Contrary to what one might think, the foundations of eSports were laid in the 1950s, with the first competitions on PCs or consoles. We had to wait until the end of the 1990s to see the democratisation of video games under the impetus of technological progress and the development of the Internet. Technological advances have made it possible for eSports to become a discipline in its own right, with events attracting as much of an audience as traditional sporting events.

It was six years before the first multiplayer game was introduced in 1958 by William Higinbotham during an open day. It was called Tennis For Two. It was the first game to allow two people to play against each other. To play it, you had to use a kind of joystick, which allowed the players to hit the ball or decide on its trajectory. This event is, to this day, considered by many to be the origin of eSports.

From 1998 onwards, eSport competitions took another turn, driven by the development of the Internet. With the advent of 3D graphics offering 640x480 resolution, development studios were given new possibilities. In the same year, the CD-ROM was introduced, allowing gamers to play as many games as they wanted and turning PCs into home consoles. In the early 2000s, the World Cyber Games (WCG), the Electronic Sports World Cup and Major League Gaming (MLG) were introduced.

In the 2010s, eSports became so popular that a platform exclusively dedicated to broadcasting competitions was created: Twitch. Very quickly, the service gathered more than 5 million users. From that moment on, players found a platform to make themselves known and make their prowess appreciated by the general public. From being a simple discipline practiced by a niche, eSport also became a spectacle attracting an audience.

What is the difference with traditional sports?

In traditional sports, there is almost always an important separation according to criteria such as age, weight or gender. This classification does not exist in eSport. For some, this is proof that eSport breaks down barriers and discrimination. Whether it is a man or a woman, a younger player can win against an older or even more experienced one. The only barrier to competition here is the minimum age allowed for the game on which the players are competing, apart from the various nationality criteria for national competitions.

However, reaching the professional level in eSports requires investment in equipment, which is generally more expensive in terms of acquisition and maintenance. It costs several thousand dollars or euros to get started or to acquire state-of-the-art equipment and play in the best conditions. Where a jersey, ball, cleats and shin pads are enough to start playing football, the first steps in eSports require a console, a powerful computer or a mobile terminal adapted to this type of activity. Then you need to invest in a monitor and a gamer chair. You also need to get a connection with a good speed so that a bad ping does not affect your performance. All in all, you can end up with almost $1000 just for the pre-requisite expenses.

Also, in eSport, the player is not forced to travel to make a living from his passion, unlike traditional sports which, at the professional level, can generally generate higher operating expenses. Travel for the eSport professional is very limited, there are often no round trips to play, no buses or planes to travel long distances to play a match. This only happens for the flagship competitions of the eSport seasons that fill entire stadiums. They are often the pinnacle of the season, bringing together the best players in the world.

The mastery of English is necessary in order to progress in the eSport world as it is an international and multicultural field. English is used as the default language when a player in voice chat does not understand the spoken language. It should also be noted that most games have their own jargon. But most of the words in this jargon come from English. In adventure games, for example, se TP comes from the English "teleport" which means to teleport.

In the case of traditional sports, it is not possible to play one sport with the equipment of another. For example, you cannot play football with a baseball bat or tennis racket. In eSport, however, you can play another sport using the same equipment. The same game console and screen can be used to play football, basketball, racing games or combat sports simulation games.

A comparison could also be made between the two disciplines on the physical level. eSport is a mostly sedentary activity that does not require considerable physical effort or performance compared to traditional sports. Nevertheless, long games can challenge you in terms of endurance and responsiveness. Sometimes the player's actions per minute often drop drastically as the game progresses. Increasingly, we see players training physically in preparation for a competition.

Despite the comparisons between the two disciplines, both are growing rapidly, and eSport even more so. Recently, Andrea Agnelli, the president of Juventus, mentioned the appeal of video games and eSports as reasons for creating a European super league. According to him, young people increasingly prefer the short games of video games to a real football match lasting 90 minutes. Thus, although eSport is not yet a real competitor to traditional sports, it is beginning to attract the traditional sports audience, especially among younger people.

A growing market: the figures

Global eSport competitions are becoming more and more frequent and always gather huge crowds, both in terms of spectators and participants. As of 2019, the eSports market is experiencing exceptional growth, with revenues reaching $957.9 million worldwide. According to one estimate, this figure could reach $1.6 billion by 2024. Sponsorship and advertising are the main sources of revenue, with almost $641 million in 2021.

