Esports are revolutionising the way we watch and follow video games. These competitive gaming tournaments, backed by global brands and watched by millions of fans, feature the best players and teams from around the world. Whether you’re an aspiring high-stakes player or just a casual fan, you’ll find all the latest esports tournament news right here.
Some of the biggest esports tournaments have prize pools in excess of $40 million, which is comparable to major sports leagues in Europe and Asia. One of the most famous is The International, which brings together 16 teams — 80 professional players in total — to battle it out over Dota 2, a strategy game developed by Valve. The winning team takes home the Summoner’s Cup, a massive trophy that weighs 44 pounds and was designed by Tiffany & Co.
In team-based esports, players compete in competitions organized by a league that oversees the sport. At the end of a season, sponsored teams may be promoted or relegated to other leagues depending on how they perform. This mirrors the patterns of traditional sports in Europe and Asia, where teams compete across leagues to vie for top positioning.
In addition to the global esports events like the LoL World Championship, there are plenty of regional and community competitions. Riot’s MSI tournament, for example, sees the top teams from each region compete to produce a summer champion. And as for the world of Counter Strike, there’s a seemingly endless variety of wild and wonderful CS2 tournaments that keep fans glued to their screens.