Electronic sports
Encyclopedia
Electronic sports comprises the competitive play of video games. Other terms include competitive gaming, professional gaming and cybersports. One of the founding fathers of electronic sports leagues is Angel Munoz, founder of the Cyberathlete Professional League
.
Games that are played as electronic sports normally belong to the real-time strategy
(RTS), fighting
, first-person shooter
(FPS), massively-multiplayer online (MMOG), and racing
genres. They are played competitively at amateur, semi-professional and professional levels including in leagues and tournaments. The definition of a pro gamer is someone whose sole income is generated from gaming.Starcraft II:Wings of Liberty is currently the most popular eSports event, with players such as IMNesTea and IMMvp earning hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars per year. Events such as MLG(Major League Gaming), GSL(Global Starcraft League)WCG(World Cyber Games), Dreamhack, and GSTL(Global Starcraft Team league) provide real-time casting of streamed games in front of audiences numbering in the thousands. The most common tournament form is a group stage of 6player groups, where the top two seeed from each group advance into a standard-format double elminiation bracket with either 64,32, or 16 players.
. General online play is subject to the lessened ability to detect cheating
and the more unpredictable network latency
not being the ideal environment for high level competition; however, due to its convenience, even players who are used to LAN
games use Internet games for fun and exhibition game
s.
Usually teams (or "clans" as they are sometimes called) contact each other prior to matches. Internet Relay Chat
(IRC) is very popular for doing this, due to the ability of each clan, league, or other gaming-related organisation to set up its own chat channel on the network, making them easy to find. (IRC has become so popular among gamers that the largest IRC network is QuakeNet
, a network originally created for players of the first-person shooter Quake and now used by players of many different games.) The matches are then carried out on the server according to the rules of the leagues the teams are familiar with.
Popular online leagues include the Canada-based Pro Gaming League
, along with Cyberathlete Amateur League, Cyber Evolution (CEVO), FraggedNation, eCompete-Online (ECO), Major League Gaming
, ClanBase, and the Electronic Sports League. Video game competitions have referees or officials to monitor for cheating. These video gaming tournaments also bring in fans, that either show up at the tournament or view it online Video gaming has sponsorship; for example, the CPL is sponsored by Sierra Entertainment
, Razer, Cyber Shots Energy Drink, and Gamerail
, and some teams even have sponsorship from big companies such as Intel, Western Digital
or even Steelseries.
The largest online gaming network on the PC is Battle.net
, used to play Warcraft
, Diablo
and StarCraft
online. These networks have over 12 million active users with an average of 1,000,000 online at any given moment with peaks up to 1,500,000 .
This service provided by Blizzard Entertainment is especially important for "Starcraft II", in which a Real-time laddering system is used to rank every one of 6.2 million players(citation needed) in 1v1,2v2,3v3,and 4v4 match types respectively. Professional players begin playing at a young age, normally around 10 or 11, and ladder time is spent each week learning the intricacies of gameplay. After approximatly 500 hours of ladder experience, players will seek practice partners and create custom games to begin practicing specific skills. Later, they may choose to pay existing professionals to coach them in the further quirks of the game. Eventually, they will begin attending and then competing in tournament such as Z33k, the Zotac cups, GSPA amatuer brackets, or IEM open play brackets. After winning in seasons such as NASL and IPL, players will be invited to attend IEM, MLG, or Dreamhack. If performances are good, they will be snatched up by competitive teams who offer five-hundred thousand dollar salaries and offer training facilities. Eventually, a player may decide to join a Korean team, widely considered to be the best in the world. The major Korean teams are TSL,StarTale,Incredible Miracle, Prime, MVP,and oGs. GSL competitions offer a player to claim the world champion title, by by winning consecutive GSL tournaments. The current streak record is 3, set by IMMVP, and the current maximum win record is held by his friend and teammate, IMNesTea. Having a first place purse of 96.000 Us dollars, or 50.000.000 Won, GSL is the most prestigious and highly rewarded eSports Tournament.
Even though the PlayStation Network currently has the most individual profiles(sitting in around 28 million), it's chief competitor Xbox Live
is currently the most popular and the most subscribed to console online gaming service, with over 17 million subscribers.
(LAN) has a number of advantages: the network has less lag
and higher quality
, and the competitors can be directly scrutinized for cheating. At professional events administrators will normally be present to ensure fair play. Because there is still a possibility of gamers using Modding
to alter their hardware to unfairly modify certain aspects of the game or controller inputs to their advantage, some competitions prevent this by supplying all competitors with identical hardware for the event. LAN events also create a more social atmosphere as a result of all competitors being physically present. Due to the advantages of LAN many gamers organize LAN parties
or visit LAN centres
and most major tournaments are conducted over LANs.
Twin Galaxies
is known for keeping track of high scores on many classic arcade games, and they created the U.S. National Video Game Team
in 1983. The team ran a number of competitions, including the 1987 Video Game Masters Tournament
for Guinness World Records
.
Nintendo
held their World Championships in 1990, touring across the United States, with the finals at Universal Studios Hollywood
in California. There were 90 finalists, and the champions were Jeff Hanson (11 & under), Thor Aackerlund (12–17), and Paul White (18 & over). The Nintendo championships are notable for the silver cartridges distributed to all of the finalists, which now fetch high prices on eBay
.. Gold cartridges were distributed as a prize in a Nintendo Power magazine contest.
Nintendo
held a 2nd World Championships in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
(SNES) called the Nintendo PowerFest '94
. There were 132 finalists that played in the finals in San Diego, CA. Mike Iarossi took home 1st prize.