China generates the largest share of eSports revenue, with a total of $385 million in 2020, an 18% increase on the 2019 figures. After China come North America and Western Europe with estimated revenues of $253 million and $201 million respectively. 47% of gamers in China show an interest in the world of eSports. In fact, eSports is a huge craze in Asian countries, much more so than in the rest of the world.

With the pandemic of COVID-19, the world of eSports has attracted even more viewers. The number of casual viewers was estimated at 240 million and the number of regular viewers at 234 million. These figures are expected to reach 577 million by 2024 if current growth is taken into account.

Until a few years ago, it was not possible to bet on eSports. It is only recently that bookmakers have realised that this service should be made available to eSports fans and especially to sports betting enthusiasts. Many people are therefore wondering how to bet effectively on video game competitions. Here are some useful tips on how to place bets on eSports in the right way:

Finding a trusted bookmaker

This is probably the first thing you should do when you decide to bet online, whether it's on classic sports or on video games, whatever the sport.

The first criterion to be considered is the reputation of the bookmaker, i.e. its credibility and reliability. A bookmaker can build up a good reputation through quality offers. Its credibility will be all the more valid if it has a licence granted by one of the jurisdictions of the European Union countries. The number of users or members of the bookmaker is also a guarantee of credibility.

The security of the betting platform should also be a criterion for selecting a bookmaker. Personal information and financial transactions should be protected to prevent potential intrusions and avoid unpleasant surprises. For added security, some bookmakers use similar practices and security systems as banks.

A wide range of deposit and withdrawal methods, low transaction fees, a high betting limit and good odds are all factors to consider when choosing a bookmaker.

Make sure you use the first deposit bonus

Bookmakers usually offer a welcome bonus after the first deposit. Most bettors dream of using this to make a big hit that will increase the starting capital. Ideally, the bonus should be wagered on events that are likely to be safe, in order to guarantee a first win. However, the notion of safety must be put into perspective, as nothing is guaranteed in betting, and you must therefore inform yourself as much as possible in order to make the most informed choices. Make sure you choose an operator whose first deposit bonus can be used to bet on eSports or which has a welcome offer exclusively dedicated to eSports betting.

Choose the type of game you want to bet on

When it comes to choosing a game, ideally you should opt for a title where you know the gameplay and even the players or teams involved. Again, your ability to inform yourself will make a difference. Watch games and learn from the communities to make the best decisions possible. A loss or a big win is often based on information. It is advisable to start your betting adventure with the most popular games such as LoL, CS:GO, FIFA or Valorant, to name a few. For these titles, it is much easier to find useful information for effective betting.

Define a good strategy

First of all, choose the game you want to bet on. You should definitely avoid betting on anything and everything, as this is the easiest way to squander your entire bankroll. Then opt for single bets rather than combination bets, because the more small and simple odds you combine, the more likely you are to lose your bet. Favouring single bets over combination bets increases your chances of winning your eSports predictions.

Bankroll management is also a must. What does this mean? Well, it is simply a matter of allocating a substantial capital to your betting activity and deducting only a small percentage for your bets. Experts agree that you should bet between 2 and 5% of your balance for a high-risk bet and between 5 and 10% of your balance for a low-risk bet.

How the odds system works in eSports

Prediction sites or bookmakers usually calculate sports betting odds based on a number of parameters that could affect the match. These may include the form of the two teams, the weather, the starting players or the venue of the match. The amount to be won is calculated by multiplying the odds by the stake.

Due to the intrinsic differences between classic and e-sports, the rating of predictions is not done in the same way. The main criterion considered by bookmakers to determine match odds for video games is the performance of the player or team. Consequently, a lower odds will be associated with a player who has a good win ratio.

European Ratings

Still called decimal odds, European odds are the most popular and most used by bookmakers. They have a particular format: a unit followed by a comma and a decimal part. The decimal part has two digits. European odds are considered by some to be more interesting than other odds formats, allowing the bettor to substantially increase his winnings. The main advantage is that they make it easier to calculate winnings. European or decimal odds have been used since the dawn of time for sports betting and are logically used for eSports betting.

Just like in traditional sports, the range of events to bet on is quite large. You can bet on the winning team, the number of maps, who will make the first kill or who will win a map. It is even possible to predict the outcome of the game by betting on the exact score of the map wins. Bettors have the option of combining events from several sports, or betting on single events. Sports betting can be done before the game starts or while the game is taking place (live betting).

Winning team

This is a type of prediction that gamblers are all too familiar with, and for good reason: it is very popular in classic sports like football, basketball, rugby, etc. Predicting the winning team is like betting on the outcome of the game: whether Team 1 or Team 2 will win. It is a simple bet to make, and the odds are used as an indicator for the team with the higher chances of winning. Thus, the team with the lower odds is the one that the bookmaker considers more likely to win the match. Of course, there are always surprises.

