Esports (Electronic sports) is a competitive sport where gamers use their physical and mental abilities to compete in certain genres of video games in a virtual, electronic environment.
These esports video games titles can be played across electronic devices (PC, Mobile, Consoles, unmanned vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicle, robot, simulation etc.) and are Multiplayer Games, where esports athletes compete against one another and/or form up teams to compete.
Esports events can be online and/or offline (physical).
Esports also extends to virtual reality and augmented reality video games.
Please note that casual video games, Fantasy, Teen Patti, Rummy, Poker, Betting, Gambling etc. is not esports
The video game genres associated with esports are:
- Real-time Strategy (RTS) e.g., Hearthstone
- Fighting e.g., Tekken, Street Fighter
- Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) e.g., DOTA2, League of Legends
- Sports e.g., FIFA, Racing
- First-person Shooter (FPS)/Battle Royale e.g., Counter Strike, Call of Duty, BGMI
These tournaments are
broadcasted Online & TV and have commentary also, yea just like you have it in Cricket, FIFA etc.
ESPORTS IS A SPORT
Esports is a Sport and hence, it has received its sporting recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC),
which is the apex body of sports along with Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), Commonwealth Games etc.
- IOC organized Virtual Olympic Series (Esports Tournament), before the Tokyo Olympics 2020;
- Esports has been included in OCA events since 2007. Esports is a medal sports in Asian Games 2022 and in the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games 2021 (Postponed) scheduled to be held in 2023;
- Esports has been a medal sport in South East Asian Games in 2019,2021 & 2022.
- India won a bronze medal in 2018 Asian Games, where esports was included as a demonstration title.
-
Commonwealth Games organized "Commonwealth Esports Championship 2022" alongside Commonwealth Games 2022 and India won a Bronze in DOTA game title;
- French President Mr. Emmanuel Macron made a public statement that he wants esports to be included in 2024 Paris Olympics;
- Additionally, around 46 countries like Korea, Thailand, Finland, Italy, Brazil, Nepal, Indonesia, Turkmenistan, Macedonia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa, Serbia Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Georgia have also recognised esports as regular sport.
Some Astonishing Facts & Numbers
Esports players are called
“Athletes” not "nerds".
It's a
Spectator Sport now with more than
500 Million esports fans in
152 countries that watch these competitions online through various streaming platforms like Facebook, Twitch.tv, YouTube
The League of Legends World Championship'21 brought in more than
73 Mn peak concurrent viewers,
during the competition's final round on November 6, 2021.
Not only there is serge in spectators, the prize pools are setting world records, The International - 10 (DOTA's 2021 world championship) had a prize pool of
~$ 40 Mn. As per esportsearnings.com overall
$222 Mn prize money was won by esports athletes across the 4497 tournaments held globally. Pro Players are making
Millions of Dollars in Salaries.
In year 2013, the US Government officially recognized esports as an official sport and granted visas for professional esports players.
In June 2014, University of Illinois, USA, announced
Athletic Scholarships to esports players, and now we have 3 more universities who have started giving esports Scholarships.