Discover the fascinating rise of the e-sports industry, and see how video games like Valorant and League of Legends have risen to the top.
The word “sport” has historically been linked to competitive physical activities. Soccer, basketball, and so on. But times have changed. Now, sport has a much broader definition. It even extends into the digital realm. A virtual world of aliens, dragons, heroes and villains battling in fantastical landscapes, where the laws of physics and reality do not apply.
We’re talking, of course, about the worlds of video games, and the rise of gaming as a professional sport. Otherwise known as e-sports. Let’s take a closer look at how e-sports have risen up into a real part of modern mainstream culture.
The Origins of the E-Sports Industry
Imagine if you went back in time to the early days of video games. The days when games were reserved to arcades and the most basic home consoles, with little blocks and pixels bouncing around the screen in titles like Tetris, Asteroids, and Pong.
And imagine you could tell the people of those days that video games would eventually become a serious professional sport. Or that, in the future, people would be able to play exciting games like https://aviator-sn.com/melbet/ on handheld devices, any time, any place.
Many would laugh it off as nonsense. But, it somehow turned out to be true. How did this happen?
Well, you can see the roots of e-sports going back many years. Even in the early days of gaming, when people gathered together in arcades, there were often little tournaments or competitions, where players would battle it out on the most popular machines.
This idea was particularly popular in Japan and other Asian nations, which is where the concept of e-sports, really began. Many big Asian video game companies even set up their own tournaments back in the 80s, for games like Space Invaders and Track & Field.
The idea soon spread to the U.S. with 80s TV shows like Starcade focusing on players competing to reach the highest scores on various arcade games.
How Gaming as a Sport Has Grown Over Time
The video game industry has grown massively over the years. It was once quite a niche hobby. But, now, millions of people are gamers, with many playing video games from Fortnite to https://aviator-sn.com/1xbet/ on a daily or weekly basis on their phones, computers, and home consoles.
Gaming hasn’t just become more popular. The size of the entire industry has grown. And games today are so much better and deeper from graphical and gameplay perspectives. This, too, has helped bring about this modern age of e-sports.
But one big innovation truly set this train in motion. And that was the rise of the internet.
When the internet became a part of our world in the late 90s and 2000s, everything changed for gamers. It let them play against or alongside each other from anywhere. Players in Japan could clash and compete with those in America. Nothing would ever be the same.
This led to loads of online tournaments being established. We even started to see professional leagues setting up, like the Cyberathlete Professional League, Major League Gaming, and Evolution Championship Series.
Then, streaming services and video sites like YouTube and Twitch came along. And it became easier for tournaments to be broadcast to bigger audiences worldwide, and for fans to learn about, learn from, and connect with the best players in their respective games.
The Biggest Online Gaming Competitions and Real-Life Tournaments
Now, younger generations are growing up with competitive gaming as a perfectly normal part of life. Many know and are fans of pro gamers, and many youngsters even dream of “going pro” in their favorite games in the future, too.
Many aspire to play in some of the biggest competitions and tournaments, examples of which include:
- World Cyber Games: Almost like the Olympics of e-sports
- League of Legends World Championship: Features the best players of LoL
- ESL One: Global tournaments focused on games like Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2
The Most Popular Electronic Sports Video Game Titles
That’s the main tournaments covered. Now, let’s look at a few examples of specific games that captivate audience attentions in the e-sports scene:
- League of Legends
- Apex Legends
- Dota 2
- CS:GO
- EA FC
- Overwatch
- Valorant
- Call of Duty
An Exciting Future Ahead of E-Sports
It’s easy to see why e-sports has taken off in such a big way. It’s exciting to see the best players put their talents to the test in games like fighters, shooters, strategy games, and MOBAs, and gaming is a hugely popular hobby around the world now, so loads of people can engage with the competitive scene or even dream of being a part of it someday.
As for the future of e-sports, it’s looking very bright. Audience and viewing figures for the big tournaments keep rising, loads of people are watching the big pro gamers on platforms like Twitch, and younger generations are almost as engaged with e-sports as they are with traditional sports. So we’re sure to see many more tournaments and titles in years to come.