Exact score

Generally speaking, predicting the exact score is like telling how many innings a team will need to win the game, or the exact number of innings the game will last. But this can vary depending on the game on which the competition is played. With titles like FIFA or NBA 2K, which are closer to traditional sports, you just have to give the score of a football or basketball game. For games like LoL, Dota 2 or CS:GO, bookmakers usually offer to predict the exact number of maps each team will win. This is a relatively easier bet compared to classic sports or games like FIFA or NBA 2K, for the simple reason that games are played to the best of 2 or 3 wins, depending on the game.

Winner of the map (1, 2, 3)

Video game games are played in best of 3 maps. That is, whoever wins the most maps wins the game. The map winner refers to whoever wins the round on a map. This applies to war games such as Call of Duty and Battlefield as well as to games such as League of Legends, Dota, Overwatch and Rainbow Six. Depending on the game mode, teams can compete on a number of maps. But there are usually three. Rather than picking the winner of a match, you can predict which team will win a specific map.

First kill

The first kill indicates which of team 1 or 2 will be the first to kill a player from the opposing team. This betting option is offered in shooting games such as Call of Duty or battle royales such as Fortnite. Generally, the author of the first kill, also called first blood in some games, is indicated during the game. This type of bet, which is not easy to win, is associated with juicy odds, as you might expect. If the first kill is likely to be recorded on either side, it goes without saying that the stronger team is always the favourite to achieve this performance.

Objectives achieved

Here it is a question of betting on the team that achieves certain objectives first. For example, the first team to kill a certain number of opponents or the first team to fire a drone. In a sports game, it may be the first team to perform certain spectacular actions. Example: a slam dunk in basketball. As you can imagine, this type of prediction is associated with interesting odds.

Bank cards, e-wallets, prepaid tickets and crypto-currencies are all payment methods that can be used to bet on eSports. It has to be said that being very close to technology, the sector is very quick to integrate new means of payment and therefore offers a very wide range of means to allow betting with ease.

Traditional means of payment

This category includes bank cards (Visa, MasterCard and Maestro), prepaid tickets (Paysafecard, Neosurf, Ticket Premium, etc.), e-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, ecoPayz, PayPal, etc.) or coupon codes. In general, traditional payment methods are always present in the bookmakers' range of deposit and withdrawal options, for the simple reason that they are frequently used in everyday life, either to make online purchases or to withdraw money at an ATM. It is therefore easier and more convenient to use them for transactions on bookmaker sites.

Crypto-currencies

With the wave of popularity they experienced during the 2010s, crypto-currencies have quickly established themselves as reliable and secure payment methods on most platforms, including sports betting platforms. Cryptos offer a distinct advantage in terms of speed of transactions, not least because of the novelties brought about by the blockchain. The good news is that you don't have to be a crypto-enthusiast to bet with crypto-assets. You can easily get them on exchange sites such as Binance, Hotbit, etc., using traditional payment methods such as bank cards. Some bookmakers also offer the possibility to buy cryptos directly from their site through a provider that acts as a payment gateway.

Online betting on video games has only become widespread in the last few years. While at that time you could only bet on the most popular online games, more and more video games are appearing on betting platforms and applications. The following games can now be bet on:

League of Legends

Launched in 2009 by the developer Riot Games, League of Legends or LoL for short is a strategy and action game. In the jargon of gamers, it is called a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena). It is undoubtedly the most famous game in this genre and the third most popular video game in terms of online betting, behind major licences such as Valve's Dota and CSGO. The game pits two teams of five players against each other in real-time games lasting 30 minutes. The 10 players can choose from over 100 characters called "champions" with unique fighting skills and techniques.

Counter Strike Global Offensive (CSGO)

CS:GO is a team-based strategic shooter that quickly became internationally popular after its release in 2012. It is one of the most played games in the world and one of the three most competitive eSports games on the planet. Major tournaments around the franchise see stadiums filled with real fans. Counter Strike was developed and released by Valve Corporation and features 10 game modes where players join one team of terrorists and another of counter-terrorists. Competitions in CS:GO are played in best of 16 rounds.

FIFA

It is the most popular football game in the world, and has always been the subject of many betting requests. There are many betting options here. You can bet not only on the outcome of the match (win or draw), but also on the possible number of goals or the number of goals scored by each team. In short, there are as many betting options as the bookmakers offer for conventional football. The FIFA video game series was started in 1993 by Electronic Arts, which still runs the game today. In FIFA, players can compete against a host of teams from a wide range of leagues.

