The Rise of Esports

The phenomenon that is esports has grown tremendously the last decades. With the rise of the technological age, the popularity of videogames and cancelation of big sporting events, esport is now a billion-dollar industry both loved and respected by many. However, the controversy with naming it a sport has occurred, and some people are highly against this.

The question whether it should be considered a sport still remains, but esport has been featured alongside traditional sports in Asian sporting events, and its possible participation in the International Olympic Games have been discussed. 

With the growing interest for esports, follows competitions and betting outside the arena. We see an increase in esport betting, providing an entirely new way of betting on different sports. This is possible on a number of different betting sites and apps and is for many fans and viewers the most exciting way to enjoy the sport. 

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What is Esports

The E in esports stands for electronic and is a form of sports where a variation of videogames is used. It was in the early 2000s where the organized competition between gamers went from an armature level, to the high scale tournaments we have today. 

The phenomenon grew when professional gamers started to play games through live streams. This form of sport has grown tremendously the last years and is not the less popular during a time where most traditional sporting events are cancelled. The industry is estimated to be worth around 1.8 billion dollars by 2022, quite an impressive number considering the short amount of time it has had to manifest itself. 

Esports games

Just like in regular sports there is different variations to esports. With the rise of technology follows the development of the many games you can play makes is a sport with a lot of variety, where players from all games can participate in the leagues. The most popular game for esports is Counterstrike: Global Offensive, which is for many the original first-person shooter game. This is an action gameplay where you compete in teams and in 2020 the game reached a whopping 14.75 million USD in prize money. 

Following the list is DOTA 2, an online battle arena game with multiplayer reaching 8.8 million USD in price money as of 2020. League of Legends is right behind with 8 million USD in prizing money, this is a multiplayer online battle arena. Fortnite is a game that has gained a lot of popularity the last years, and even has its own World Cup. This is a battle royale game with a 7.87 million dollars in price money last year. 

These are some video genres that are commonly associated with e sports:

• Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)
• First-person shooter (FPS)
• Fighting
• Card
• Battle royale
• Legends
• Dota

There is no doubt that esports is the new up and coming way in both gaming and sports. Many people are against it, but the huge prices, the high stakes and the tough practice proves that this can be just as hard as playing traditional sports.