Blockbuster Video ran their own World Game Championships in the early 1990s, co-hosted by GamePro
magazine. Citizens from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Chile were eligible to compete. Games from the 1994 championships included NBA Jam
and Virtua Racing
.
The first ever televised eSports event has been noted as the Australia
n gameshow A*mazing, which would show two children competing in various Nintendo
games in order to win points.
was first played in 1988. It is an Internet game for up to 16 players, written almost entirely in cross-platform
open source software. It combines features of multi-directional shooters
and team-based real-time strategy
games. Players attempt to disable or destroy their opponents' ships in real-time combat, while taking over enemy planets by bombing them and dropping off armies they pick up
on friendly planets. The goal of the game is to capture all the opposing team's planets.
Netrek was the third Internet game
, the first Internet team game, the first Internet game to use metaservers to locate open game servers, and the first to have persistent user information. In 1993 it was credited by Wired Magazine as "the first online sports game".
As of 2010 it is the oldest Internet game still actively played.
Doom was swept aside by the release of its successor Doom II on October 10, 1994. Shortly thereafter the DWANGO (Dial up Wide Area Network Gaming Operations) firm launched their services. DWANGO, charged users the cost of a local telephone call to connect to their dial-up bulletin board services. With 20+ servers scattered throughout urban locations in North America DWANGO became the early hub of competitive gaming.
Initially, online gaming was available only to those with superior internet connections. These included ISP employees, university/college students and large businesses. Early client side software includes iDoom, Kali and iFrag.
The tournament took place in Richmond, Virginia in October and a handful of national qualifiers witnessed players from Europe flying to play in the tournament. Prior to these events many players had competed online. Early favorites for the competition included Dennis Fong
and Merlin.
Dennis Fong
later recalled the tournament as follows:
" in May '97 of that year, Quake co-creator John Carmack promised his own red Ferrari 328 GTS
convertible to the winner, Dennis Fong aka "Thresh"
.
or CPL. Since then, the attendance and size of the venues for these events has grown and thousands of spectators typically connect over the internet to watch the final matches.
In 2005 the CPL moved to a World Tour format. The 2005 CPL World Tour
focused on the one-on-one deathmatch
game Painkiller and had a total prize purse of $1,000,000. The winner of the CPL Grand Finals event, Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel, went home with the grand prize of $150,000, while Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager
took home the MVP trophy for having the most tournament wins.
The Cyberathlete Amateur League (CAL) is the "minor league" of the CPL. It is based mainly on online game play. It hosts more than 600,000 online gamers. A 2003 competition hosted by CAL was played in a Hyatt
Regency Ballroom. Several tables were placed together where 10 computers were set up for the professional gamers. The game was Half-Life: Counterstrike.
The CPL closed its doors in 2008 and in planning on re-opening May 2010. Controversy currently surrounds the league after a leaked report that the league faked its closing.
event was held in Seoul, Korea. There were competitions for Quake III Arena
, StarCraft
, FIFA 2000, and Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
. The competition initially had 174 competitors from 17 different countries with a total prize purse of $20,000. In 2006, the prize purse had risen to $462,000, and the event had grown to 9 different competitions and 700 qualified participants from 70 different countries.
is an international championship held annually in France
. Representatives must win their respective national qualifier to represent their country in the tournament. The first Electronic Sports World Cup event was held in 2000, with a total of 358 participants from 37 countries, and a prize purse of € 150.000. By 2006, the event had grown to 547 qualified participants from 53 countries and a prize purse of $400,000. The event also featured the first competition with a game specifically made for it; TrackMania Nations
.
, a North American
professional videogame league, the largest organized professional gaming league. Competitors from 28 different countries have participated in their tournaments, while over one million participants have competed online. In 2006, Major League Gaming
was the first televised console gaming league in the United States
, with their Halo 2
Pro Series being broadcast by USA Network
. Now Major League Gaming
has put Halo 3
, Halo: Reach
, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
, League of Legends
, Call of Duty: Black Ops
, Super Smash Bros. Brawl
, and Starcraft II
into their circuit. Events are now broadcast on their homepage.
took place, was January 30 through March 20, 2005 and featured Counter-Strike and Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos as main titles. Players resided in Seoul, South Korea throughout most of the tournament and matches were broadcast on Korean television. The finals took place in Beijing, China. Attendees were all invited based on past performances and included the likes of Jang "Moon" Jae Ho
, Team NoA
and Li "Sky" Xiaofeng.
event, a spin off of the CPL World Tour format. The WSVG
held world championships for Counter-Strike
, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
, and Quake 4
. The WSVG also held American championships for Halo 2
, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
, and Project Gotham Racing 3
.
The most popular tournaments are those run by the World Cyber Games
, the World e-Sports Games
, and the Electronic Sports World Cup
. The prize money for these events is mostly provided by the large technology corporations who sponsor the events; these companies also tend to sponsor eSports teams. A team sponsorship usually includes travel expenses and sometimes free hardware specific to that company.
Although sponsorships have evolved over the years, and oftentimes only sponsoring one gamer at a time—the first all inclusive team sponsorship was given to Team Abuse in June of 2000. Team Abuse was a well-respected Quake II team led by Doug 'Citizen' Suttles and a gamut of talented players [Toxic, Method, Lord Vader]. Upon their hosting of a grass roots event called Lansanity in Portland, OR Team Abuse was offered a complete sponsorship, setting precedence for many gamers to come. The Speakeasy sponsorship included a fully leased gaming studio in Lake Oswego, OR with a Speakeasy.net T1 connection. Additionally Team Abuse was sent to many CPL events, Quake Invitational League events, hosted Lansanity 2, and also found itself sending Marc 'pureluck' Naujock to the XSI Invitational in London as part of the Top 10 USA players vs the Top 10 European players tournament. Speakeasy paved the way for fully immersive corporate marketing sponsorship for professional gaming by applying merchandising, PR, grass root events, and a serious interest in the gaming community.