Valuing

Valorant is a fairly new game that was released in June 2020. Created by the developers of League of Legends, it is an FPS that is in many ways similar to CSGO. It is also played in two teams of 5 players, with characters called "agents", each with unique abilities. The game is a mix between CSGO and Overwatch, and at the time of writing it has 8 maps on board: Ascent, Bind, Breeze, Fracture, Haven, Icebox, Split and Pearl. The strong interest in Valorant is the reason for its early arrival on the competitive scene with the first tournament being held in 2020, the same year of its release.

Rocket League

Rocket League is a rather unusual video game released in 2015 by the developer Psyonix. It combines car racing and football. The principle of the game is simple. The gameplay takes place on a field where the player drives a car which he has to use to drive a big ball into the opponent's net. The game is played in teams, but can also be played one-on-one. Bettors can bet on the outcome of the game by predicting whether a player or team will win. Modes such as ice hockey, basketball and pitch destruction are also offered on Rocket League, which is now included in the eSports offer of many bookmakers.

Rainbow Six Siege

Released in December 2015 for the PS4 and Xbox home consoles as well as Windows PC, Rainbow Six, whose full name is "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege", is a tactical first-person shooter that can be played in single-player or multiplayer mode. In the latter mode, two teams of five players compete, each playing an agent from one of several special forces and task force units. After a rocky start, the game eventually gained popularity, with over 35 million viewers in 2018. It has subsequently become one of the most promising games in the eSports industry, and at the same time one of the main games found on betting sites.

Dota

Dota is a franchise whose most popular release is undoubtedly Dota 2. It is a popular multiplayer battle arena game, which was developed and published by the company Valve. It also pits two teams of five players against each other, who must protect a large building called the Ancient One. Its overall betting volume is equivalent to that of CSGO. While LoL competitions are the most watched in the world, Dota 2 tournaments are arguably the most profitable, with a record prize pool during an international tournament held in Shanghai in 2019. We're talking about a staggering $34 million awarded to participants!

Call of Duty

CoD is the world's most popular annual multiplayer FPS video game license. Its developers manage to sell no less than 20 million copies worldwide every year. The franchise, which released its first episode in 2013, is now in its 19th installment. As a result, it has delighted gamers and fans for many years, who spend endless hours watching games unfold on Twitch. During Call of Duty competitions, prize pools of hundreds of thousands of dollars are often up for grabs. It is possible to bet on the outcome of a game or tournament online on betting platforms.

Street Fighter

An iconic licence from the Capcom studio, Street Fighter is one of the most iconic fighting games. The first title in the series was released in 1987, which means that it is one of the oldest games. It has stood the test of time and has been a huge success all over the world. Street Fighter has been made available on almost all gaming platforms, from Game Boy to PS4 to Nintendo. At some bookmakers, punters can bet on the outcome of a fight. Due to the high level of play in the matches, the odds on the fights are usually good.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Who doesn't know Super Mario? This legendary game has lulled the childhood of many. It has several episodes, including Super Smash Bros Ultimate, which made its debut on the Nintendo 64 and gradually made its way to portable consoles, before conquering home consoles and, surprisingly, betting platforms. This fighting game features the main characters of the licence. You can bet on the outcome of a match (V1 or V2), either live or before it starts. Super Smash Bros Ultimate may be offered by a minority of operators among the bookmakers taking bets on eSports, but the odds associated with the matches are very lucrative.

Video games are classified into different genres. While some people swear by the MOBA genre, such as LoL, others prefer to play platform games such as Mario, FPS games such as CSGO, sports video games such as FIFA or even Battle Royale games. Find out more about the most popular video game genres in the eSports world.

MOBA

MOBA stands for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. Basically, these titles tend to have an element of real-time strategy and revolve around a fairly simple objective: to face opponents as a team and defeat them in a form of battle.

MOBAs are usually played with two teams of 5 players. Before a match begins, participants must select characters. These characters all have different spells, builds and objectives, which means that the teams must also strategise to build strong and related collectives.

After the teams have chosen their characters, everyone arrives on the map, and all players head to their designated lanes. Your objective will then be to do your best to collect gold by eliminating minions, and your opponents will do the same. As time goes on in a match, you will start fighting with the enemy team for objectives and resources on the map. One battle will lead to another, and one team will definitely gain the advantage.

