Esports & Its Popularity: An Analysis Of The Phenomenon

Esports has seen incredible amounts of growth in recent years. The esports scene owes its success to its many supporters and competitors throughout the years. Esports began as simple, small grassroots scenes, with the communities behind these games keeping their games alive and competitive. Through thick and thin, people do everything they can to promote their scenes as much as possible.

Over time, these efforts bore fruit. Nowadays, esports holds just as much validity as physical sports, with some events garnering massive prize pools, the likes of which have never been seen in any sporting event. It does beg the question, how did esports get to its current level? To answer this, join us as we go through the unlikely development and growth of esports from a passionate hobby to the massive industry it is today.

A Simple Guide to Esports Terms

Before we can establish WHY esports are popular, we first need to explain some of the terms that come up in esports discussions. If you aren’t familiar with esports terms, hearing phrases like ‘scene’ and ‘grassroots’ can get confusing. Thankfully, esports slang is pretty simple to grasp, and with a bit of time and effort, you’ll be able to understand everything here just fine.

TERM	MEANING
Esports	An industry that treats video game tournaments and leagues as serious competitive sporting events with proper prize pools, sponsors and competitors.
Scene	The ongoing competitive community of any given esports title.
Grassroots	A competitive community with a small beginning, cultivated by the community members without the help of bigger corporate entities.
MOBAs	Refers to the Massively Online Battle Arena genre of video games, which includes games like League of Legends, Dota 2 and Mobile Legends.
FPS	Refers to the First Person Shooter genre of video games, which includes games like Valorant, Counter-Strike and Quake.
FGs / Fighters	Refers to the Fighting Game genre, which includes games like Street Fighter, Tekken and Mortal Kombat.
RTS	Refers to the Real Time Strategy video game genre, which includes games like Starcraft, Age of Empires and Warcraft III.
Tourneys	A different word for esports tournaments.
Pools	The stages before the top 64 in any given esports tournament.
Bracket	A tree-shaped diagram that makes following an esports tournament far easier, listing the names of every competitor and who they will face in each round.
Meta	Short for Metagame refers to the study of competitive games and their most efficient strategies for winning at the highest level of lay.
Majors	Majors are tournaments that require every competitor or team to win smaller tournaments and gain points in order to qualify.

The Origins of Esports

Nowadays, the true origin of esports as a concept is hotly debated, with no truly definitive answer. Some argue that the advent of esports began with the first ever competitive video game tournament, that being the Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics, featuring the ’60s game Spacewar. The tournament took place in the 1970s, featuring 24 players and a Rolling Stones magazine grand prize.

Despite its fairly low and simple stakes, the Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics was the very first competitive video game tournament ever, and as such, holds merit as the origin of all esports.

Others, see this as nothing more than a simple stepping stone towards the true form of esports, which would come much further down the line. Spacewar wasn’t the most competitive game, and with barely anything on the line, it’s difficult to truly herald it as the beginning of esports.

For many, the progenitor of esports formed in the 1990s following the launch of Street Fighter 2. An integral cornerstone of the competitive fighting game scene, Street Fighter 2 and its many iterations served as the foundation upon which all other fighting games are built. With tons of competitions, an active community and actual competitive gameplay, the game forged a path for the future of esports.

Meanwhile, the term esports itself has its origins, having been coined in the 2000s in South Korea. The booming popularity of RTS games like Starcraft, Age of Empires and Warcraft III in the country prompted the creation of the Korean e-Sports Association, or KeSPA for short. With a particular focus on Starcraft, KeSPA would propel esports into stardom, earning them sponsors and spots on live TV.

Why Has Esports Become So Popular?

Esports are commonly accepted these days, but many still struggle to wrap their heads around how esports has learnered to garner so much success. In reality, it boils down to several simple factors, which aren’t too surprising if you’re even slightly invested in esports or gaming.

1. Gaming is Hugely Popular in the Digital Age

The digital age has hit its apex lately, and gaming has risen with it. It was only natural that gaming would become one of the most popular hobbies as digital entertainment grew mainstream. Practically anyone who’s grown up in this era enjoys gaming, and gaming has never been more socially acceptable than it is today. As a result, the sheer amount of interest in esports is naturally higher.

