Top Esports Tournaments to Watch
3 minutes
Last Updated: September 5, 2023
Enthusiasts from all around the world now flock to watch the most extraordinary gaming events both live and on streaming platforms, much as football enthusiasts do. If you’re new to the gaming industry, esports are video gaming events in which gamers compete online to find the best player or team in the world.
Naturally, platforms leaped on the trend as esports grew and became popular. The industry is so extensive that individuals can even use the latest promotions to wager on esports alongside casino games and regular sports betting.
Most Popular Esports Tournaments
If you’re wondering which esports event you should make time to see this year, we’ve got you covered. We examined the top esports events based on fan support, popularity, and rewards to create this must-see tournament list for you.
World Championships: League of Legends
The League of Legends (LOL) World Championship (Worlds), an annual professional competition that concludes each season, is held at Riot Games’ facilities. Teams compete for the Summoner’s Cup, the right to claim the champion title and a significant financial prize.
The tournament alternates the countries in which its events are held each year. The most successful team in the sport, T1 from South Korea, has taken home three global titles.
World Series: Free Fire
Garena manages the Free Fire World Series (FFWS) professional championship game. The tournament started in 2019, and the prize pool has increased to millions since then. The Squad Battle Royale mode from the video game Free Fire is utilized in the FFWS.
Fifty-two players are dropped off unarmed and unarmored on an island in 13 groups of four. Once on the ground, players must seek supplies, tools, and weapons. The final team standing is the team that wins.
Champions Tour: Valorant
Riot Games organizes the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), a professional esports event series for the Valorant video game. Each series season has several events, with Valorant Champions being the tour’s pinnacle competition.
This year, 30 clubs—10 teams in each region—were chosen to participate as partner teams in international leagues for five years. In several Challengers event sub-regions, non-partner teams compete to advance to Ascension tournaments.
A two-year promotion into their regions’ International League is given to the Ascension tournaments’ one champion from each area. The promoted teams can enter the Masters and Champions international competitions.
The Dota 2 International
The International (TI) is the esports world championship for Dota 2. The last event on the Dota Pro Circuit, The International, is produced by the game’s developer, Valve, and involves 20 teams worldwide.
The prize budget for the competition is crowdfunded through the battle pass system in the game. The International features the biggest single-tournament prize pool of any esports event.
World Cup: Fortnite
With 200 players competing for $30 million in prizes in 2019, Fortnite dramatically transformed the esports industry. Epic Games organizes this tournament and offers substantial prizes for winners of the solo and team events.
Each region’s top three thousand players and teams battle for points. The highest point scorers from each area advance to the World Cup. With nothing except a pickaxe, players are dropped off on an island.
They must scavenge for materials to construct defenses such as walls, floors, stairs, and ramps by gathering weapons, armor, healing supplies, and other building materials. Players keep inside a constricting playing circle while engaging in defensive and offensive combat with one another. Whoever or whatever is still alive in the end wins.
CS: GO Major Championships
Valve, the creator of the game, sponsors the CS: GO Major Championships (the Major). In 2013, 16 teams competed in the first CS: GO Major in Sweden, with a total prize fund of $250,000.
Since then, the Major has dramatically grown to include twenty-four teams worldwide and a prize pool worth millions of dollars. Team Vitality is the reigning champion after winning in 2023. Team Astralis owns the record for most Major titles with four victories.
The Evolution of Video Gaming
Gamers no longer hold LAN parties in basements and dorm rooms to strive for supremacy as they once did. Professional gamers are now on par with famous sportspeople since the primary source of entertainment for millions of people is the big esports contests.
The magnitude of this industry may surprise some older generations. The money these competitions bring in is evidence of how well-liked the sport is worldwide.