The main objective of each team will be to take down the monument placed in the centre of the enemy base. How long it takes you to do this will depend heavily on your teamwork and the current situation in the game. The most representative titles in this genre are Dota 2 and League of Legends.

FPS

Also known as First Person Shooter, FPS are first person shooters, i.e. shooters where it is not possible to see the character you are controlling on the screen during the action; the opposite of TPS which are third person shooters. In FPS games, the player can only see the weapon he is handling, or his hands. In general, in FPS games, the main character uses weapons. They are therefore mostly action games, although more and more survival games are starting to display FPS games.

Gameplay in FPSs is presented from the character's perspective. In fact, the scenery and action are displayed directly in front of the player's eyes for a more immersive gaming experience. This is one of the most popular types of games in the gaming world. The acronym is often confused with FPS, which stands for "frames per second" and is the unit of measurement for the number of frames per second a game displays. FPSs are also known as Doom-Likes, in reference to the first first-person shooter released in 1993: Doom. Among the most famous FPSs are the precursor saga of the Doom genre, the Call of Duty (COD) series, the Counter Strike series, Valorant, Battlefield, Rainbow Six, Borderlands and Overwatch.

Sport

Sport is a genre of video game that simulates a sport. These are the titles most used by the video game communities to explain the concept of eSports to outsiders. For example, with the upcoming arrival of video games at the Olympic Games, the main test competitions have been conducted on simulations of sports already in the competition. Most sports, especially team sports, have several video game simulations.

Athletics, extreme sports and combat sports are all represented by franchises. Some games focus on the actual playing of the sport (such as the Madden NFL series), while others focus on the strategy and management of the sport (such as Championship Manager and Out of the Park Baseball). Games such as Need for Speed or Arch Rivals are positioned more as satires of sport for comedic effect.

This genre has been popular throughout the history of video games and is competitive, just like real-world sports. A number of game series use the names and characteristics of real teams and players and are updated every year to reflect changes in the real world. The sports genre is one of the oldest genres in the history of video games.

The sports genre is currently dominated by EA Sports and 2K Sports, who hold licenses to produce games based on official leagues. EA's franchises include the FIFA series, the NBA Live series, the Madden Football series, the NHL series and the Tiger Woods series. All of these games feature real leagues, competitions and players. These games are still selling well today, although many product lines are more than ten years old.

With the hegemony of EA Sports, the market has become very difficult to penetrate; competing games in any of the above-mentioned genres, with the exception of racing games, tend not to be successful. This has led to a sharp decline in the development of sports-themed titles in recent years. One of the most notable exceptions is Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series, which is often seen as an alternative to the FIFA series, but does not contain as many teams, players, kits or licensed competitions.

Racing games, because of the variety of tracks, cars and styles that the sport can offer, have more room for competition, and the selection of games offered in this category is considerably larger. Sports management games, while not as popular as they once were, live on through small independent software development companies. Today's management titles have made the transition to the very popular Fantasy sports leagues, which are available on many sports betting websites, including Winamax with its JDE.

Battle Royale

Combining survival and shooting games, Battle Royale has been a must-have game genre in the world of eSports for several years now. With Battle Royale, the player embarks on thrilling games where the goal is to stay alive as long as possible against the other participants. In solo games, once dead, the player cannot reappear while his teammates can revive him in group games.

Indeed, it is based on the "Last Man Standing" principle. At the beginning of the game, players are released onto a map on which the entire game will take place and carry rudimentary weapons that can be used to defend themselves or to collect equipment. Over the course of the game, the map shrinks to force the remaining players in the game to compete against each other to decide the winner. In a Battle Royale, it does not matter how many players are killed (kills).

This type of game was inspired by a Japanese manga of the same name that was adapted into a film starring Takeshi Kitano. The advent of the Battle Royale and its success is also due to the phenomenal success of the Hunger Games saga. The first Battle Royale game, the forerunner of the genre according to some, was released in 2013. With the release of the hugely successful Player Unknown's Battlegrounds, the game genre became extremely popular and eventually dethroned DOTA in terms of simultaneously connected players.

Versus Fighting

Here, we are talking about fighting games where one player, or even two (for online or versus games), choose from a large list of fighters a champion to fight the fighter of an opposing player. It should be noted that each fighter has a particularity, notably the controls which are as complex as they are complete. In addition, the number of move variations differs depending on the game, not to mention the special moves whose activation differs depending on the character and the game. As far as the game environment is concerned, it confines opponents in close combat to a small, enclosed space.