This game has found a home in South Korea
, where many play it professionally or as a spectator sport. It is the most popular professionally played game due to its immense popularity in South Korea, where the best pro-gamers are seen as celebrities.
In Korea, Starcraft has leagues such as Ongamenet Starleague, MBC Starleague, and Proleague. Finals for these league attract tens of thousands of fans and are viewed on cable TV with great popularity.
StarCraft is the very first game to have been accepted into the World Cyber Games
tournament and has a tournament at their events since inception. It also enjoys significant competitive popularity in the west as well.
Played all around the world with hot spots in North America
and Europe
, there are a few dozen professional teams that gather at just as many tournaments all around the world every year. Without a uniting body in competitive gaming many of these claim to be the game's "World Championship" tournament.
While none of them stand out enough to justify this claim, six tournament finals are generally identified as being the "biggest". The six "Major tournaments" are listed below and are led by WCG (World Cyber Games) and the CPL (Cyberathlete Professional League).
Teams can be observed playing professionally in leagues such as, CEVO, ESEA League, ESL, and others.
The defunct league Championship Gaming Series
franchised teams with contracted players who played Counter-Strike: Source
Played professionally all around the world with hot spots in South Korea, China , France and Germany, there are a few dozen professional teams. The game lacks a uniting body and has no definable world championship.
Some of the biggest Warcraft III tournaments include the six "Major tournaments" listed below as well as events organised by Blizzard Entertainment, televised Korean leagues and several large tournaments held in China.
Warcraft III is seen as the competitive RTS-game with the second biggest playerbase, with the number players online at Battle.net
ranging between 70,000 and 100,000 at any given moment. It must also be noted that the Chinese scene, which has over three million players, uses their own clients for online competition due to a poor connection to the outside world. In Korea, Warcraft III has significantly less popularity than Starcraft, which is the most popular.
Wiki articles about Warcraft III competitions include a historical overview of "world championships"
as well as a ranking based on them and a number of player biographies such as: Xiaofeng "Sky" Li, Dae Hui "FoV" Cho, Jang "Moon" Jae Ho
, Fredrik "MaDFroG" Johansson
and Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen.
FIFA Football is a part of the World Cyber Games
since its beginning in 2000 and also at every regional WCG Tourney like the SEC or the Pan-American WCG. In 2003 a FIFA tournament was also held at the CPL Europe and is therefore the only sports game that has ever been part of a Cyberathlete Professional League
competition.
Germany
has the biggest FIFA Football community with two professional leagues (Electronic Sports League EPS and the World League eSport Bundesliga
which is aired on the national TV-broadcaster Deutsches Sportfernsehen). Besides Germany, South Korea is a strong FIFA Football nation with 3 World Cyber Games titles. There are also leagues in South Korea like the Ongamenet
FifaLeague that are televised. In 2006 prizes with a value of over a quarter million US-Dollar were handed out to professional FIFA gamers.
The Halo series has a large impact on the national professional scene in the United States of America. See Major League Gaming
for more information. This has also been picked up in Europe, with the European Gaming League hosting their first event at the end of July 2010 in Liverpool attracting 30 of Europe's biggest teams. Australia have also started their own leagues with the Australian Cyber League hosting their Pro Circuit with tournaments in several major cities in Australia.
Played professionally in western society, there are a dozen professional players signed to a few professional teams and a number of players marketing themselves through other means. As of 2008, Quake 4 has fallen out of favor in competition for the previous game in the series Quake III Arena
.
Four "world championships" took place using Quake 4 in the 2006 season. Most notable are those of the Electronic Sports World Cup
and the World Series of Video Games
as the game had a top tier status with these organizations, the game had the smallest status of all games played at the World Cyber Games
and KODE5.
So far only the Electronic Sports World Cup has announced that they will be using Quake 4 again. It is generally expected that the World series of Video Games will do the same and it is also seen as a potential candidate for a top status game at the World Cyber Games.
Street Fighter series, The King of Fighters series, Mortal Kombat series, Marvel vs. Capcom series
(also known as crossover or versus series), and Tekken series are amongst those fighting games played at a professional level. Popular tournaments have taken place in the whole world, primarily the Evolution Championship Series
in the USA
, TOOHON in South Korea
, Tougeki - Super Battle Opera in Japan
.
Following the success of Starcraft as an e-sport, StarCraft 2 has become one of the most popular e-sports in the world. Hosted in South Korea
, where Starcraft originally began to flourish as an e-sport, the GOMTV Global Starcraft II League
(GSL) is generally acknowledged as the most prestigious StarCraft 2 tournament by the game's community and players.
Unlike its predecessor, which never found notable success as an e-sport outside of Korea, StarCraft 2 has become truly international. There have since been many leagues and e-sports organizations outside of Korea and across the world hosting StarCraft 2 tournaments, including the Team Liquid StarLeague (TSL), Major League Gaming
(MLG), North American Star League
(NASL), IGN Pro League (IPL), DreamHack
, and the Intel Extreme Masters
(IEM). As of July 2011, StarCraft 2 tournaments have paid out over $1.4 million USD in cash prizes.
