Esports: The Rise of Competitive Gaming
Esports is rapidly gaining popularity. Just a few weeks ago, millions of viewers tuned in to watch an intense video game competition, The International, which had a staggering $11 million in prize money up for grabs. This event was even streamed on ESPN’s online platform.
According to a study by Battlefy, millions of people are actively participating in esports events. Battlefy is a company that specializes in esports management and their tournament platform is used for events like Riot Games’ Collegiate Open and the High School StarLeague. They developed an algorithm to track publicly listed tournaments and the number of players involved, giving us a glimpse into the world of esports.
The Numbers and Popularity of Esports Tournaments
Battlefy’s study focused on North America and revealed that in 2013, there were 1.2 million players competing in these tournaments. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg as esports is a global phenomenon. It’s important to note that the study doesn’t count ranked competitive play as tournaments.
In 2013 alone, Battlefy observed 33,636 tournaments. This is a significant increase compared to 2012 (18,686 tournaments) and 2011 (8,809 tournaments). And this year, Battlefy expects nearly 50,000 tournaments to take place.
The Most Popular Esports Games
Unsurprisingly, League of Legends and Dota 2 dominate the esports landscape. In 2013, there were 7,565 League of Legends tournaments with 578,730 players, and 5,012 Dota 2 events with 327,090 players. Other games like FIFA and Counter-Strike had around 68,000 players each. It’s worth noting that while Madden is immensely popular in the US, it didn’t make it into the top ten competitive games.
Other popular titles include Call of Duty with 63,988 participants in 2,263 tournaments, and StarCraft 2 with 39,067 competitors participating in 3,104 events. Interestingly, Pokémon, a game about training virtual monsters for battle, had 3,604 tournaments and 50,403 players, surpassing even the legendary StarCraft. The Pokémon World Championships will be broadcast on Twitch starting Aug. 16.
World of Tanks, Battlefield, and Street Fighter round out the top ten list with approximately 13,000 competitors each.
Limitations and Interesting Statistics
It’s important to remember that Battlefy’s study might underestimate the number of players and games, as it mainly focuses on online postings of tournaments. Additionally, some players may have been counted multiple times if they registered under different names for multiple events.
According to Battlefy’s own platform, 25.7% of their players were from California, followed by 8.8% from Washington, 7.4% from New York, and 5.7% from Texas.
Esports continues to thrive, attracting millions of viewers and participants worldwide. As the industry grows, we can expect to see more exciting tournaments and games.
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