The world of Esports is flourishing with every passing minute and people are enjoying every bit of it. Thanks to some amazing games recently, Esports is perhaps the most happening sports extravaganza right now. Millions of people are paying to watch a live game of Esports either in a closed arena or online. One cannot overlook the fairy-tale journey of Esports over the years. Long gone are the days when people used to consider video gaming as a waste of time and looked down upon it. It is now one of the most celebrated professions in the world. Many games have contributed to the rise of the Esports culture across the world. While South Korea has certainly given birth to Esports, it quickly spread all across the globe.
The idea of a professional sporting event surrounding the art of gaming is something that has taken the world by storm. Professional Esports players are not only popular but are earning a huge amount of money as well. Esports can even challenge Super Bowl or any other grandest Sporting event by sheer fan following and popularity. There are places where people are getting trained and learning the different aspects of Esports. Countries are building facilities to promote the culture of gaming. South Korea has its own Esports stadium. There are many other interesting facts about Esports. The top 10 interesting facts about Esports are:
The $3.5 Billion Global Industry
Pundits are estimating that by the end of 2021, the global Esports industry will cross $3.5 billion in terms of revenue. The gaming market is growing day by day with newer games coming into the scene every new month. Players and professionals who are involved in the business are all benefitted from this huge success. Esports players are bringing home some hard-earned money from sponsorships and tournament prizes. People are giving Esports the deserving respect finally. Many games have a bigger prize pool than the rest. All these prize pools are usually generated from in-game purchases and transactions made by millions of gamers worldwide. The gaming companies are also reaping from this profit. There is serious competition among the big gaming titles to bring in more revenue than the others. The growth of Esports is mainly contributed by the Asian countries.
205 Million Viewers Worldwide And Counting
Esports has turned into a grand spectacle with millions of viewers from all across the globe. The idea of a professional Esports league has changed the whole concept of video gaming. More viewers are crowding in an arena to see a match between two top Esports teams than in any other sporting event. Recently, it was discovered that Esports now have more fan following than the Super Bowl in countries like the US. Players also sometimes have their own streaming channels. Many professionals earn huge amounts of money from the endorsements and sponsorships courtesy of their huge fan following. Platforms like Twitch, Mixer are paying out huge cash to top-ranked Esports professionals to stream on their platform.
According to data, League of Legends has been the most viewed Esports game on the planet. The League of Legends World championships has recorded more viewers than Super Bowl or NBA finals. The level of engagement among the viewers keeps increasing every day. Many countries are contemplating recognizing Esports as a national sport. The popularity of the billion-dollar video gaming profession is skyrocketing. The global viewers count will only keep increasing in upcoming years.
Esports Gamers Are Like Trained Professional Athletes
Esports gamers who are playing at the top level are as professional as any other athletes. These pro gamers definitely don’t run up and down the ground or physically exhaust themselves in a game of football. But the level of dedication and engagement they have towards their game is beyond imagination. Every pro gamers dedicate hours to perfect their gameplay practicing with their team. Esports is also a team game and the competition is fierce. Just like athletes, pro gamers also can catch injuries before or after the game. There are strict regiments that pro gamers have to follow including diets and sleeping routines. The US government has officially recognized Esports gamers as professional athletes. This means they will enjoy the same luxury, traveling, and tax rights just like other professional sports players. Many Esports professionals are into commercials and earn more than average sportsmen around the globe.
The First Official Esports Channel
Sooner or later Esports was going to have its official broadcasting channel. With all the hype surrounding Esports and the pro gamers, there is no way people would want to miss even a moment’s action. Thus the GInx ESports TV in the UK became the first official Esports channel. The Ginx Esports TV broadcasts everything related to Esports 24*7. The channel is followed by millions of viewers worldwide. All the ongoing competitions and news related to Esports are aired on this channel. One can watch live Esports tournaments and gameplays on this channel. This is a great initiative as many non-digital folks could still be unaware of such a vast world of Esports. Bringing live broadcasts of video gaming to them might just be the right thing to spread awareness. With each passing day more and more channels are dedicating their time to cover Esports news regularly.
Esports Is Now A Major Field Of Academic Study
Everything in the world needs a bit of studying to do. Especially if that thing is a multi-million dollar sporting extravaganza. The Esports world has so many things to offer. Pro gamers are no less than any professional athletes and the game itself carries a lot of emotion. The field of Esports not only requires Pro players but skilled associates and professionals from every field of study. Just like any other sporting team, an Esports team will carry their own medic, media, and PR representatives, social media managers, team managers, e-commerce representatives, and so on. Many universities and institutions have started to preach about Esports in their curriculum. In the US, as many as ten universities offer degree programs in the field of Esports studies. Playing a video game is not enough anymore, one has to study it as well.