TrackMania Nations ESWC released in January 2006, and was the first game to be conceived for a competition (Electronic Sports World Cup
). The game permits players to create their own tracks. Except ESWC, the Electronic Sports League, Electronic Tournaments and the FuturTech Gaming League organize competitions on this game. In April 2008, a new version of the game, called TrackMania Nations Forever, released and added new features to the original game. The ESWC committee decided to use this new version for ESWC 2008.
This game is downloadable free of charge and counts around 8,000 players at least on any moment. On esports, the game is most popular in Europe
, especially in France
, where the game was created.
Defense of the Ancients
, League of Legends (LoL) and Heroes of Newerth (HoN), are the three major Fortress Assault Games played professionally. All 3 games have been played at Dreamhack
. The League of Legends Grand Finals was broadcasted live over the Internet where the winning team received $50,000. LoL has been added to the Intel Extreme Masters lineup for the 2011 Electronic Sports League season. Both LoL and DotA have been included in the World Cyber Games and DotA will also be included in ESWC. It was recently announced that HoN will be included in the second season of the North American Star League
as a promotional title.
held the first WorldWide Web Games for a $1 million prize. The competition had 71 contestants and featured the casual games Bejeweled 2
, Solitaire
, and Zuma. The champion was 21-year-old Kavitha Yalavarthi of Odessa, Texas
.
Some online games can be played using a variety of peripheral input devices that require physical activity. These include game cycles, bicycles both upright and recumbent, steppers like the Gamercize
peripheral and treadmills. In March 2009 a new sort of computer video game (exergaming) peripheral was launched, the FootPOWR peripheral. Until this time the majority of electronic game competitions consisted of players using the mouse and select keyboard input for game play. The FootPOWR peripheral is quite versatile since each of the nine area of the item can be mapped to specific keys or mouse functions. Like other online game competitions it is difficult for those using activity-driven (exergaming) input devices to be certain they are playing in a similar fashion as others who may be using conventional mouse or keyboard input.
The main medium for electronic sports coverage is the Internet
. Electronic sports websites generally focus on professional tournaments and the top level amateur games, leaving the other games to be covered by the leagues themselves or smaller game-specific community websites if at all.
Mainstream coverage in North America
and Europe
has increased, and more mainstream news websites are starting to regularly provide some coverage of the major events with occasional television coverage. One of the biggest contributors to the video game media coverage are professional video gamers such as Lil Poison
and Fatal1ty.
In South Korea
, electronic sports and events are regularly televised by dedicated 24-hour cable TV game channels Ongamenet
and MBCGame
. The most frequent games in South Korean electronic sports are the real-time strategy games StarCraft
and Warcraft III. The South Korean scene is often cited as an example of popularised electronic sports by those who would like to see a similar level of popularity in the west.
In Germany
, GIGA Television
's majority of shows are covering e-sports.
ESL TV was transformed into GIGA II in June 2006 but the concept failed and ESL TV was reintroduced in autumn 2007. ESL TV features e-sports only.
In the UK, XLEAGUE.TV
broadcasts on SKY channel 208, showing both features on eSports and broadcasting matches from its online leagues and tournaments, which for the purpose of television shows, are shot from its studio rather than played online. This channel has ceased broadcasting as of 1 March 2009.
In France
, Game One
propose some e-sport matches in a show called "Arena Online" and is a partner of the Xfire
Trophy, an invitational tournament. They broadcasted matches on games like Counter-Strike
, Counter-Strike: Source
, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
, and recently Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
.
In the United States
, gaming is seen on a variety of channels. ESPN
has a show called Madden Nation
, which shows gamers playing the Madden NFL
game for Xbox 360
. These players are competing for a cash prize. DirecTV
shows live video game matches for the Championship Gaming Series
. CBS
aired footage of the 2007 World Series of Video Games
tournament that was held in Louisville, Kentucky
. G4 (TV channel)
is dedicated to keeping viewers up to date on video games.
Cyberathlete Professional League
The Cyberathlete Professional League , founded on June 27, 1997 by gaming entrepreneur Angel Munoz, is a professional sports tournament organization specializing in computer and console video game competitions....
.
Games that are played as electronic sports normally belong to the real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
(RTS), fighting
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
, first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
(FPS), massively-multiplayer online (MMOG), and racing
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
genres. They are played competitively at amateur, semi-professional and professional levels including in leagues and tournaments. The definition of a pro gamer is someone whose sole income is generated from gaming.Starcraft II:Wings of Liberty is currently the most popular eSports event, with players such as IMNesTea and IMMvp earning hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars per year. Events such as MLG(Major League Gaming), GSL(Global Starcraft League)WCG(World Cyber Games), Dreamhack, and GSTL(Global Starcraft Team league) provide real-time casting of streamed games in front of audiences numbering in the thousands. The most common tournament form is a group stage of 6player groups, where the top two seeed from each group advance into a standard-format double elminiation bracket with either 64,32, or 16 players.
Over the Internet
The easiest way to play an electronic sports match is over the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. General online play is subject to the lessened ability to detect cheating
Cheating in online games
Cheating in online games is an activity that modifies the game experience to give one player an advantage over others. Depending on the game, different activities constitute cheating and it is either a matter of game policy or consensus opinion as to whether a particular activity is considered to...
and the more unpredictable network latency
Latency (engineering)
Latency is a measure of time delay experienced in a system, the precise definition of which depends on the system and the time being measured. Latencies may have different meaning in different contexts.-Packet-switched networks:...
not being the ideal environment for high level competition; however, due to its convenience, even players who are used to LAN
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
games use Internet games for fun and exhibition game
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
s.