Unlike brawlers, the player-controlled character does not pass through a stage (level) to the next, instead progression is determined by winning a match and moving on to the next opponent, as in boxing and wrestling games. In addition, unlike Beat'Em Up games, opponents in versus fighting games are generally equal in number and strength, making these fights last longer than brawlers.

Oppositional fighting games often include two-player competitive modes. A typical feature of these games is the ability to control different characters by selecting them from a list. The majority of versus fighting games are one-on-one; however, tag-team fighting mode can sometimes be included as a mode or even become the main style of play. Versus fighting games are some of the best known in the eSports scene with iconic franchises such as Tekken, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat.

In many competitions, many participants compete for huge amounts of money, but they cannot do it alone. To make eSports more competitive, teams have formed to compete against each other. Over the years and through competitions, some teams have managed to stand out in certain games where they excel. Games between successful teams create a lot of excitement; a bit like a Barça vs Real classico or PSG vs OM. Fans of the game will certainly understand this analogy. To help you find some great eSports fixtures, we're going to take a look at some of these very famous and talented teams.

T1 (formerly SK Telecom T1)

SK Telecom T1 is a professional eSports team of young gamers with a passion for video games based in South Korea. In the past, the organisation sponsored two joint S and K teams that eventually merged to form the three-time world champion SK Telecom T1 team. The team later became the only three-time champion and unofficial triple crown holder. In May 2006 they became the defending IEM Mid-Season Invitational champions, but also the Worlds champions, despite having won all of these titles in the same season, before becoming the first team to successfully defend their World Championship position.

G2 eSports

Created by Carlos "Ocelote" Rodriguez, this team became famous thanks to the game League of Legends. It has nine domestic titles, the last of which was won during the 2022 spring tournament. When it comes to eSports, Caps, Mikyx, Perk, Wunder and Jankos are undoubtedly the most awarded team in the history of the European continent. G2 eSports is evolving at a rapid pace and is on track to match and surpass the world's greatest teams.

FaZe Clan

FaZe Clan is an American professional eSports and entertainment organisation founded in May 2010. It was the first ever international team to win a Global Offensive Major (a tournament with a minimum prize pool of $1 million) at the PGL Major Antwerp 2022. Considered the best known e-sports team in the world, FaZe Clan recently launched on the US stock exchange. The team's name and brand are associated with numerous partnerships, and many industry experts consider FaZe Clan to be a model in terms of the economic progress of eSports teams.

Fnatic

Fnatic is a professional eSports team made up of players from around the world who compete in a variety of games. On 14 March 2011, Fnatic entered the League of Legends scene with the acquisition of myRevenge. The team has a fairly diverse roster, but each game is made up of excellent gamers from around the world. One of the team members is the legendary FIFA player Tekkz. Fnatic is currently working to further strengthen its roster in other games so that the team is no longer seen as a dedicated League of Legends group.

Team Liquid

Before being an eSports team, Team Liquid is first and foremost a world-renowned, multi-regional professional eSports gaming organisation with locations in the US and the Netherlands. It is a wildly successful organisation with a large number of masterclass lists thanks to the many eSports titles it holds. When it started in 2000, there was no indication that it would make such a breakthrough in eSports. The organisation started as a website dedicated to the Starcraft community, before officially becoming known as an eSports organisation in December 2012. Team Liquid has been partnering with other organisations and recruiting to continue to dominate the eSports scene.

Cloud9

Cloud9 is an American eSports organisation based in the city of Los Angeles and founded by Jack Etienne. Regularly named one of the most competitive teams in the industry, it currently fields players in Hearthstone, League of Legends, Smite, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Rainbow Six: Siege, Counter-Strike and Overwatch. The collective originally built a worldwide reputation on League of Legends before recruiting for other games. Cloud9 made a splash during 2018 by winning both the ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018 and the Overwatch League. But since that feat, it's been a bit radio silent on the trophy podium. To change this, the group plans to integrate more players from other games over the next year. Another of Cloud9's major ambitions is to reach a new level in terms of economics.

As the eSport scene is so ever-changing, betting on its events requires keeping up to date with the various changes in both games and teams, and that's where the specialist media come in. Not only do they allow those new to the eSports industry to learn the basics, but they also keep experts up to date on the industry and its various competitions. This kind of platform is ideal for people who want to bet with the least amount of risk on competitive video game events. Find out which are the best media to keep up to date with what's going on in the world of eSports.

Team AAA

French eSport media created in the 2000s, Team *aAa* (Against All Authority) is also a professional gaming team that participates in FPS-type games. Their experience of the eSport scene allows them to offer content that combines news and explanation of the concepts of the sector. Also known for other content formats on the sector, Team aAa claims a certain freedom of tone that would allow them to say out loud what everyone else thinks and dares not reveal. This is the essence of their nickname, by which they make it abundantly clear that they reject all authority.

