Esports is a type of competitive sport that makes use of video games. The Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab (Los Altos, California) first hosted these games in 1972, and they have since become a craze among teenagers and adults alike. Esports has now reached international levels, completely altering how we consume and create competitive sports. It has grown to be a multibillion-dollar corporation that is still expanding today.
Esports is similar to any other game that we watch in stadiums. The only difference is that you can watch these sports from the comfort of your own home, along with thousands of other fans. You can compete in tough matches against both newcomers and professionals. In fact, the players and athletes here are offered yearly contracts as well as numerous endorsement opportunities! Before you sit back and wait for your favourite esports tournaments of 2022 to arrive, scroll down to read our list of the top 5 biggest esports events.
- Honor of Kings World Champion Cup
The largest in terms of smallest hardware. Honor of Kings, which has at least 100 million active players as of this writing, demonstrates that mobile Esports can compete with the big hardware boys. It demonstrates that even small hardware can make a significant difference in esports competitions. It was created for the Chinese market and released as a rival to the popular mobile MOBA, Vainglory.
The game quickly gained popularity and soared to new heights and accolades, including around 100 million concurrent players. The game has now evolved into an esports behemoth, with the most recent Champion Cup event boasting a $7.7 million prize purse and a fairly decent viewership of 700-800K.
- EVO Championship Series
Every year, the world’s most skilled fighting game players travel to magnificent Las Vegas to put their strength, dexterity, and game knowledge to the test against other aspiring champions. EVO is an open tournament, which means there are no invitations or qualification rounds – anyone is welcome to register!
It was created by Tom Cannon, who organised a small local Street Fighter tournament called “Battle by the Bay” in 1996. It grew year by year after that, but the name stuck until 2002, when it was eventually renamed EVO. The event also includes a BYOC (bring your own console) area where you can set up shop and challenge other attendees
- Fortnite World Cup Champion
It was the first of its kind, and it was a huge success. In 2019, Fortnite dominated the esports industry, placing 200 players against each other for $30 million in prizes. Epic Games organised the tournament with massive prizes in two separate events: solo and duo. And thus, history was made when a single esports athlete, Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, won the championship and $3 million in prize money.
Another $3 million was split between the two winners in the duo event. In other words, with approximately 2.3 million peak viewers, it’s safe to say the viewership was quite good.
- League of Legends World Championship
The League of Legends World Championship, also known as Worlds, is held once a year. This tournament features the top-performing teams from each region, and all of these teams compete for the Summoner’s Cup and the title of world champions.
The league has grown in popularity and success, becoming one of the most-watched video games in the world. This league has 36,000,000 viewers and 386,000,000 hours of viewing time. Because of its popularity, this game is now being considered as a potential Olympic event. In fact, it is already scheduled to be a medal event at the 2022 Asian Games.
- DOTA 2 “The International”
Dota 2 took the gaming world by storm when it debuted. It had the ideal MOBA formula, which drew in a lot of players and helped it quickly amass a devoted following. The International, a yearly competition run by Valve, pits 16 of the best Dota teams against one another in a tense game of skill, reaction, patience, and foresight.
That the TI is at the top of our list should come as no surprise to anyone who is familiar with esports. For a variety of reasons, Dota 2 and its annual event are the dominant force in this market. Dota 2 is not only one of the top MOBA games in the world, but it is also a Valve product. therefore, holds the industry record for the highest prize pools.
The last iteration of TI boasted an improbable $40 million in winnings, largely due to crowdfunding and other financial mechanisms. The esports competition even surpassed its own record and peaked at 2.7 million viewers, securing its place among the biggest esports competitions in history.
“Get more sports news, cricket news, and football updates, log on to sportsdigest.in. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter and Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.”
