Playing games competitively and making a living out of it is not just a dream for a lot of people in 2023; it is a reality. There are so many different games out there that now have a competitive gaming scene with real-money tournaments. Some of these are even watched by millions of people all over the world.
So, what are some of the most popular esports games? There are some games that are mainly popular because of the online gaming scene, and many of the most popular games on consoles don’t make for popular esports tournaments. In this guide, we’ve put together some of the most popular esports games and some interesting facts and statistics about them.
League of Legends
League of Legends, commonly abbreviated to LoL, is one of the most-viewed esports games. There are some huge tournaments that make this one of the biggest multiplayer online battle arena titles out there.
In its simplest terms, the game is a team strategy game where the two teams seek to destroy each other’s bases. The game launched back in 2009 and has taken the world by sports, especially due to the fact that the tournaments are so widely-viewed and gambled on.
The competitive, team-based nature of the game has led to massive audiences and millions of dollars staked on the tournaments as people analyze the competitive teams and look for the most competitive League of Legends esports betting odds to try and make a profit backing popular esports teams. T1, South Korea’s flagship LoL team, has won three World Championships. This is one of the most-viewed tournaments for bettors and fans, and the tournament has seen millions of dollars handed out in prize money since it launched in 2011.
The World Championships take place from October 10th to November 19th in 2023, and some experts predict that it could be a record-breaking year in terms of viewing figures. Gamblers will be following the form to check who they think might go all the way in this year’s biggest LoL tournaments.
CS:GO
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is another huge event in the esports calendar, and there are multiple events, including the BLAST and PGL tournaments. Some of them take place multiple times a year and have regional qualifiers, as well as huge major finals, often watched by millions.
The PGL Major in 2021 saw 2.7 million viewers tuning in at the peak, which goes to show what a huge appeal esports like these have.
One of the reasons for the tournaments being so popular is the fact they are closely linked to the developer, Valve, which also releases exclusive in-game items such as knives and other weapons that the everyday player can even add to their game.
Counter-Strike 2 is in the works and is due to release in 2023. Depending on the success of this sequel, we may see even more events in the Counter-Strike world.
Dota 2
Dota 2 is another game that is made by Valve, and it has some huge tournaments out there with massive prize funds. There are currently over 4,000 professional players of Dota, and the game has an international appeal, with tournaments taking place in a variety of countries.
The International is the biggest of the tournaments, and this is organized by the developer, Valve. In 2022, the tournament took place in Singapore and had an unbelievable prize fund of $18,930,775. Dota 2 is also one of the esports that is popular for online gambling, with bettors analyzing the teams and making their predictions for these huge tournaments.
Fortnite
Fortnite burst onto the scene in a memorable way when it was released in 2017, and it continues to be popular to this day. Some people claim that Fortnite has had its day in the sun. In 2020, people watched over 1.6 billion hours of Fortnite gameplay on streaming services like Twitch, and this number sharply declined after this, but the truth is that there are still many millions of fans around the world.
This is underlined by the fact that in October 2023, the Fortnite Champion Series will take place in Copenhagen with a prize pool of $4 million to be shared among the best-performing players. There are many other Fortnite tournaments taking place throughout the year, and it remains one of the most popular esports games.
Conclusion
The world of esports is one of the fastest-moving industries imaginable, and who knows what the future holds? With the release of Counter-Strike 2, we might see another hugely popular game with some massive tournaments. It is also possible that another game will be made and have the same kind of impact we saw when Fortnite became the talk of the gaming world. Whatever the future has in store, esports are here to stay.