Usually teams (or "clans" as they are sometimes called) contact each other prior to matches. Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat is a protocol for real-time Internet text messaging or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer, including file...
(IRC) is very popular for doing this, due to the ability of each clan, league, or other gaming-related organisation to set up its own chat channel on the network, making them easy to find. (IRC has become so popular among gamers that the largest IRC network is QuakeNet
QuakeNet
QuakeNet is currently the largest Internet Relay Chat network, with a peak average of about 135,000 users and 100,000 channels. The network was founded in 1997 by Garfield and Oli as a new home for their respective countries' Quake channels...
, a network originally created for players of the first-person shooter Quake and now used by players of many different games.) The matches are then carried out on the server according to the rules of the leagues the teams are familiar with.
Popular online leagues include the Canada-based Pro Gaming League
Pro Gaming League
Pro Gaming League was founded in September 2007 in Regina, Saskatchewan. The league has, since 2009, been abandoned by its owners and members due to lack of participation....
, along with Cyberathlete Amateur League, Cyber Evolution (CEVO), FraggedNation, eCompete-Online (ECO), Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming , founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso, is a North American professional Electronic sports organization, headquartered in New York City, New York. MLG has held official video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. Major League Gaming...
, ClanBase, and the Electronic Sports League. Video game competitions have referees or officials to monitor for cheating. These video gaming tournaments also bring in fans, that either show up at the tournament or view it online Video gaming has sponsorship; for example, the CPL is sponsored by Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
, Razer, Cyber Shots Energy Drink, and Gamerail
Gamerail
GameRail was a private network designed to improve the performance of online gaming. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, GameRail purportedly used its "heavily peered, geographically distributed" network gateways in combination with various Internet Service Providers in an attempt to reduce...
, and some teams even have sponsorship from big companies such as Intel, Western Digital
Western Digital
Western Digital Corporation is one of the largest computer hard disk drive manufacturers in the world. It has a long history in the electronics industry as an integrated circuit maker and a storage products company. Western Digital was founded on April 23, 1970 by Alvin B...
or even Steelseries.
The largest online gaming network on the PC is Battle.net
Battle.net
Battle.net is a gaming service provided by Blizzard Entertainment. Battle.net was launched in November 30, 1996 with the release of Blizzard's action-RPG Diablo. Battle.net was the first online gaming service incorporated directly into the games that make use of it, in contrast to the external...
, used to play Warcraft
Warcraft (series)
Warcraft is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media originally created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of Four core games: Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and World of Warcraft...
, Diablo
Diablo (series)
Diablo is an action role-playing game franchise owned and produced by Blizzard Entertainment. , the series has sold over 18.5 million copies worldwide.-Story:...
and StarCraft
StarCraft (series)
StarCraft is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney, and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series centers on a galactic struggle for dominance between three species—the adaptable and mobile Terrans, the insectoid Zerg, and the enigmatic Protoss—in a...
online. These networks have over 12 million active users with an average of 1,000,000 online at any given moment with peaks up to 1,500,000 .
This service provided by Blizzard Entertainment is especially important for "Starcraft II", in which a Real-time laddering system is used to rank every one of 6.2 million players(citation needed) in 1v1,2v2,3v3,and 4v4 match types respectively. Professional players begin playing at a young age, normally around 10 or 11, and ladder time is spent each week learning the intricacies of gameplay. After approximatly 500 hours of ladder experience, players will seek practice partners and create custom games to begin practicing specific skills. Later, they may choose to pay existing professionals to coach them in the further quirks of the game. Eventually, they will begin attending and then competing in tournament such as Z33k, the Zotac cups, GSPA amatuer brackets, or IEM open play brackets. After winning in seasons such as NASL and IPL, players will be invited to attend IEM, MLG, or Dreamhack. If performances are good, they will be snatched up by competitive teams who offer five-hundred thousand dollar salaries and offer training facilities. Eventually, a player may decide to join a Korean team, widely considered to be the best in the world. The major Korean teams are TSL,StarTale,Incredible Miracle, Prime, MVP,and oGs. GSL competitions offer a player to claim the world champion title, by by winning consecutive GSL tournaments. The current streak record is 3, set by IMMVP, and the current maximum win record is held by his friend and teammate, IMNesTea. Having a first place purse of 96.000 Us dollars, or 50.000.000 Won, GSL is the most prestigious and highly rewarded eSports Tournament.
Even though the PlayStation Network currently has the most individual profiles(sitting in around 28 million), it's chief competitor Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
is currently the most popular and the most subscribed to console online gaming service, with over 17 million subscribers.
Over a local area network
Playing over a Local area networkLocal area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
(LAN) has a number of advantages: the network has less lag
Lag
Lag is a common word meaning to fail to keep up or to fall behind. In real-time applications, the term is used when the application fails to respond in a timely fashion to inputs...
and higher quality
Quality of service
The quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...