2. Low Barrier to Entry

Electronic entertainment devices like consoles and smartphones are now more accessible than ever, allowing anyone to get a head-start with esports. Huge esports games like Valorant, League of Legends and Mobile Legends are also all free and easy to play. Being able to go online, download a game and instantly start playing it means getting invested in its competitive scene is easier.

3. A Niche for Every Demographic

Esports has a little something for everyone, no matter what your tastes in video games are. Suppose you’re a big fan of fighting games. In that case, the competitive fighters scene is thriving and filled with passionate players willing to take others under their wing. First-person shooters are still all the rage. MOBAs haven’t diminished in popularity, reaching new competitive heights all the time. Even puzzle games have esports scenes these days!

4. Viable Chance of Success and Acclaim

Unlike many sports where reaching the top has a lot to do with making the right connections and being innately talented, esports is a level playing field. Anyone can pick up a game, learn how to play it and excel in the esports scene. Add to this the low barrier of entry, and you get many prospective gamers who succeed in the scene and make a name for themselves.

5. Monetizing A Beloved Hobby

With so many people making gaming one of their biggest hobbies these days, the prospect of making money from it is a compelling offer. Players who are especially good at their games often win insane cash prizes at tournaments, on top of sponsorship deals that come with being famous for their wins. It creates tanyone can monetizee to monetize their gaming hobby if they’re willing to put the time into it.

6. The Need for Community

Esports, in general, would not be where it is today with its many supportive communities. Games like Super Smash Bros. Melee and Street Fighter 3 enjoy continued popularity to this day, thanks to the enduring passion of their communities. Being a part of these communities can often feel like a second home, and this sense of belonging is rare for gamers. It’s why so many people stick around and do their best to push their scene forward.

Together, these many factors form the basis for why esports has excelled lately. It’s not difficult to imagine why having fun while achieving success is so attractive to so many people. Most people struggle with understanding why video games and not something else. The answer to that is that video games are just fun. You can’t go wrong with playing video games, as any gamer can attest to.

The Many Different Scenes Within Esports

Now that we’ve established a solid idea of WHY esports are popular, we can now move on to the true meat and potatoes of esports, the scenes themselves! Although esports is often used as a blanket term, almost every game genre has a different vibe and approach to its competitive scene. Today, we’ll be taking a look at some of the most popular ones to see how they differ in their approach.

The Massive MOBA Esports Scene

No genre is as synonymous with the concept of esports as MOBAs. While other genres of the game are represented within esports, MOBAs rule the roost and command the most attention boasting impressive view numbers at every MOBA esports event. When people talk about how big esports are nowadays and how massive the prize pools are, they’re referring to MOBA events.

The biggest MOBAs around are Dota 2 and League of Legends, and both games feature massive pro circuits run precisely the same way normal sports leagues are run. The Dota Pro Circuit in particular is an impressively organized set of league divisions, qualifiers and major tournaments that run smoothly. This level of professionalism carries over to Majors, like the legendary Manila Major in 2016.

Now, before 2017, Dota 2 and League of Legends ruled the MOBA roost, and it worked well for the scene. Unlike most other competitive gaming genres, MOBA games don’t get sequels. Instead, they receive updates that change things up in a meaningful way. When 2017 came around, however, a new contender would appear in the form of Mobile Legends Bang Bang.

Originally a bit of a League of Legends clone, Mobile Legends has since grown its own legitimate esports scene. Being a mobile game makes it incredibly accessible, and through that, it hit widespread appeal among younger gamers. Now, it’s managed to develop its own esports scene, though it’s still in its infancy. Regardless, MOBAs continue to do big numbers, standing at the top of the esports ladder.

The Professional First-Person Shooter Competitive Scene

While MOBAs sit at the top of Esports, first-person shooters have always played a close second fiddle to them. First-person shooters command similar levels of demand and popularity, with huge player bases and equally large communities. There are even similar leagues and cups in FPS games to the MOBA community. The one thing that tends to separate the FPS scene is that it’s more fickle.