The Team

L'Équipe is a news and information site that no longer needs to be introduced to the French. A well-known sports media for ball sports fans, it was one of the first traditional sports news platforms to take an interest in electronic sports. A little more generalist, their content is still ideal for people who want to get started in the eSports scene. L'Équipe also does not hesitate to do reports or other types of large formats on events, their implications and their audience. Increasingly, this platform also tries to capture the economics of the sector, with varying degrees of success.

Eclypsia

Eclypsia is an eSports news site followed by many enthusiasts. It is owned by the French group Reworld Media, which guarantees you content in the language of Molière. The headquarters of this media created by Julien Thierry, and whose editor-in-chief is Jivé, is no longer in Bordeaux where it was born. They have moved to England. In addition to offering informative content on eSports, Eclypsia also makes guides available. It is therefore a great site for people who want to get to grips with the gameplay of the most popular video games.

Dexerto

More oriented towards gaming than eSport, Dexerto is one of the preferred platforms for following video game news in general. The site does, however, reserve a large part of its article volume for eSports, even if it often remains a preferred destination for the various tips and solutions provided for games like FIFA and its ultimate team mode. Dexerto offers a good mix of information and tips that will delight newcomers to the world of video games. The platform also features articles on other entertainment genres, such as music and manga.

It is well known that there are many eSports and gaming fans around the world. Since major competitions can take place anywhere in the world and not all fans have the time or the means to travel to follow the competition or support their favourite team, eSports streaming platforms appear as the best alternatives when one cannot be on site. Here are 4 free platforms to follow eSport competitions for free.

Twitch

Created in 2011, Twitch was bought by Amazon three years later. It is a live video broadcasting platform where, like YouTube, Internet users, whoever they may be, can create their channel. They can follow videos, but especially live tournaments and comment on them in writing in real time via the chat available on the live stream. The page's host can see the messages and decide whether to reply to them, which allows him or her to interact more with the channel's users.

Youtube

Alphabet's platform broadcasts fewer live competitions than Twitch, but is undeniably the destination to watch replays of competitions, but also professional advice on video games. The YouTube Gaming adventure attempted by the streaming site a few years ago did not allow it, as hoped, to catch up with Twitch in the streamers' habits, but YouTube still remains one of the main aggregators of eSports-related content. To keep up to date with live broadcasts from your favourite gamers, subscribe to their channel and click on the notification bell.

Facebook Gaming

Still in its infancy, Meta's platform has real potential. However, it is not yet able to capture the desired audience. To remedy this, the company is working on an integrated payment system that would pay the best streamers. Facebook has even considered paying content creators in the industry to attract eSports fans. That said, the project seems complicated to implement so far. Facebook Gaming is still a long way from YouTube and Twitch at the moment. So don't expect to find live matches or large-scale broadcasts of major eSports games and competitions.

Twitter

The social network allows you to follow the main players in the sector and the specialised media. Some competitions are relayed live by the accounts of organisers or participants in the events. Despite this, Twitter remains rather marginal when it comes to the sector's broadcasting platforms. Of course, with the accounts of the various players, the social network makes it easier to get first-hand information on teams, players or competition organisers. Nevertheless, using Twitter to get information about the sector requires a well-organised monitoring system.

With the popularisation of the competitive scene through social networks and the new broadcasting platforms they have provided, eSport competitions have rapidly become large-scale audience magnets. Some eSport competitions are now able to draw crowds comparable to those that football stadiums in Europe host. Most interestingly, the progress of the competitive eSport scene is also seen in the financial rewards.

ESL ONE

ESL One is an offline gaming tournament organised by the ESL company. In both Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2, the ESL One is considered the most prestigious event for each game. They are the successor to the ESL Major Series One, whose name better represents the concept of the event as a series of tournaments marking the pinnacle of the competitive season. The competition brings together teams and players from around the world to compete in a tournament like no other. Along with Dota 2, Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Battlefield 4, the ESL One features events that take place in stadiums around the world. The first one, ESL One Frankfurt 2014, took place from 28 to 29 June 2014, at the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, which was transformed into a haven for Dota 2 fans from around the world. The ESL One Hamburg was the first ESL One to reach Major status under Valve's tournament rules for the 2017-2018 competitive season.