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US Gamers Are The Highest Earner
Esports involve gaming participation from various nations worldwide. While some nations are at the pinnacle of Esports culture, others are moving up the ladder quickly. Many Esports gaming tournaments hand out huge cash prizes to the winners. Individual players and teams are competing for the grand prize in these tournaments. Mostly the data shows that US-based gamers are the highest earners when it comes to Esports. The top three nations in the earning pool are the US, China, and Korea. Gamers can also earn from twitch streams, Merchandise sales, brand endorsements, and other means as well. According to data, US-based gamers have earned more than $37 million from Esports alone by the end of 2018. Apart from the top three, nations like Canada, Australia, and Sweden are also climbing up the ranks very quickly.
DOTA 2 Hosts The Highest-Paid Esports Tournaments
DOTA 2 is one of the most celebrated and popular games in the world of Esports. Every year DOTA 2 hosts a bunch of competitions like regional tournaments and seasonal Majors. Apart from these the most celebrated annual gaming tournament – The International: DOTA 2 championship is also organized by DOTA 2 and Valve. The International alone in its ten years history has given out more than $60 million cash prize. Each year the prize pool for DOTA 2 championship increases. DOTA 2 releases the International Battle Pass for all the DOTA 2 enthusiasts all around the globe. All the purchase value for the Battle Pass is then contributed towards the prize pool of that year’s The International. Last year DOTA 2 had to call off the annual DOTA 2 Championship due to the COVID outbreak. This year the prize pool will merge and is estimated to cross $40 million.
Mobile Gaming Is The Future
Many would argue that only PC games fall under the category of Esports. But it is not the correct opinion. There are countless competitive games released for Smartphones every year. Many of these games make it big and instantly get famous among the crowd. In addition to this, many pro players and streamers also contribute to making a game famous. With the easy availability of Smartphones, the mobile gaming market is booming and constantly expanding. Newer technologies are getting involved and large companies are hiring developers to manage and build more competitive gaming modules.
It is a fact that more gamers around the world own a smartphone than a PC or console. That is why the popularity of mobile gaming is increasing among the mass. Games like Lineage 2M, Free Fire, PUBG Mobile, Clash Royale are very popular titles. Garena Free Fire was the most downloaded game of 2019. Many of these games host their own Esports tournaments also. Smartphones are bringing in new technologies to support heavy mobile games. People are always looking for that extra RAM and processor support to play their favorite mobile game smoothly. Asphalt 9 is one of the heaviest mobile games around.
Biggest Progress By An Individual Title
Many Esports titles have recently stormed the Esports world and received popularity and support. Among these names, Valorant by Riot Games has really managed to stir things up. In a matter of no time, Valorant has risen to a place of prominence among the Esports fraternity. Many players and streamers are shifting to Valorant and promoting the game. The progress made by Valorant in the past year is nothing short of amazing. Easily one can argue that Valorant is one of the top titles in Esports now. After its release on June 2 last year, Valorant went on to compete with big names for the title of best Esports game of the year. Many pro players have shifted from other games to Valorant over the past year. In the upcoming year, it is predicted that Valorant will surpass many big titles in the Esports industry.
No Age Limit Is There To Go Pro
Unlike other sports which carry separate junior divisions for the under 21, under 16 athletes, there is no age limitation to compete in Esports. The only thing that matters here is talent and big franchises are quick to recognize talents for their team. All of it is a single Esports division and there is no separate division for kids. The youngest ever Esports player to go pro was just 6 years old. It is also a popular belief that the reflex and muscle memory needed to play games at the highest level is better developed among kids and slowly fades away with age.
DOTA 2 champion player Syed “SumaiL” Hassan started at the pro scene just at the age of 13 years. Fortnite Champion Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf holds the record for the “highest single-player tournament payout.” And most interestingly he was just 17 years of age at that time (Now 18). He won a prize of $3 million at the Fortnite World Championship last year. Several academies around the globe specialize in training young minds to get better in video gaming. They are trained to play at the highest level of competition and be a professional Esports player.
Bonus Facts About Esports
There are several other interesting facts about the world of Esports. The rapidly spreading world of Esports will soon engulf the entire earth population.
1) Around 1.9 billion people out of 7.79 billion people in the world are aware of Esports.
2) The topmost viewed Esports event is the League of Legends World Championship 2020. It recorded 139 million hours of views from around 3.8 million viewers globally.
3) 2020 recorded the biggest sponsorship investments in Esports recording $623.9 million altogether.
4) In the UK over 1200 jobs were provided in the Esports sector in 2019.
The strong love of video gaming and the passion of billions of people globally continue to fuel the ever-growing Esports market. Very soon Esports will become a national sport in major countries around the globe.
