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 sports predictions and betting 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 half-hour special showcasing the tournament was aired by ESPN3 on the evening prior to the 2014 finals of The International 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.
- Esports clubs grew in popularity at American universities in the late 2000s and early 2010s, with StarCraft clubs competing by 2009.
- 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 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.
- In 2013 (viewers of the platform watched 12 billion minutes of video on the service), with the two most popular Twitch broadcasters being League of Legends and Dota 2.
- Conversely, due to the unique characteristics of esports, many creative methods of placing bets exist, relying on achievements within the game.
- 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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Esports tournaments are almost always physical events in which occur in front of a live audience, with referees or officials to monitor for cheating. Esports are also frequently played in tournaments, where potential players and teams vie to be placed through qualification matches before entering the tournament. Activision launched its 12-team Call of Duty League in January 2020, following the format of the Overwatch League but based on the Call of Duty series. EA would later establish esports leagues with other professional football leagues (ranging from the English Premier League to the Saudi Pro League), which would feed into qualification 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.
The 2010s saw a remarkable expansion of esports, leading to significant increases in both viewer numbers and prize funds. The organization aimed to enhance stability within the esports industry, focusing particularly on the standardization of player transfers and collaboration with leagues and organizations. It is believed that the expansion of esports in South Korea was impacted by the widespread development of broadband Internet infrastructure after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Among the tournaments founded in the late 1990s are the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), QuakeCon, and the Professional Gamers League. During this time — esports-related television programs included British series such as GamesMaster and Bad Influence! In 1994, Nintendo organized a second World Championships for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, named the Nintendo PowerFest ’94.