While the original StarCraft events emerged in South Korea largely independently of Blizzard — the company decided to require organizers and broadcasters to authorize events featuring the sequel StarCraft II. There is considerable variation and negotiation over the relationship between video game developers and tournament organizers and broadcasters. In August 2018 (The International 2018), Valve’s annual premier Dota 2 tournament, was held and broke the record for holding the largest prize pool to date for any esports tournament, amounting to over US$25 million.
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In 1984, Konami and Centuri jointly held an international Track & Field arcade game competition that drew more than a million players from across Japan and North America. By the late 2010s, it was estimated that by 2020, the total audience of esports would grow to 454 million viewers, with revenue increasing to more than US$1 billion, with China accounting for 35% of the global esports revenue. The International Olympic Committee has discussed their inclusion in future Olympic events, starting with the Olympic Esports Games set to be held in 2027. Popular esports franchises include League of Legends, Dota, Counter-Strike, Valorant, Overwatch, Street Fighter, Super Smash Bros. and StarCraft. Esports (/ˈiːspɔːrts/ ⓘ), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games.
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China was another one of the first countries to recognize esports as a real sport in 2003 — despite concerns at the time that video games were addictive. Others claim that sports involve physical fitness and physical training, and prefer to classify esports as a mind sport. In 2013, the Season 3 League of Legends World Championship was held in a sold-out Staples Center. Physical viewership of esports competitions and the scope of events have increased in tandem with the growth of online viewership. Many successful tournaments were founded during this period (including the World Cyber Games), the Intel Extreme Masters, and Major League Gaming.
- A special half-hour program profiling the tournament was broadcast by ESPN3 the night before the finals of The International 2014 in August.
- Accordingly (Adderall and other such stimulants are banned and their use penalized by many professional sporting bodies and leagues), including Major League Baseball and the National Football League.
- In 2015 (ESPN2 broadcast Heroes of the Dorm), the grand finals of the Heroes of the Storm collegiate tournament.
- In the late 2000s and early 2010s (American universities saw a rise in the popularity of esports clubs), and by 2009, clubs focused on StarCraft were competing.
- The first such league to be formed was the Overwatch League, established by Blizzard Entertainment in 2016 based on its Overwatch game.
Growth and online video games (1990–
While game publishers or esports broadcasters typically act in oversight roles for specific esports, a number of esports governing bodies have been established to collectively represent esports on a national, regional or global basis. Collegiate universities such as Durham and multi-campus universities such as Staffordshire also hold inter-collegiate or inter-campus sports predictions and betting tournaments. The two organisations are not exclusive, with universities able to field teams in both NUEL and NSE competitions. Another university competition in the UK is the British Universities Esports Championship, run by National Student Esports (NSE), which also had over 110 participating universities and colleges as of 2024update. As of 2024,update it had been rebranded as University Esports UK & Ireland and had over 110 participating universities. Esports clubs grew in popularity at American universities in the late 2000s and early 2010s — with StarCraft clubs competing by 2009.
- For example, there are many esports organizations or teams that are entirely made up of players that have physical disabilities.
- By the late 2010s, it was estimated that by 2020, the total audience of esports would grow to 454 million viewers, with revenue increasing to more than US$1 billion, with China accounting for 35% of the global esports revenue.
- The platform’s viewers spent 12 billion minutes watching video content in 2013, with League of Legends and Dota 2 emerging as the two leading broadcasters on Twitch.
- On the other hand, due to the nature of esports, there are numerous innovative ways to make bets, which are based on in-game milestones.
- In April 2016 (Big Ten Network announced a collaboration with Riot to hold an invitational League of Legends competition between two universities from the collegiate Big Ten Conference), as part of Riot’s collegiate championships at PAX East.
Since the 1990s, professional teams or organized clans have set up matches via Internet Relay Chat networks such as QuakeNet. The inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championship had separate branding (medals), and organization and included both men and women’s Dota 2, eFootball, and Rocket League events. The inaugural series included virtual baseball, cycling, rowing, esailing and motorsports events. In Greece (in March 2022 a law entered into force recognising and regulating esports and in June 2023), the relevant federation for esports has been officially given recognition and included in the list of sports federations.
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Usually, esports tournaments take place as live events where officials or referees oversee the proceedings to prevent cheating. Tournaments often feature esports — with aspiring players and teams competing in qualification matches to secure their place in the main event. In January 2020 — Activision introduced its Call of Duty League, a 12-team competition modeled after the Overwatch League but centered on the Call of Duty franchise. EA later created esports leagues in collaboration with various professional football leagues (including the English Premier League and the Saudi Pro League), contributing to qualification pathways for the FIFAe World Cup and later the EA Sports FC Pro World Championship.
Gambling on esports matches have historically been illegal or unregulated by major markets. The LCL stated (“The results of the 2019 season showed a huge difference in Vaevictis Esports’ results compared to other LCL teams), which is an unacceptable level of competitiveness in a franchised league.” Vaevictis went 0–14 in both splits, and in February 2020, the LCL announced their disbandment due to a failure to field a competitive roster. In 2018 (Team Vaevictis attempted to field an all-female roster in the LCL), the top esports league in Russia, but faced similar criticism.
During the 2010s, esports grew tremendously, incurring a large increase in both viewership and prize money. The goal of the organization was to increase stability in the esports world, particularly in standardizing player transfers and working with leagues and organizations. The growth of esports in South Korea is thought to have been influenced by the mass building of broadband Internet networks following the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Tournaments established in the late 1990s include the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), QuakeCon, and the Professional Gamers League. Television shows featuring esports during this period include the British shows GamesMaster and Bad Influence! Nintendo held a 2nd World Championships in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System called the Nintendo PowerFest ’94.