, and the competitors can be directly scrutinized for cheating. At professional events administrators will normally be present to ensure fair play. Because there is still a possibility of gamers using Modding
Modding
Modding is a slang expression that is derived from the verb "modify". Modding refers to the act of modifying a piece of hardware or software or anything else for that matter, to perform a function not originally conceived or intended by the designer...
to alter their hardware to unfairly modify certain aspects of the game or controller inputs to their advantage, some competitions prevent this by supplying all competitors with identical hardware for the event. LAN events also create a more social atmosphere as a result of all competitors being physically present. Due to the advantages of LAN many gamers organize LAN parties
LAN party
A LAN party is a temporary, sometimes spontaneous, gathering of people with computers, between which they establish a local area network , primarily for the purpose of playing multiplayer computer games. The size of these networks may vary from the very small to very large installations...
or visit LAN centres
Internet cafe
An Internet café or cybercafé is a place which provides internet access to the public, usually for a fee. These businesses usually provide snacks and drinks, hence the café in the name...
and most major tournaments are conducted over LANs.
Arcade era
Video games have been played competitively since their inception.Twin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies is an American organization that tracks video game world records and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. It operates the Twin Galaxies website and publishes the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, with the Arcade Volume released on June...
is known for keeping track of high scores on many classic arcade games, and they created the U.S. National Video Game Team
U.S. National Video Game Team
The U.S. National Video Game Team was founded on July 25, 1983 in Ottumwa, Iowa, USA by Walter Day and the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard.-Members:Walter Day was the Team Captain and the first five members chosen by Twin Galaxies for the team were:...
in 1983. The team ran a number of competitions, including the 1987 Video Game Masters Tournament
Video Game Masters Tournament
The Video Game Masters Tournament was an event that was created in 1983 by Twin Galaxies to generate world record high scores for the 1984 U.S. Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records . It was the most prestigious contest of that era and the only one that the Guinness book looked to for...
for Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
.
Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
held their World Championships in 1990, touring across the United States, with the finals at Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...
in California. There were 90 finalists, and the champions were Jeff Hanson (11 & under), Thor Aackerlund (12–17), and Paul White (18 & over). The Nintendo championships are notable for the silver cartridges distributed to all of the finalists, which now fetch high prices on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
.. Gold cartridges were distributed as a prize in a Nintendo Power magazine contest.
Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
held a 2nd World Championships in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
(SNES) called the Nintendo PowerFest '94
Nintendo PowerFest '94
Nintendo PowerFest '94 was a 1994 Nintendo-promoted video game competition. Most of the town competitions were held in customized trailers outside of department stores. It was based on scoring points in a special game pack. The three Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo PowerFest...
. There were 132 finalists that played in the finals in San Diego, CA. Mike Iarossi took home 1st prize.
Blockbuster Video ran their own World Game Championships in the early 1990s, co-hosted by GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
magazine. Citizens from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Chile were eligible to compete. Games from the 1994 championships included NBA Jam
NBA Jam
NBA Jam is a basketball arcade game developed by Midway in 1993. It is the first entry in the NBA Jam series, and was written entirely in assembly language. The main designer and programmer for this game was Mark Turmell...
and Virtua Racing
Virtua Racing
Virtua Racing or V.R. for short, is a Formula One racing arcade game, developed by Sega-AM2 and released in October 1992. Virtua Racing was initially a proof-of-concept application for exercising a new 3D-graphics platform under development, the "Model 1". The results were so encouraging, that...
.
The first ever televised eSports event has been noted as the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n gameshow A*mazing, which would show two children competing in various Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
games in order to win points.
Netrek
Developed as a successor to 1986's Xtrek, NetrekNetrek
Netrek is an Internet game for up to 16 players, written almost entirely in cross-platform open source software. It combines features of multi-directional shooters and team-based real-time strategy games...
was first played in 1988. It is an Internet game for up to 16 players, written almost entirely in cross-platform
Cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
open source software. It combines features of multi-directional shooters
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
and team-based real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
games. Players attempt to disable or destroy their opponents' ships in real-time combat, while taking over enemy planets by bombing them and dropping off armies they pick up
Transporter (Star Trek)
A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern , then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter...
on friendly planets. The goal of the game is to capture all the opposing team's planets.
Netrek was the third Internet game
History of online games
Online games are currently considered a separate industry of video games. The evolution of these games parallels the evolution of computers and computer networking, with new technologies improving the essential functionality needed for playing video games on a remote server.- Background of...
, the first Internet team game, the first Internet game to use metaservers to locate open game servers, and the first to have persistent user information. In 1993 it was credited by Wired Magazine as "the first online sports game".
As of 2010 it is the oldest Internet game still actively played.
Doom
The release of Doom on December 10, 1993 introduced multi-player death match games. Doom spawned newsgroups, chat rooms and among the first known users of IRC for gaming. Players connected to each other modem-to-modem and online competitive gaming was born. A handful of Doom fan sites report the favored maps of the time being e1m4 and e1m5.Doom was swept aside by the release of its successor Doom II on October 10, 1994. Shortly thereafter the DWANGO (Dial up Wide Area Network Gaming Operations) firm launched their services. DWANGO, charged users the cost of a local telephone call to connect to their dial-up bulletin board services. With 20+ servers scattered throughout urban locations in North America DWANGO became the early hub of competitive gaming.
Initially, online gaming was available only to those with superior internet connections. These included ISP employees, university/college students and large businesses. Early client side software includes iDoom, Kali and iFrag.
Doom II
To accompany the launch of Doom II, Microsoft held the first offline tournament for PC players, Deathmatch '95. Deathmatch '95 (aka Judgment Day Deathmatch 95 & Dwango’s Deathmatch 95) was aimed to be a competitive offline gaming tournament featuring the most popular title of the year, Doom II. This format, with gamers attending a single location and using standardized hardware, has defined eSports competitions since.The tournament took place in Richmond, Virginia in October and a handful of national qualifiers witnessed players from Europe flying to play in the tournament. Prior to these events many players had competed online. Early favorites for the competition included Dennis Fong
Dennis Fong
Dennis "Thresh" Fong is an entrepreneur and retired celebrity pro gamer. Fong has been called "the Michael Jordan of video games", a "Top 20 Entrepreneur Under 35" by Red Herring magazine, and voted as the "Top North American E-Sports Figure of All Time" by the E-Sports Entertainment Association,...
and Merlin.
