The rise of professional gaming has taken a foot in the sports world. With channels like ESPN even streaming eSport games, this is setting the way for how we view sports over the coming years. Games like Fortnite and League of Legends continue to dominate the eSports scene. Here are the most popular eSports games that are taking control of the crowd.
Fortnite
From Ninja to Shroud, Fortnite has taken the gaming world by storm. One of Epic Games very few in-house developed games, Fortnite hit the most popular eSports world hard and fast and quickly picked up millions of players overnight.
The third-person shooter is a battle royale based game. The premise is based around 100 players starting at the same time and battling it out with the other 99 players to get what is known as a “Victory Royale”. Players can choose to queue up as a solo player or with others to compete to win their match.
The Fortnite competitive scene has broken out because of its popularity. Epic Games hosted the first-ever Fortnite World Cup. The solo winner for this tournament was able to take home $3,000,000 dollars.
As the game continues to age, we can expect to see these tournaments continue and the prize money to increase with the diversity of players.
League of Legends
Summoners Rift has been on the playing field and the face of eSports for almost a decade now. The League of Legends eSports took off with the rise in popularity of the streaming platform, Twitch.
Starting tournaments in 2011, the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) has been home to countless teams from all over the world. They battle it out in a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), where a team of five competes against another team.
The goal is to destroy the enemy’s nexus or force a surrender if you’re beating them hard enough. Each team has five players who can choose from a variety of different champions. Each champion serves a specific role and they work together to win.
For the LCS 2019 season, the champions FunPlus Phoenix was able to take home more than $2.5 million in prize money.
Dota 2
While League of Legends came out before Dota 2, the first game (Defense of the Ancients) was the foundation for League of Legends. Dota 2 from Valve has been the main competitor in the MOBA category since the launch of either game. The game has managed to get a stronger foothold in the European category compared to League, which has a higher standing with the Asian community.
Dota 2 follows the same premise as League of Legends where each team has five members. Each member chooses from a list of heroes. They then work together to bring down the opponent’s ancient or force a surrender.
Dota 2 does have one thing over League, however, and that is the prize pool. The winning team of “The International” managed to snag a whopping $34 million. This is thanks to the crowdfunding portion of the prize pool, where fans can contribute to the winners.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO)
The supreme ruler of first-person shooters (FPS), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) from Valve has managed to remain consistent in viewers and players over the years. The fourth game in the series which launched in 2012, fans of the game have praised it for its fast pace and strategy which was hard to bring to the FPS back then.
The game is based around a search and destroy mechanic. You are split into one of two teams, Terrorist or Counter-Terrorist. If you are Terrorist, your goal is to plant a bomb or eliminate the enemy team to win the round. If you area Counter-Terrorist, you can eliminate the enemy team, prevent the team from planting in the allotted time frame, or defuse after the bomb has been planted.
While the prize pool typically stays in the millions range for the year, the community comes in surges to push further support. CS: GO will go through multiple up and down phases where the views go from a couple thousand to the millions throughout the course of the year.
Overwatch
Another FPS, Overwatch from Blizzard took the eSports arena by storm when it hit the scene in 2016. While the newest game on the list, there are already plans to release Overwatch 2 and further extend the foothold this game has secured.
Overwatch is based on two different game modes. It is a 6 versus 6 mode that has either team try and secure points around the map. The other game mode has one team push a payload from one point on the map to another.
What sets Overwatch apart from other competitive shooters was the introduction of heroes into the strategy. Each hero presented a set of abilities, whether it be healing and protecting the team, or using abilities that inflict heavier damage. But unlike League of Legends or Dota 2, where once you picked the character there was no going back, you can change characters upon death in Overwatch.
Since the Overwatch League inception in 2018, the second championship in 2019 was already earning the champions $1.5 million in earnings. The quick turnaround from beginning to one of the major eSports has been incredible and is bound to only get larger with the release of Overwatch 2.
The Most Popular eSports Games Are Not Going Anywhere
With the most popular eSports games only growing year-over-year, there is no telling what the future holds for the games. Between the prize pool increases and the average viewership going up with more people staying home, the future is unpredictable.
What we do know is, these contenders will have a hard time leaving the eye of the viewer anytime soon. As the new consoles come out and graphics cards continue to be upgraded, there is a chance we will see all new different games pop up and change the industry.
If you’re looking to become an MLG gamer like the ones we just talked about, check out our tips on gaming like a pro.
