What is eSports and How Did it Become a Sport?

Practicing a sport that generates excitement, fun, and exercise will only increase your adrenaline. Nowadays it is not necessary to go out to enjoy a sport that gives you the emotions described above. Still, you can sit in front of the computer and have hours of fun. Precisely that is what you get from electronic sports or eSports. This modality is expanding continuously and is gaining hundreds of followers and practitioners in search of lucrative prizes, be it eSports betting sites or online casinos.

You can play games on your computer with your friends or family on mobile casinos. To make it even more fun when you apply strategies and discuss events in real-time about the game.

Origin of eSports

Playing video games competitively has been around since the 1970s. To be specific, one of the first tournaments known today was held at Stanford University in 1972, and the game was Spacewar. Then another even better-known event was the Space Invaders tournament in the '80s. There were more than 10,000 participants, and many consider it to be the beginning of eSports.

After video game consoles began to dominate the world during the '90s, video game competitions became more common. Companies like Blockbuster and Nintendo started the concept of sponsorship. Thus tournaments became more organized with specific rules and regulations.

By the year 2000, the popularity of PC gaming caused eSports to become even more popular as most people had access to a computer.

Classification as a Sport

In 1997, the Red Annihilation tournament for the first-person shooter called “Quake” was one of the most attention-grabbing as the first-place winner would take home a Ferrari.

After this type of first-person shooter, real-time strategy games were born, and games like “StarCraft: Brood War” became extremely popular. With it, a new door for eSports opened.

Major Tournaments and Popular Games

By the year 2000, the variety of tournaments increased as more games became available to compete in.

Counter-Strike was launched in 1999. Since then, there have been 540 tournaments of this game with $10 million in prize money. Thanks to this success, Counter-Strike Global Offensive was launched in 2012, awarding more than $4 million in prizes in the 615 tournaments.

Dota 2 is another one of the most popular games for eSports lovers worldwide due to the incredible prizes in the tournaments. Most of the top 10 winners belong to Dota 2 as the prize pool is $1 million for the top 5 players.

Major League Gaming was born in 2002 and is one of the eSports' biggest and most successful competitions. The tournament features different game genres, from first-person shooters to real-time strategy games. Large prizes characterize this tournament. In 2014, it offered a $170,000 prize for the champion.

Global StarCraft II League is one of the most prominent competitions globally. The GSL was launched to the world in 2010. Since then, it has only gained more followers and is expected to reach one hundred billion soon.

League of Legends is a new game that came to conquer the fans. This game belongs to the MOBA or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena genre, played in teams of several players, and requires a particular strategy and teamwork to defeat the opponent.

International 4 is one of the most anticipated events among eSports lovers. It offers one of the industry's most prominent prizes of $10 million.

How eSports is Becoming a Legitimate Sport

Due to its accessibility and popularity among young people, eSports have gained visibility. So much so that the sports television network ESPN decided to televise one of the League of Legends tournaments. A university decided to offer scholarships for athletes of these games. In addition to these factors, YouTube and Twitch allow following live tournaments and games have allowed the world to recognize eSports as a legitimate sport increasingly.

The next few years will further increase the popularity of eSports, with new major games and tournaments live and on internet channels. When this happens, the sport will be legitimized. The media will accept it even more. It will be a worldwide event just like the Olympics.

Where to Play eSports?

Nowadays, more and more betting sites are offering eSports tournaments. Considering the constant growth of this online sport, operators know that they must offer them if they want to stay competitive.

You can visit Casinoble New Zealand and choose the best mobile casinos, bitcoin casinos, and bonuses that most appeal to you. You are sure to find what you are looking for.