ESL Intel Extrem Masters

After being created in 2006, the Intel Extrem Masters (IEM) tournament has quickly become a benchmark tournament for all eSports enthusiasts and followers. It is a series of international eSport competitions that take place on an annual basis. They are organised by ESL, but sponsored by the American microprocessor manufacturer Intel. Every year, the best teams in the world come to compete with the same objective: to leave with a prize pool of up to several hundred thousand dollars.

The games available during this tournament include Starcraft II, CSGO, Warcraft III and Legacy of the Void. The event is more than ten years old and has become one of the most prestigious competitions in the world. Small tournaments, similar to cycling criteriums, are held around the world to pre-select players. Only the best players qualify for this IEM World Championship, with a chance to win. The tournament is very popular with gaming enthusiasts, with over 74 events held and over 12 million in prize money distributed. Those who win the tournament have the chance to have their name inscribed on the prestigious Intel Extrem Masters trophy.

EVO Championship Series

The Evolution Championship Series, commonly referred to as Evo, is considered the annual high point of fighting games. The tournaments are completely open and use the double elimination format. As with the Super Battle Opera, participants come from all over the world to take part. The tournament is known for revealing to the world the best competitors in the fighting game ecosystem, regardless of their origin. In particular, the EVO has brought to light players such as Pakistani Arslan Ash and Ivoiro from Ivory Coast when very few people would have expected to find professionals in their home countries. This ability to discover new players is one of the features that makes the EVO one of the most watched competitions in the sector.

Fortnite World Cup Champions

This is the biggest tournament organised by Epic Games. Created on April 13, 2019, this tournament is among the most followed. As the game is forbidden to under 13s, you must be at least 13 years old to participate. The game starts with many teams, but only the top 50 will be selected to travel to New York to compete for the top prize of $50,000 per team member. The total prize pool is worth $30,000,000. There are three steps to winning it. The competition takes place on a weekly basis in Arena mode, and the player wishing to reach this stage must reach the rank of "League Champion" in order to advance to the semi-finals. In order to qualify each Sunday (as this is the day of the championship), the player must finish in the top 3000. The solo player who won the World Cup is Bugha, with a huge cash prize of $3,000,000. Gamers Aqua and Nyhro won the World Cup as a duo.

League of Legends World Championship

The League of Legends World Championship is the most prestigious competition offered on LoL. It is a tournament that is organised on an annual basis by Riot Games, the game's developer. The first edition was organised in Sweden's largest city, Jönköping, and was won by the Fnatic team. In this tournament, the best teams compete for the title of World Champion. The overall winner takes home the Summoner's Cup, which is the trophy of the competition, and most importantly, a large check for $1,000,000. The League of Legends World is one of the most successful and well attended events in the world. To give you an idea of how popular the competition is, the League of Legends World Championship is ranked ahead of the NBA Finals in terms of audience.

The International Dota 2

This is the largest video game tournament held on the game Dota. The mystique around this competition comes from the fact that it is organised by the game's developers, Valve. In just over a decade, the company has succeeded in making this competition one of the biggest events in the field of competitive video games, thanks in part to the staggering amounts paid out in rewards to the winning players, who can take home more than 24 million dollars. To pay out such huge rewards, the tournament organisers used a novel trick. In 2013, Valve launched a crowdfunding campaign for the event's cash prize. In this portfolio called the Compendium, fans contribute to the prize pool. The tournament launched in 2011 hosts eighteen teams from several regions of the world that come together to determine the best Dota players.

To signify the importance of eSports, its followers often refer to the size of the cash prizes won by professional teams and competitors. In 2021, the player "Ninja" shocked the world by revealing that he had won $5 million in one month just by playing Fortnite. Impressive, yet the amount is still a far cry from some of the biggest awards given out in a single event. Here are the top 20 biggest cash prizes in the eSports industry, through 2019.

This information provided by the eSports Earnings platform shows how the financial rewards are increasing in volume in this new discipline. With the growing popularity of video games, particularly in Africa and Oceania, it is likely that the prize money awarded in eSports competitions will become even more enormous in the years to come.

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Betting on eSports has an interesting future, especially with the inclusion of eSports in the Olympic Games. One of the most difficult things according to eSport professionals is the ability to offer suitable betting options. Current games like CS:GO or Apex Legends change very quickly. As a result, it is difficult for operators to determine the odds and for punters to know which gamers to bet on. What you need to do to be a winning bettor is to keep yourself informed about the industry and the performance of the gamers. This will help you to spot the good news in many cases. The future of eSports and related online betting activities is clearly bright. Above all, it is important to note that the opportunities to win money will continue to grow in the future for those who bet money on video game sessions.