Enter esports, or the electronic sports, to show them how far they were off the mark. Don’t worry if you’re not sure what esports is or why people watch it. In this esports explainer, we’ve compiled everything you need to know.
Esports has developed from humble beginnings presenting tiny events at a local gaming cafe to stadium events with large prize pools over the last two decades. You can visit ข่าวesport for more.
Esports is now a billion-dollar industry, having surpassed the $1-billion-mark last year. Sponsors like Red Bull, Audi, Mercedes Benz, T-Mobile, and other well-known corporations have supported video games as a professional sport, resulting in huge growth. However, esports has a long history, even before the internet was invented.
THE HISTORY OF ESPORTS
From its humble origins in the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab in 1972 to now, esports has come a long way. The Stanford Lab hosted 10,000 participants in October 1972 for the first competitive LAN competition, which had a prize pool of USD 5000.
Stewart Brand of Rolling Stone covered the Spacewar Championship. Today’s stadiums, which are crowded with supporters, “may appear amazing… But it’s a plausible conclusion from what you could see in 1972.”
The next significant esports event did not take place until 1998. On November 14, 1998, the StarCraft: Brood War Beta Tournament began. The online event was open to the top 16 players on the official ladder at midnight on November 11. Unlike today’s StarCraft II competitions, which can attract tens of thousands of viewers worldwide via Twitch, the 1998 StarCraft: Brood War Beta Tournament received its major audience from local enthusiasts in South Korea.
WHICH GAMES ARE NOW CONSIDERED ESPORTS?
While real-time strategy games (RTS) like StarCraft were early pioneers, esports now exists in some form or another in almost every video game genre. First-person shooters (FPS) such as CS:GO and Call of Duty have thriving leagues, and tournaments such as IEM and BLAST Premier attract large prize pools and large audiences both online and in person.
The multiplayer online battle aren genre has produced some of the most popular esports tournaments and the largest prize pools. Riot’s League of Legends World Championships has attracted record crowds throughout the world. While Valve’s Dota 2 boasts the largest prize pool in esports history, the International event in 2019 bringing in over USD 30 million.
TO WIN
They are finding success in esports demands just as much guts and devotion as athletes attempting to make it in traditional sports. There’s also the issue of age to consider. Aspiring professional gamers have a narrow window of opportunity. The majority of esports athletes reach their peak gaming years in their late teens to early twenties.
Professional esports athletes begin polishing their abilities at a young age. Bugha claims to play for at least ten hours a day, seven days a week. SumaiL began playing Dota 2 when he was eight years old.
Professionals in the esports industry are known for their dedication. Training to be the best, like gymnastics, soccer, or football, begins early and involves perseverance beyond your typical hobbies.
