The world of eSports has gradually been on the rise over the last few decades. High School kids have moved on from playing against themselves with a local connection to participating in tournaments where they can earn money by pitting themselves against hundreds or even thousands of other gamers.
These tournaments are of different categories depending on the intensity, number of participants, and pool prize. Some are so big in prestige that you may even bet on them at GG Betting. Let’s take a look at 10 of the biggest eSports competitions.
The International
Most eSports and gaming fans will be familiar with Dota 2 and its yearly major tournament. DOTA 2 is a First Player Simulator MOBA real-time strategy game, and The International (TI) is the biggest tournament for the game and arguably the biggest in the eSports world. TI 11 (2021) had a record $40 million in prize pool, and TI 13 (2023) is expected to be even higher with a base prize pool of $3 million compared to $1.8 million in other years.
Asides from the huge prize pool, The International has one of the largest viewerships in the world of eSports and once racked up to 2.7 million views! The group stage of the competition is scheduled to start on the 12th of October.
League of Legends World Championship
Also a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game, League of Legends (LoL) is one of the most widely played games. Riot Games, the developers of League of Legends, host an LoL World Championship, and it’s one of the tournaments people look forward to the most. It currently ranks as the most viewed eSports tournament and once racked up over 170 million in collective hours watched. The LoL mid-season championship is also in the top 5 of most-watched tournaments this season.
The theatrics, preparation put into hosting the competition makes it even more appealing. The prize pool isn’t small, either.
Fortnite World Cup
The world of Battle Royale has very few heavyweights, and Fortnite is among them. The eSports game is famous for being addictive. 100-200 players are placed on a huge map where they have to pick up resources and equipment to fight off other players, with the map slowly shrinking. The Fortnite World Cup is famous for giving out the highest prize to a single participant when Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf won $3 million in prize money. The tournament also averages over 2.5 million views.
EVO Championship Series
The Evolution Championship Series easily earns a place in the top 10 biggest eSports tournaments. It is the second oldest active eSports competition starting as far back as 1996, and also the biggest one in the United States. It is a tournament of various fighting games, and EVO 2023 is set to feature the following:
- Guilty Gear Strive
- Tekken 7
- Street Fighter 6
- The King of Fighters XV
- Dragon Ball FighterZ
- Granblue Fantasy Versus
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina
- Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
- Skullgirls 2nd Encore
- Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Just Wong is the record holder for most titles – with 9!
Intel Extreme Masters
The Intel Extreme Masters was launched in 2007 to incorporate gamers from all around the world and not just in Europe. It is one of the most viewed eSports tournaments and once had 46,000,000 unique visitors! There is a mid-season tournament and a final that takes place annually in Poland with a massive prize pool. The mid-season tournament is usually hosted at three different locations at different times.
While some other game titles have been hosted in the past, it currently features only Counter-Strike and StarCraft II. Counter-Strike is a first-person shooter game that is known for its high intensity and technicality, and it takes the spotlight at IEM. The prize pool generally ranges between $250,000 to $1,250,000.
CS:GO Major Championship
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the latest installment in the Counter-Strike franchise and is a top eSports game, and its annual tournament is among the biggest as well! The CS:GO Majors launched in 2013 and is hosted by Valve, the game’s developer. It currently features 24 teams and a prize pool of up to $2,000,000!
It’s one of the most viewed eSports tournaments and can be watched for free on Twitch, Stream.tv, and YouTube. The total viewers physically and across all three channels are usually above 2.5 million.
Call of Duty League
Call of Duty is one of the biggest franchises in eSports. It features several installments and game modes, from the classic Battle Royale that can only be matched by Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds (PUBG) to the First Player Shooter MOBA-style fighting mode. The Call of Duty League has constantly maintained a high level and records 250-400K viewership constantly.
The prize pool isn’t small either and gives about $2.6 million to the winners. The prize pool even once surpassed $4 million!
PUBG Mobile Global Championship
PlayerUnkown’s BattleGrounds (PUBG) is arguably the most popular and the best PC Battle Royale game. It has a very large base, especially in Asia, and this is in part thanks to its availability on mobile (both iOS and Android) devices.
The 2021 Global Championship achieved over 3.7 million views and came with a prize pool of $3.5 million. It is widely regarded as one of the most successful and biggest eSports tournaments.
CFS World Championship
With a prize pool of $850,000, the CFS World Championship is the biggest in Asia. The 2017 edition attracted a unique visitor of 37,000,000 and a watch hour of about 6.5 Billion! Most of its viewers are Asian. In the tournament, 12 teams pit themselves together in Crossfire, a game developed by SmileGate.
Six Invitational
Ubisoft still holds the right to one of the best game classics, Rainbow Six Siege. Ubisoft started hosting an annual Six Invitational (SI) tournament in 2017. It consists of 20 teams – 16 chosen from the game’s global standings and an extra 4 from the regional qualifiers. It has a prize pool of about $3 million and averages over 250K viewers annually.
eSports: Fierce Battles Unleashed!
As the virtual battlegrounds continue to light up the eSports space as a form of entertainment and monetary outlet for professional gamers, it’s evident it’s here to stay. In the near future, we may even see it registered as an official sport!