Competitive gaming has always been popular. However, while playing Mario Kart in your friend’s basement in the ‘90s may have been as good as it got, nowadays when we reference competitive gaming, we’re more talking about eSports and the competitive tournaments involved. eSports in 2020 is a multibillion-dollar industry that encompasses games in pretty much all genres. That said, there are some that are currently more popular than others. We’re going to take a look at them in this article.
Fortnite
Fortnite took the world by storm when it was released in 2017, and while the general media buzz surrounding the game has somewhat abated, it’s still as popular as ever for eSports. Over $80 million has been awarded to eSports players playing Fortnite over the last two years, with the Fortnite World Cup – held in New York City – being the biggest tournament so far. The game now has over 250 million registered users, many of whom check out websites like Unikrn to work out how they, too, can play games for real money. The website details all of the upcoming competitive events, and enables those who aren’t quite good enough to compete themselves to bet on their favorites.
League of Legends
League of Legends is, arguably, the most famous eSports game in the world. Despite launching over 11 years ago, the total prize money for LoL eSports players amounts to over $75 million, and over 2400 competitions have taken place. Most of the top players of the game hail from South Korea, with China not far behind. In fact, if you take a look at the top 25 LoL players, only one is from a country outside of those mentioned above, proving just how dominant the game is in Asia. Over 8 million regular players play LoL every day, making it the top PC game on this list. It may not be quite as popular as Fortnite, but it’s still one of the biggest eSports games of 2020.
Call of Duty
One of the only eSports games that is purely played on console, competitive Call of Duty is also unique in that it uses a brand-new title every year. Arguably, this makes it a tougher game to crack as it requires real skills and the ability to adapt in order to become successful in this game. It also, however, is perhaps the most accessible for new players. Call of Duty eSports makes use of a franchise-based system with different teams located in different countries – the Toronto Ultras and the London Royal Ravens to name just two. Activision hasn’t released an official player count for Call of Duty, but it’s estimated to be well over one billion. It’s also one of the most popular franchises in the world.
Other games worthy of a mention include DOTA, Overwatch, Apex Legends, PUGB and Counter Strike: Global Offensive. Do you follow any of these eSports? Let us know your favorite one and what you like about it in the comments.