Dennis Fong
Dennis Fong
Dennis "Thresh" Fong is an entrepreneur and retired celebrity pro gamer. Fong has been called "the Michael Jordan of video games", a "Top 20 Entrepreneur Under 35" by Red Herring magazine, and voted as the "Top North American E-Sports Figure of All Time" by the E-Sports Entertainment Association,...
later recalled the tournament as follows:
By virtue of having already played most of the top players around the country and beaten them, I was considered one of the favorites to win the tournament. Another player who went by the handle "Merlock" was considered the other favorite. Due to a random draw, we ended up facing each other in the semi-finals. I ended up beating him something like 10-5. Merlock got so upset he slammed the keyboard and threw his chair off-stage. It was quite the scene, particularly since LAN tournaments weren't all that common back then.
Although I didn't practice the game much, it was pretty evident that most players really favored the Cleric class as it was the easiest to learn and had a homing-type weapon that seemed more powerful than anything else in the game.
Since everyone expected the finals to be played Cleric vs. Cleric, I decided to go against the grain and learn the Mage class. Anyway, to make a long story short, I found a way to counter the Cleric super-weapon and ended up shutting out my opponent in the finals, beating him 8-0.”
Quake
Formal events have grown dramatically since the release of Quake in 1996. At the earliest offline Quake tournament, "Red AnnihilationRed Annihilation
Red Annihilation was a Quake competitive eSport event, sponsored by Microsoft, held in May 1997. The winner, Thresh, took home John Carmack's 1987 Ferrari 328 GTS cabriolet as the offered prize....
" in May '97 of that year, Quake co-creator John Carmack promised his own red Ferrari 328 GTS
Ferrari 308 GTB
The Ferrari 308 GTB are mid-engined sports cars manufactured by the Italian company Ferrari in the 1970s-1980s. They made up the lower end of the company's range...
convertible to the winner, Dennis Fong aka "Thresh"
Dennis Fong
Dennis "Thresh" Fong is an entrepreneur and retired celebrity pro gamer. Fong has been called "the Michael Jordan of video games", a "Top 20 Entrepreneur Under 35" by Red Herring magazine, and voted as the "Top North American E-Sports Figure of All Time" by the E-Sports Entertainment Association,...
.
Cyberathlete Professional League
In June 1997 Angel Munoz launched a league for computer video gamers, known as the Cyberathlete Professional LeagueCyberathlete Professional League
The Cyberathlete Professional League , founded on June 27, 1997 by gaming entrepreneur Angel Munoz, is a professional sports tournament organization specializing in computer and console video game competitions....
or CPL. Since then, the attendance and size of the venues for these events has grown and thousands of spectators typically connect over the internet to watch the final matches.
In 2005 the CPL moved to a World Tour format. The 2005 CPL World Tour
2005 CPL World Tour
The 2005 CPL World Tour was a year-long gaming competition held by the CPL. This competition took place throughout 2005, with a total of 9 international stops and a finals event held in the New York City, USA and televised by MTV....
focused on the one-on-one deathmatch
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
game Painkiller and had a total prize purse of $1,000,000. The winner of the CPL Grand Finals event, Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel, went home with the grand prize of $150,000, while Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager
Sander Kaasjager
Sander Kaasjager, who also goes by the pseudonym Vo0, is a former Dutch professional player of the first person shooter game Painkiller, born in Naarden. He was formerly signed on to play for the electronic sports team Fnatic...
took home the MVP trophy for having the most tournament wins.
The Cyberathlete Amateur League (CAL) is the "minor league" of the CPL. It is based mainly on online game play. It hosts more than 600,000 online gamers. A 2003 competition hosted by CAL was played in a Hyatt
Hyatt
Hyatt Hotels Corporation , is an international operator of hotels.Hyatt Center is the headquarters for Hyatt corporation...
Regency Ballroom. Several tables were placed together where 10 computers were set up for the professional gamers. The game was Half-Life: Counterstrike.
The CPL closed its doors in 2008 and in planning on re-opening May 2010. Controversy currently surrounds the league after a leaked report that the league faked its closing.
World Cyber Games
In the year 2000, the first World Cyber GamesWorld Cyber Games
The World Cyber Games is an international competitive video-gaming event operated by South Korean company World Cyber Games Inc., and sponsored by Samsung and Microsoft...
event was held in Seoul, Korea. There were competitions for Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena , is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game released on December 2, 1999. The game was developed by id Software and featured music composed by Sonic Mayhem and Front Line Assembly...
, StarCraft
StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
, FIFA 2000, and Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Released in 1999 for the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems, it was the second game in the Age of Empires series...
. The competition initially had 174 competitors from 17 different countries with a total prize purse of $20,000. In 2006, the prize purse had risen to $462,000, and the event had grown to 9 different competitions and 700 qualified participants from 70 different countries.
