ESPORTS: A Passing Trend or an Event to Stay?
Written by: Group 5_BSA 2B, 09/17/2022
Matthew Eisman/Getty Images for Blizzard Entertainment
The 2018 Overwatch League Grand Finals were held at the Barclays Center in New York City
ESPORT: MORE THAN JUST A GAME
Esports, as we know it today, is relatively new. It is a fascinating phenomenon in a billion-dollar industry. Esports, gamers square off either in teams (multiplayer) or individually. Esports refers to the organized, competitive video game industry. In the same video games, including Fortnite, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, Overwatch, DOTA, and Madden NFL, players from various leagues or teams compete against one another.
The term “esports” stands for “electronic sports” and describes competitive video gaming with league and tournament structures similar to other traditional sports. Esports dates back to 1972, the year that home consoles first became widely used. The popularity of Esports increased as the 2000s came around. The World Cyber Games and the Electronic Sports World Cup made their debuts, and Major League Gaming (MLG) started in 2002. MLG is currently regarded as one of the top Esports hosts in the world.
Students at Stanford University engaged in the first eSports competition in October 1972 using the video game Spacewar. The grand prize for the winner was a year-long subscription to Rolling Stones magazine.
However, the first video game competition wasn’t staged until 1980, when Tomohiro Nishikado created it in Japan. Since Space Invaders, the tournament’s game, was already well-known at the time, the Space Invaders Championship drew a sizable crowd of 10,000 players and received extensive media coverage.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN!
If you believe that eSports has only been around for a few years, you are mistaken! The origins of gaming and competition on PC or console were established in the 1950s. Only technological advancements at the end of the 1990s made video games accessible to the general public. Cybersports have grown in popularity as a result of improved hardware and graphics, as well as the global expansion of the Internet.
On October 19, 1972, the first official video game competition was held. The participants competed in a game called Spacewar. The grand prize was a one-year subscription to Rolling Stone magazine. eSports became popular in the 1980s with the launch of the Space Invaders Championship.
In 1978, Atari set the stage for the world’s first major video game tournament.
Alexander Shafto Douglas came up with the game “XOX” which became the first graphical computer game. Atari laid the foundation for the world’s first major ESports tournament in 1980 with Space Invaders.In 1980, the first nationwide video game competition was held. In 1981, gamers played in the unexpectedly competitive first Donkey Kong tournament. Walter Day established Twin Cities in 1982 to record high scores on several arcade games. Twin Cities keeps track of those scores and submits them to Guinness World Records
DOTA 2 WITH IT’S SKYROCKETING POPULARITY!
A multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game called Dota 2 was created and released by Valve in 2013. The game is a follow-up to Defense of the Ancients (DotA), a mod made by the community for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos by Blizzard Entertainment. Defense of the Ancients lead creator IceFrog was hired by Valve in 2009 to produce a modernized version for them in the Source game engine, which marked the start of the development of Dota 2. Dota 2 is one of the most popular MOBA titles in the world. It was developed by Valve and made available for Windows, OS X, and Linux in July 2013. The game has a global player population and the most profitable pro scene in the industry.
Dota 2 is officially a sequel to the first Dota game, but most people view it as a stand-alone game. DotA was a Warcraft III user-made game mode that served as a major inspiration for later MOBA games like League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth.
THE INTERNATIONAL: DOTA 2’s WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
The International Dota 2 Championship features the world’s top Dota 2 teams competing for the title and one of the largest prize pools in all of esport. The competition, which was first announced at Gamescom in 2011, has gained widespread media attention due to its enormous prize pool.This being the first international, there was a lot of anticipation for the competition.
When Valve revealed the $1.6 million prize fund, it erupted. This sum was unheard of in esports at the time. Everyone competing in the international received money that may have changed their lives. At the end of the first international, mostly known as TI1, CIS organization Natus Vincere, or better known as Na’Vi, was the winner of the event, with Chinese team EHOME coming in second place. Over the years, the Na’Vi superstar player has developed into the face of Dota 2, and the first international is largely to blame for this. Even though TI1 or 2011 The International Championship did not put Dota 2 at the highest peak of popularity in the field of e-sport, it was still a success for promoting the game as the first-ever $1 million esports competition rapidly captured the interest of professional players. It was obvious that Dota would set the standard in this area.
GREATEST DOTA 2 PRO PLAYERS OF ALL TIME
Dota 2 is one of the most popular eSports games, with millions of players worldwide, and several teams from all over the world competing in different leagues. Here, we take a look at the best of the best Dota 2 players of all time. N0tail currently plays PO5 support for OG and is the coach of OG Seed.
Johan “N0tail” Sundstein
Also known as BigDaddy, or simply “a beautiful flower”, is the greatest Dota 2 player of all time. With almost $6.8 million in prize money alone, he is the player with the biggest esports earnings, not just in Dota 2, but throughout all esports. N0tail led his group, OG, to two straight victories at The International (2018 and 2019). The fact that OG won both The International tournaments in a row just puts the cherry on top of becoming the first team to ever accomplish this feat.
Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan
After being signed by Evil Geniuses in 2015 as a result of outstanding results in the North American Elite League, Hassan began his professional career. Hassan right away demonstrated his potential and prowess, aiding EG in 2015 The International victory. He was included in TIME’s 2016 list of the 30 Most Influential Teens thanks to his outstanding efforts.
Danil “Dendi” Ishutin
Ishutin, who is regarded as one of the game’s most fashionable players, began his professional gaming career in 2006 with Wolker Gaming. Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) eventually signed him thanks to his impressive accomplishments. Ishutin went on to win The International with Na’Vi, and they came close to winning again the following year when they placed second. Before being released in 2018, Ishutin led Na’Vi to greater heights throughout his stay with them.
DOTA 2 BIGGEST PRIZE POOL EVER ACHIEVED
The biggest competition in the game is called the Dota 2 International. Finding the best squad overall is the pinnacle of the entire competitive landscape. The prize fund for The International has increased steadily over the course of its existence and this year surpassed the $40 million mark. Although the event offered a total of $1.6 million in 2011 and 2012, it has been the most prosperous in terms of financial earnings.
Team Spirit crowned champions of Dota 2’s The International 2021. They take home $18.2 million from a prize pool of $40 million — the largest in esports history. It is the first Eastern European team to win since Na’Vi won the inaugural tournament in 2011.
The DOTA 2 Pro Circuit has reached the last tour before the International 2022. The tournament, with the biggest prize pool in esports, will be hosted in Singapore. North America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe’s participants have already been announced. China’s, Southeast Asia’s, and South America’s representatives are yet to be revealed.
IMPACT OF THE INTERNATIONAL
Dota 2 has a total of 10 seasons starting from 2011- 2022 in which one season was held once a year. During 2020, because of a pandemic the event was postponed. The International was a watershed moment for not only Dota esports, but for esports as a whole. Suddenly, an updated version of one of the world’s most popular competitive titles had an enormously high-profile event with an equally massive prize pool. Immediately, competing MOBA developers like Riot Games began increasing the prize pools for their events, pushing for ever-larger, more well-produced events. The very presence of The International pushed every other tournament organizer to create the biggest and best tournaments for their games.
But its biggest impact was undoubtedly on Dota 2 itself. By revealing the new title using the biggest tournament esports had ever seen, Valve showed that it was going to be pushing for Dota 2 to become a premier esport, and was willing to put up the money to do so.
But it wasn’t until the third iteration of The International in 2013 that the event really began to take its final form. That year, Valve introduced the Compendium, a crowdfunding initiative in which a portion of in-game Dota 2 purchases by fans would go directly into the prize pool for The International.
LIFE OF AN E-SPORT PLAYER
Playing video games can even be a well-paying job. Some people view it as a sport where players may practice and improve their hand-eye coordination and mental abilities. Given that e-sports revenue has also increased significantly over the past two years, certainly, players are guaranteed benefits accordingly.
1. “Faker”
Lee “Faker” Sang Hyeok is one of the most famous esports players in the world. He has been compared to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Lionel Messi. Faker has won nine national championships and three World Championships. The South Korean mid-laner has also won two MVP awards. Lee Dong-bin created the maps for “Warcraft III” and the “Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)” game “Chaos”. In 2011, he discovered the world of “League of Legends,” to which he became enamored. He was employed by “SK Telecom” (SKT) in 2013 due to his highly acute gaming abilities.
Lee Dong-bin is one of the top e-sport players in the world. He doesn’t speak English and uses a translator for most of his interviews. He wants to go back to school so he can apply his learnings from e-sports to Mathematics.
2. “Miracle”
Amer “Miracle” Al-Barkawi is one of the best Dota 2 players in the professional league. The Jordanian prodigy stays humbled despite his success in life. He believes he is not the best in the world, and that there are many skilled players out there.
Amer was the first person to ever attain an astounding 9,000 MMR. Despite the fame, the humbled boy never forgot his friends and family. He loves talking to his family, sharing his experiences, sometimes reading a book, traveling, and hanging out with friends.
Amer Al-Barkawi’s worth is difficult to pinpoint, but based on his victories and honors, he took home slightly under $5 million in around 60 events. He used his revenues from playing e-sports in building a new house, buying gadgets, and finance his family’s needs.
ESPORTS THAT MAKES PEOPLE PASSIVELY ENJOY LIFE!
E-sports involve more than just competing against online opponents in front of a screen. The few benefits it gives to individuals who participate are prize money, high wages, new friendships, academic success, scholarships, entertainment, and morals. E-sports might provide more than simply a non-physical or virtual world, given its challenges.
E-sports has reached its highest height to date after a thorough investigation of its past and the new generations of innovative advances made possible by this ingenuity. Respected by the participants, the industry looks past their world to embrace and appreciate how the contemporary period introduces a fresh method of exchanging smiles and stories. E-sports is much more than just a game; it’s about passion and respect.
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