eSports
From game to competition: The unstoppable rise of esports and competitive gaming
In the ever-evolving landscape of entertainment, few industries have witnessed a tremendous rise quite like eSports.
What once started as a niche in the gaming world has now grown into a global sensation, captivating both amateur and professional players with its competitive events, life-changing cash prizes, and viewership figures in the hundreds of millions. Domain and hosting experts Fasthosts has compiled a brief overview of the rise of eSports, and competitive gaming throughout the years, and where the future may take the industry.
The Start of Competitive Gaming
eSports, at its core, revolves around competitive video gaming, and has experienced exponential growth over the past five decades. The earliest known gaming competition stems back to 1972, when Stanford University hosted a contest featuring the science fiction rocket game âSpacewarâ. The event â orchestrated by sports reporter Stewart Brand â showcased the potential of video games as an âexhilarating spectator sportâ, setting the stage for what was to come.
The Slow but Steady Rise
For several decades, the popularity of eSports experienced a gradual rise. In the pre-internet era, arcade tournaments provided the battleground for players, with magazines and record books recognising top players’ achievements. The 1990s marked a turning point as gaming tournaments began to gain traction, offering increasingly substantial prize pools. The technological advancements in video game consoles, and internet and PC gaming paved the way for a prosperous decade for the industry. At the end of the 90s we saw the internet cafe boom where young players would meet and play together in PC cafes, which was the start of the strong youth social gaming culture you see today.
The New Millennium
It was the early 2000s that witnessed the true birth of eSports as leagues and tournaments started to take shape around iconic titles like Counter-Strike, StarCraft, and Warcraft III. In 2001, the first World Cyber Games was held in Seoul. The tournament featured several popular games and attracted over 174,000 participants from 17 countries, making for an unexpected global success. In 2005, the CPL World Tour or Cyberathlete Professional League became the first event to have a prize pool offering over $1 million, demonstrating the start of life changing prizes that go hand in hand with competitive gaming.
Streaming Platforms: The Catalyst for Growth
From 2010 onwards, the world witnessed the revolutionary impact of online streaming platforms like Twitch.tv and Youtube Gaming, leading to skyrocketing eSports viewership figures. When Twitch launched, the âLeague of Legendsâ world championship viewership figures went from 1.7 million in 2011 to 8.2 million in 2012, and to 32 million in 2013.
These streaming platforms connected fans worldwide, allowing them to tune into live events from home. The large viewing figures, advertising, and sponsorship opportunities led to investors starting their own teams, and household game developers creating leagues and tournaments. It became standard for eSports events to attract millions of viewers, and the landscape of competitive gaming had been transformed.
The Summit
In 2015, eSports reached a defining moment with The International 2015: Dota 2 Championships. The prize pool offered a staggering $18 million, breaking records and solidifying eSports’ place on the global stage. This marked a monumental shift, proving that tournaments could rival traditional sports events in terms of both prize money and profitability.
The New Decade: eSports Takes Centre Stage
As the calendar turned to the 2020s, eSports entered a new era. The decade began with some of the largest tournaments in history, attracting millions of spectators and providing the largest prize pools seen to date such as The 2021 International Dota 2 Championships which took place in Bucharest Romania, offering a $40,018,400.00 prize pool â the largest prize at the time.
By 2020, it had become increasingly common to see the term âprofessional eSports playerâ conceptualising the individuals dedicating their lives to competitive gaming, undergoing strict routines and training in the unique journey of becoming the world’s next best gaming athlete.
The Future
At present, the most-viewed tournaments are impressive spectacles in their own right, with titles like âFree Fire World Seriesâ, âLeague of Legendsâ, and âMobile Legends: Bang Bangâ drawing millions of viewers. Looking to the future, in August 2023, Saudi Arabian tournament organiser Gamers8 ran their âThe Land of Heroesâ tournament with a colossal prize of $45 million dollars, a figure that has been shattered this year with the life-changing sum of $60 million dollars to be won at the eSports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Reinforcing the growing nature of the industry, according to BeyonGames.biz, the eSports market is estimated to grow at 21.81% between 2022 and 2027, with the size of the market expected to increase by $3,515.1 million.
The journey of competitive gaming from its humble beginnings to its current global standing is a testament to its enduring appeal and cultural impact. With its exhilarating competition and substantial rewards, eSports has become a true force in the entertainment world. As the industry continues to innovate and evolve, one thing remains clear: this isnât just a passing trend. It’s a phenomenon that has permanently transformed the way we engage with and celebrate competitive gaming.
eSports
VSPO Joins Esports Integrity Commission, Further Strengthening Global Esports Integrity Standards
The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) announced that VSPO, the largest esports company in Asia, has officially become an ESIC member. Founded in 2016, VSPO has established itself as a key player in the global esports industry after hosting events across Asia, Europe and North America. This membership demonstrates VSPOâs commitment to promoting fairness, transparency and ethical conduct in the global esports ecosystem.
VSPO is renowned for its end-to-end esports offerings, including tournament operations, content production, talent incubation and integrated marketing solutions. The company recently announced the Esports Asian Champions League (ACL), Asiaâs new premier international esports tournament featuring multiple titles. It has previously hosted high-profile esports events such as the Honor of Kings Pro League (KPL), PUBG Global Championship (PGC) and the esports series at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, collaborating with major game developers and global brands.
