What Is Esports?

Esports or electronic sports are competitive video games that have morphed into sports and are now watched, played and adored by almost 500 million people across the globe. They capture the imagination and have great appeal for the new generations, who live in a digital world and have pastime activities closely related to it.

The Similarity Between Esports and Traditional Sports

The esports industry has modelled itself on the sports industry, from which it copied structures, practices and guiding principles. As a consequence of this, it has professional teams, coaches, analysts, commentators and, of course, tournaments, many of which are live events held in huge arenas in front of thousands of fans.

They are also streamed to millions of others around the world and have prize pools of hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars. For example, the 2021 edition of Dota 2’s world championship (called “The International”) offers $40 million in prizes and takes place in a stadium with a seating capacity of over 55,000.

The Most Important Games In Esports

Right now, the games that garner the most attention are League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), Dota 2, Valorant, and Overwatch. All of them have loyal communities of at least 10 million people and receive substantial support from their companies. Their professional scenes are likely to either consolidate at their current size or grow bigger. In some cases, such as Valorant’s it’s quite clear that the game will have much more spectacular tournaments than it has at the moment.

Esports As A Hobby

Playing esports is a great pastime activity that allows people to socialise, cooperate with others, and train their minds to strategize for success. Each esports arena is highly sophisticated and requires years to master. Anyone who wants to learn something new will find in esports a great challenge but also a great adventure. And just like in games like chess, you have a rank and you can monitor your progress.

Another great thing about esports is that it gives you a reason to travel. Whenever big tournaments take place (and under normal conditions that happens quite frequently), you can attend them just like you would attend a music festival.