What Are Esports?

Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Organised competitions have long been a part of video game culture, the first recorded video game competition took place on October 19, 1972.

For the most part, competitions were largely between amateurs until the late 2000s. It was then when participation by professional gamers and spectatorship in these events through live streaming saw a large surge in popularity.

By the 2010s, esports were becoming more significant in the video game industry, with some game developers actively designing and providing funding for tournaments and other events.

How Much Is The Esports Industry Worth?

In 2018, it was estimated that the industry could be worth as much as $138 billion.

Can You Bet On Esports?

Yes! Most major bookmakers offer betting on Esports. Paddy Power has an entire section dedicated to it which is worth checking out.

What Markets Can You Bet On?

Like more traditional sports, you can bet on the outcome of a match or competition. For individual matches, you can also bet on the correct score and even take a punt on a handicap bet. You can also bet ‘in-play’ on most events.

How To Be Successful With Esports Betting?

Again, like more traditional sports, you can never guarantee success but it always worth doing the research. This website contains most of the latest news and updates from the world of Esports.

It is also worth considering that with esports evolving at such a fast pace, new games are entering into the market and as a result, new teams can appear out of nowhere and achieve real success.

This means, there might be a tendency to ignore some teams with high odds but in reality they could be worth a punt.

Where Can You Stream Esports?

Twitch has become the most popular platform for live streaming esports. There is an estimated amount of over 1 billion hours of content digested daily.

Viewers can watch professionally hosted matches and tournaments. Some gamers also stream their casual matches when they are prepping for an upcoming tournament.

Who Competes In Esports Tournaments?

Teams from all over the world compete in esports competitions. Team Liquid were the most successful esports team throughout 2019.

They have numerous divisions that play games such as Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Fortnite and League of Legends. Over the course of last year, they picked up $35,373,881 in prize money.

As esports started to become more popular, many professional football clubs have even set up their own teams. Back in 2018, FC Barcelona launched their esports team and entered the eFootball.Pro competition, which was originally set up by Gerard Pique.

At the time of the launch, Manel Arroyo, FC Barcelona Vice President of Marketing and Media, said: “Barça is attentive to what is happening in this global and technological world, and given the major penetration and growth of eSports, is on the path to also becoming a leader in this field.”

You can follow the updates of FC Barcelona’s esports team on Twitter.

Even clubs lower in the football pyramid have started to get involved. In April 2020, Lincoln City advertised that they were launching their own FIFA eSports team. Since the side was formed, the English League One side provides regular coverage documenting their recent matches.

The interesting documentary from FourFourTwo looks at the world of professional esports. Perhaps an example of how esports are starting to achieve coverage with more traditional outlets.

What Are The Main Esports Tournaments?

Fortnite World Cup

The Fortnite World Cup is an annual competition based on the game Fortnite. In the 2019 competition, there was a prize pool of around 30 million US Dollars.

The Fortnite game is one of the biggest in the world and by August 2018 had reached 125 million players.

FIFA eWorld Cup

Formerly known as the FIFA Interactive World Cup, the FIFA eWorld Cup is an eSports tournament held by FIFA and its presenting partner EA Sports.

The first tournament took place in 2004 and it has grown in stature since then. It has an open qualifying structure that allows millions to compete in the initial online stages.

eFootball.Pro.Open

eFootball.Open is an online esports tournament for Pro Evolution Soccer. It is open to all players and replaces the previous PES LEAGUE competition.

The Developer of PES, Konami, changed the title of its game last year to reflect the growing importance it places on esports. The game is now known as eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer as a result.

Over 400,000 people watched the finals of the recent tournament.

Call of Duty

The Call of Duty franchise is played by millions worldwide and is considered one of the most iconic online games of all time.

The series was first introduced to esports competitions back in 2006. The main CoD competition was the Call of Duty World League which was launched in 2016 until it was discontinued in 2019 in favour of the new franchise-based Call of Duty League.

The new competition began in 2020 with the winning team, Dallas Empire, earning around $1,500,000 in prize money.

Overwatch League

Overwatch League is one of the more fast-paced and challenging games of this console generation. It is a six vs six multiplayer video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment.

The Overwatch League started in 2017, with the first-ever Grand Finals being held in 2018 in New York. It was one of the biggest competitive gaming tournaments to date and saw a sell-out crowd.

Counter Strike: Global Offensive

The Counter Strike: Global Offensive tournaments are one of the most popular Esports tournaments and will naturally attract a lot of betting interest as a result.

What Does The Future Look Like For Esports?

With its growing number of competitors and viewers, you would have to argue that esports has a very bright future.

An article for Forbes shared the belief that investment within the industry will continue to increase. It says: “Sponsors like Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz, T-Mobile, Adidas and even the U.S. Navy have already invested in eSports.

“Given the positive results of engaging with this global audience, brand investments will likely increase this year, with even more non-endemic corporate sponsors coming aboard.”