A beginner’s guide to esports, its teams, and tournaments

Fariha Bhatti Published 11/12/2022

Esports is growing rapidly in 2022, but what exactly fuels it, and where is it headed?

Although there has always been a competitive streak within video game culture, like speed running and organized tournaments, the professional side of gaming is only a relatively recent phenomenon. However, it’s no secret that esports as an industry has become bigger than cyber-Jesus over the last decade, with the industry topping $ 1 billion in revenue in 2019. With so many teams and tournaments cropping up, it seems that, unlike sports, every gamer has the chance to be an esports champ if they’ve got the reactions.

Gaming and esports can take many forms. Below we’ve listed some must-know esports facts to ingratiate you into the electronic crucible, from smashing out sessions on your favorite MOBA to playing online pokies in Australia for real money.

Esports games

Games are the proverbial rugby ball of the esports world and are as diverse as they are exciting. Esports takes place over multiple genres, such as MOBAs (Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas), FPSs (First-Person Shooters), and RTSs (Real-Time Strategies).

Fantasy MOBAs like League of Legends or Dota 2 tend to dominate much of the esports market, as do their tournaments, but FPS games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, and Call of Duty take up an extremely healthy market share.

Teams in esports

Esports has grown to hundreds of leagues around the world with plenty of teams to fill them. Many esports teams are homegrown, with recruitment being done at an amateur level, and places like Texas or California have a myriad of different clubs that are available to join. Like any sport, though, it takes talent and persistence to rise to the top and play at a professional level, so make sure you’re getting plenty of practice in!

The current top positions of the best esports teams can be found here; these teams earn millions in revenue a year, showing that, while fun, esports is serious business.

Esports tournaments

Some of the biggest tournaments around are linked to the games themselves, such as the League of Legends World Championship, where players compete for the Summoners’ Cup and a multi-million-dollar prize. The championship title is currently held by the South Korean team, T1, who has won the tournament three times.

Dota 2 has the world-renowned The International, where players from all over the world compete for a huge prize pool worth nearly $ 19 million in 2022, is crowd-funded by players who possess the game’s Battle Pass, making it a true community event. The International was initially held at Gamescom as a promotional event in 2011 and has gone from strength to strength. The title is currently held by Tundra Esports.

With over a decade of professionalism behind it, the sky looks to be the limit for the esports industry. Many have tried to get it into the Olympics to further legitimize it as a sport, but it has not succeeded so far, but who is to say what the future holds for this brilliantly competitive, fun, and social activity?

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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