: A character’s powerful special move.
- Utility / Util: Non-weapon tools like smokes or flashes.
- XP (Experience Points): Points you earn to level up.