E-sports have come a long way since CS 1.6 LAN parties back in the early 2000s. Hundreds of millions of people watch streams on Twitch and YouTube, but tournaments are the real treat. They’re comprised of some of the best players and teams in the world. Eternal glory and millions are at stake while you watch some high-level gameplay.
Of course, not all e-sports tournaments are equal. To have the most fun, you need to focus on the best of the best. We prepared some top competitions for the most played and significant games. Add them to your calendar, watch the qualifiers and maybe consider expanding your sports betting repertoire using well trusted sites reviewed by www.CryptoGambling.tv.
Top Tournaments
Unlike traditional sports, e-sports competition formats are more chaotic. The industry is still new, leading to many innovative ideas and experimentation. Nevertheless, games such as CoD, Dota, LoL, Valorant and others have proven to be the most exciting, especially regarding sports betting and overall entertainment quality. Thus, you started with the aforementioned games and their biggest tournaments.Â
Dota 2 International
Dota is the second-most popular MOBA game after LoL, and as such, it attracts millions of viewers for every big event. The International (TI) is considered the biggest of them all and even sported the biggest prize pool in e-sports history in 2021, at a cool $40 million.Â
In 2011, TI was held at Gamescom, followed by a few years in Seattle, at Valve’s headquarters. Since then, however, the tournament has been on an international rotation, visiting countries such as Germany, Canada, Singapore and others. OG are the only repeat winners, having taken home the crown in 2018 and 2019, whilst Tundra Esports are the most recent winners.Â
League of Legends World Championship
Watched by 99.7 million people in 2018, the LoL World Championship is by far the biggest e-sports tournament in the world, according to LolFandom. It occurs at rotating venues, and teams can qualify for it through various regional leagues and the Mid-Season Invitational. The competition has changed formats several times and is held in the second half of the year at varying locations and dates.Â
One of the most iconic things about the LoL WC is the Summoner’s Cup, a 70-pound behemoth trophy Summoner’s Cup. It’s still showcased, but the players get to lift a bespoke cup by Tiffany & Co. so as not to get injured by the weight. In terms of success, T1 are the top dogs, as they’re the only team to have won 3 Summoner’s Cups.Â
League of Legends LCS
LoL was one of the first games to copy traditional sports and experiment with league-style gameplay. Thus, the Riot Games-run League Championship Series (LCS) has been the top level for pros since 2013. As of 2023, there are 10 teams, with Cloud9 being the most successful, having won 7 titles. Team SoloMid, the most recent champions, are breathing down their neck with 6.Â
Since the league’s inception, multiple restructuring efforts and complications have occurred, but the LCS has prevailed every time. The current format involves a spring and summer part of the season, followed by a double-elimination tournament at the end. Teams that finish in the top-3 automatically qualify for the LoL World Championship and the chance to hoist the Summoner’s Cup.Â
Call of Duty League
Organised by Activision, the Call of Duty League (CDL) is the game’s biggest and most competitive Overwatch esports tournament. Interestingly, it’s also one of the youngest e-sports leagues, having only been founded in 2020. It features teams from the US, Canada and the UK, totalling 12 teams that play in a round-robin format to reach the playoffs.Â
There were multiple changes regarding teams, formats and other details, but the excitement stayed the same. It’s also one of the most popular e-sports competitions to bet on at sportsbooks. Atlanta FaZe, OpTic Texas and the Los Angeles Thieves have won a title each, with impressive star power and global coverage.Â
Overwatch League
Another Activision-Blizzard staple, the Overwatch League, takes place from April to the summer’s end, with regular scheduling changes. In 2022, viewers logged 4.2 million hours of screen time spread across 147 hours of broadcasts and supporting content.Â
In total, there are 20 teams, and they’re split into the East and West Leagues. The East League is comprised of 6 teams from China and the Dallas Fuel, and other teams are mainly in the USA and Canada, with the London Spitfire being the only exception.Â
Recently, pro-ams and the Spring Split have been pairing OL teams with Overwatch Contenders. In the case of the Spring Split, teams are placed into groups and the top two teams advance to the Playoffs and get a chance to compete for the $100,000 grand prize.Â
VALORANT Champions Tour
Valorant shook the e-sports scene with its unique VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) format. In 2021, 10,000 teams were split into three tiers — Challengers, Masters and Champions. All the matches resulted in a 1.085 million peak viewership, which set the stage for future iterations. Nowadays, the VCT is down to 30 teams from 3 regions and has multiple pipelines for Challenger teams.Â
Gambit Esports were the first champions, followed by LOUD, with this year’s playoffs being the most competitive. All teams in the current format have signed 5-year contracts to reduce turbulence and stabilise player interests. Teams who win their regional leagues qualify for the Valorant Masters and get additional privileges, including more circuit points.Â
FNCS Global Championship
And last but not least, the premier Fortnite event for professional players — the FNCS Global Championship. This is the newest tournament started by Epic Games and is the follow-up to the beloved Fortnite World Cup. In total, the WC attracted 81.8 hours of live viewership in 2019, which set the stage for the success of the Global Championship.
This new tournament, aka the Champion Series, will be split into three parts, with duos competing over the course of five weeks. The best teams from each game will compete for a $2 million grand prize and a spot at the Global Championships at the end of the year. There will be additional Majors in April and July, too. These will all be according to traditional US e-sports rules, as seen on Wikipedia.Â