Where MOBAs tend to stick to their core games, the FPS scene’s biggest game tends to change. Over the years, games like Unreal Tournament, Counter-Strike and Overwatch have claimed the mantle of the biggest esports FPS, only to give it up to a new game in the future. Right now, the biggest FPS around is Riot Games’ Valorant, a tactical shooter that combines some of the best the genre has to offer.

The FPS scene also tends to be more fragmented compared to other competitive gaming communities. Many of the sub-communities within the FPS scene are loyal to their game and don’t play anything else. Because of this, you have a lot of smaller scenes that don’t get nearly the amount of love that the bigger games do.

Still, despite its flaws, the FPS community and its scene has seen monumental amounts of progress, and it’s come a long way since its beginnings. With so many new games coming and changing the scene, it’s inevitable that we’ll see the scene continue to shift in the future, but that’s part of what makes the FPS scene so much fun!

The Homegrown Fighting Game Community

Among the many different esports scenes, the fighting game community is often the most tight-knit. Because of the one-versus-one nature of many fighting games, individuality is highly valued among players. Any player that possesses a personality that stands out from the crowd, along with the skills to back it up, instantly gets propelled into the limelight.

Fighting game communities were the first to truly embrace and support their own competitive scenes back when Street Fighter 2 was released. The very nature of the game encouraged competitiveness, and the game was balanced enough that players could choose a character and express themselves through said choice. Soon, communities began forming everywhere around other games too, and grassroots tournaments would sprout like mushrooms.

Nowadays, the fighting game scene has grown monumentally, but surprisingly manages to retain a lot of what made it special, to begin with. Its biggest tournaments like EVO and Combo Breaker are surprisingly run like grassroots events despite their size. On top of this, player individuality is still celebrated, resulting in some of the finest storylines in all of esports.

That’s not to say there aren’t any truly professional-level tournaments, however. Both Capcom and Bandai Namco have their own worldwide tournament circuits in the Capcom Pro Tour and Tekken World Tour. SNK meanwhile add to the pot bonuses of grassroots tournaments to support them. It’s not an overstatement to say that the fighting game community has come the farthest of the many scenes today.

The Real Time Strategy (RTS) Game Scene

Before MOBAs arrived to change Esports as we know it, real-time strategy games ruled the roost. Many don’t know this, but the term esports was coined in South Korea specifically for the leagues that would form around RTS games, especially Starcraft. Because South Koreans were watching so many of these Starcraft tournaments, South Korea formed the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA).

Some key games that would form the backbone of the RTS scene include Warcraft III, Age of Empires II, and the aforementioned StarCraft II. StarCraft in particular would be one of the most iconic RTS games, with its fast-paced playstyle becoming emblematic of the scene as a whole. The professional RTS scene is also surprisingly static, with pros staying incredibly loyal to their game.

The spectator experience for RTS games is also surprisingly in-depth, with so much being available to analyze. The result is an esport that’s difficult for the everyman to watch. After all, watching the game doesn’t make sense without context. Once one understands all the minute details that go into the plays, however, it’s an unbeatable experience.

Nowadays, the popularity of RTS games has begun to wane a little. However, it still maintains its fair share of viewership. Unlike other esports, the RTS scene continues to thrive even without massive growth or progress. It’s a shockingly stable scene that continues to do what it’s been doing for many years today and still excels at it. A true trailblazer for esports in general.

The Culmination and Future of Esports

While we’ve gone quite in-depth with some of these scenes, the truth is, there is a ton we haven’t even touched yet. Esports culture is wide, varied, and runs deep. There are stories, rivalries and scenes whose importance to esports we haven’t even begun to touch on. But, most important of all, are the people who keep working hard to keep their esports scene alive and running.

Everyone, from the players to attend events for fame and glory, to the organizers who keep things running, to even the spectators at home driving interest in these events through the sky. Through this shared passion for a hobby, many find a niche, esports discovered its voice. Now, through these same people, it soars, heralding a new era of sporting events that could only exist in this digital age.

While it’s difficult to tell what the future holds for esports, one thing is for certain. No matter what, esports will continue to grow and change even as new scenes come and old ones go. Some may still not get it, but even that changes with time, and we hope to see that change happen sooner rather than later.