By joining ESIC as a member, VSPO aligns with the industryâs most rigorous and widely accepted integrity standards, ensuring the protection and sustainability of its own tournaments and further supporting the esports industry as it continues to grow on a global scale. This will include enforcing ESICâs Integrity Program across all tournaments and events, which addresses cheating, match-fixing, doping and other unethical behaviours.
As an ESIC member, VSPO commits to upholding the integrity of the esports ecosystem by adopting ESICâs codes of conduct, cooperating with investigations and enforcing any sanctions imposed by ESIC. This ensures a consistent, global approach to maintaining fair play and transparency, safeguarding the credibility of esports for players, teams and fans alike.
VSPO becomes part of a prestigious roster of ESIC members, which includes some of the worldâs most prominent tournament organisers such as ESL FACEIT Group, BLAST, LVP (MEDIAPRO Group) and NODWIN Gaming. VSPO membership comes as the company enters an exciting period. Last week it announced that Founder Dino Ying has transitioned to Executive Chairman, with Co-Founder Danny Tang becoming CEO. VSPO is also set to be renamed to Hero Esports, aligning with its domestic brand as part of its ongoing global growth strategy.
Stephen Hanna, Chief Executive Officer of ESIC, said: âVSPOâs commitment to excellence and its global influence makes it an invaluable addition to our growing membership of leading esports stakeholders. VSPOâs membership reinforces the importance of a unified approach to integrity, and we look forward to working together to ensure that the global esports industry continues to grow on a foundation of fairness and trust.â
Danny Tang, CEO and Co-Founder of VSPO, said: âWe are proud to join a community that shares our commitment to maintaining the integrity of the esports ecosystem, protecting the credibility of esports for players and fans. A united front is the only way to ensure all participants can thrive, knowing that their efforts and talents are respected and valued.â
eSports
Abios partners Svenska Spel to bolster esoccer offering
Leading Swedish operator enhances its esoccer capabilities with Abiosâ comprehensive odds feed, streams and widgets
Abios, a global leader in esports data and odds provision and part of the Kambi Group, has agreed a partnership with Svenska Spel to provide the leading Swedish operator with its full esoccer offering, including its comprehensive range of odds, streams and widgets.
Harnessing real-time data from official rights holders and automated models overseen by an expert trading team, Abiosâ esoccer offering covers more than 12,000 matches every month. Having powered esoccer across the Kambi network since 2023, Abiosâ offering consistently ranks among the top leagues on the network by number of bets.
Svenska Spel is one of the largest operators in the Swedish regulated market, with an extensive online presence encompassing both sportsbook and casino. Svenska Spel is also the single largest sponsor of Swedish sports, making large contributions to everything from womenâs hockey to the Swedish national football team.
Managing Director and Co-founder of Abios, Anton JanĂ©r, said: âAs a company founded in Stockholm weâre incredibly happy to power Svenska Spel, one of the most well-known brands within Swedish sports. Esoccer has grown rapidly for us in recent months, and it is exciting to see that the novel product features weâve rolled out have gained traction and boosted results for our partners.â
Ida Björklund, Head of Sports Betting at Svenska Spel, said: âBy adding esoccer to our offering, we allow our customers to enjoy an exciting new product that has grown rapidly in popularity. The opportunity for customers to follow their bets throughout the match by watching streams bolsters the user experience, acting as a fantastic complement to our broad and deep offering.â
Asia
Kazakhstan to Host the Games of the Future 2026
Following a highly competitive process, Phygital International announced that Kazakhstan has been chosen as the host of the Games of the Future 2026.
This annual tournament, which is the pinnacle event of the phygital sporting world, received hosting bids from countries across the world, all bidding to follow the UAE in becoming hosts of this prestigious event.
Kazakhstan proved itself the ultimate winner with the Phygital International Expert Committee judges, after showcasing its expertise in hosting international tournaments, its state-of-the-art sports venues – along with the perfect mix of being a nation that embraces sports, culture and tradition as well as its technology and innovation capabilities.
The Games of the Future is a unique international event, which brings together the next generation of dynamic sporting heroes from all over the world. Phygital International expects the Games of the Future 2025 in UAE and now, 2026 in Kazakhstan to welcome thousands of world-class athletes and esports persons as part of multinational clubs. They will participate in the multi-sport event which comprises of a number of phygital sport challenges.
Nis Hatt, CEO of Phygital International, said: âWeâre hugely excited at the prospect of Kazakhstan receiving the phygital flame from next yearâs host, the UAE to host the 2026 tournament. Itâs so pleasing to see the exponential growth of not only phygital sports, but also the global phygital community.
âIn fact, the host nation bidding process for the Games of the Future 2027 is already hotting up but thereâs still time for other countries to put their bid in before the deadline in December.â
Yerbol Myrzabossynov, Minister of Tourism and Sports for the Republic of Kazakhstan, said: âIt is a privilege for our great nation of Kazakhstan to be awarded the honour of hosting the Games of the Future in 2026. Our country has supported phygital sport from its very inception, and we take pride in being the next in line to host this great event and weâre excited to receive the phygital flame from the UAE, whoâs hosting in 2025 we greatly look forward to.â
The Games of the Future places no restrictions on its participants and welcomes everyone, regardless of their age, gender and nationality. The deadline for submitting applications to host the tournament in 2027 is December 31, 2024.
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