Electronic Sports World Cup
Electronic Sports World CupElectronic Sports World Cup
The Electronic Sports World Cup is an international professional gaming championship.Every year winners of national qualifier event around the world earn the right to represent their country in the ESWC Finals...
is an international championship held annually in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Representatives must win their respective national qualifier to represent their country in the tournament. The first Electronic Sports World Cup event was held in 2000, with a total of 358 participants from 37 countries, and a prize purse of € 150.000. By 2006, the event had grown to 547 qualified participants from 53 countries and a prize purse of $400,000. The event also featured the first competition with a game specifically made for it; TrackMania Nations
TrackMania
TrackMania is a series of racing games for the Windows PC, Nintendo DS and Wii platforms, originally developed by the French team Nadéo for the PC...
.
Major League Gaming
2002 saw the launch of Major League GamingMajor League Gaming
Major League Gaming , founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso, is a North American professional Electronic sports organization, headquartered in New York City, New York. MLG has held official video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. Major League Gaming...
, a North American
North American
North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...
professional videogame league, the largest organized professional gaming league. Competitors from 28 different countries have participated in their tournaments, while over one million participants have competed online. In 2006, Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming , founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso, is a North American professional Electronic sports organization, headquartered in New York City, New York. MLG has held official video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. Major League Gaming...
was the first televised console gaming league in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with their Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
Pro Series being broadcast by USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
. Now Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming , founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso, is a North American professional Electronic sports organization, headquartered in New York City, New York. MLG has held official video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. Major League Gaming...
has put Halo 3
Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...
, Halo: Reach
Halo: Reach
Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 console. Reach was released in North America, Australia, and Europe on September 14, 2010. The game takes place in the year 2552, where humanity is locked in a war with the...
, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a 2007 first-person shooter video game, developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. A handheld game was made for the Nintendo DS. The game was released in North America, Australia, and...
, League of Legends
League of Legends
The BetFred League of Legends was a darts tournament featuring some of the legends of the game of darts which commenced in May 2008. The tournament is broadcast on Setanta Sports in the United Kingdom....
, Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch, published by Activision and released worldwide on November 9, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii consoles, with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space. Announced on April 30, 2010,...
, Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
, and Starcraft II
StarCraft II
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and released by Blizzard Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. A sequel to the award-winning 1998 video game StarCraft and its expansions, the game was released worldwide on July 27, 2010...
into their circuit. Events are now broadcast on their homepage.
World eSports Games
The first time the World e-Sports GamesWorld e-Sports Games
World eSport Games is a competitive, international video game league with elite amateur and pro gamers from around the world battling to be crowned world champions...
took place, was January 30 through March 20, 2005 and featured Counter-Strike and Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos as main titles. Players resided in Seoul, South Korea throughout most of the tournament and matches were broadcast on Korean television. The finals took place in Beijing, China. Attendees were all invited based on past performances and included the likes of Jang "Moon" Jae Ho
Jang Jae Ho
Jang "Moon" Jae Ho is a South Korean professional gamer of the popular Blizzard real-time strategy games Warcraft III and StarCraft II. He is seen by many as the best Night Elf player in the world...
, Team NoA
Team NoA
Team NoAYear founded: 2003Team NoA is a professional Counter-Strike team who are as well known for setting precedents as they are for being a successful team. Founded by Jonas "bsl" Alsaker, the team was several times regarded as the worlds best, taking home many prestigious "trophies"...
and Li "Sky" Xiaofeng.
World Series of Video Games
2006 saw the first season of the World Series of Video GamesWorld Series of Video Games
The World Series of Video Games was an international professional electronic sports competition. It held its first season in 2006, with competitions in six different games and six events held around the world including the finals of the event. The total prize purse of the season was US$750,000...
event, a spin off of the CPL World Tour format. The WSVG
World Series of Video Games
The World Series of Video Games was an international professional electronic sports competition. It held its first season in 2006, with competitions in six different games and six events held around the world including the finals of the event. The total prize purse of the season was US$750,000...
held world championships for Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is a real time strategy computer game released by Blizzard Entertainment on July 3, 2002 . It is the second sequel to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, and it is the third game set in the Warcraft Universe...
, and Quake 4
Quake 4
Quake 4 is the fourth title in the series of Quake first-person shooter computer games. The game was developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. Raven Software has collaborated with id Software, the creators and historical developers of preceding Quake games...
. The WSVG also held American championships for Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is the third installment in the popular Ghost Recon tactical shooter video game series, published by Ubisoft in 2006. As in previous Ghost Recon games, players command their team of Ghosts while neutralizing hostile forces and completing various mission...
, and Project Gotham Racing 3
Project Gotham Racing 3
Project Gotham Racing 3 is an arcade-style racing game that was released with the launch of the Xbox 360 on November 22, 2005 for the US market and December 2, 2005 in Europe, and was released on January 12, 2006 in Japan. Developed by Bizarre Creations, it is the third installment in the Project...
.
Player contracts and professional electronic sports titles
There are a number of titles that have a professional gaming scene. The top players can make a living playing the games on the marketing value they gain as a result. Hundreds, thousands and even millions of dollars in prize money are turned out each year for competitors in these titles.The most popular tournaments are those run by the World Cyber Games
World Cyber Games
The World Cyber Games is an international competitive video-gaming event operated by South Korean company World Cyber Games Inc., and sponsored by Samsung and Microsoft...
, the World e-Sports Games
World e-Sports Games
World eSport Games is a competitive, international video game league with elite amateur and pro gamers from around the world battling to be crowned world champions...
, and the Electronic Sports World Cup
Electronic Sports World Cup
The Electronic Sports World Cup is an international professional gaming championship.Every year winners of national qualifier event around the world earn the right to represent their country in the ESWC Finals...
. The prize money for these events is mostly provided by the large technology corporations who sponsor the events; these companies also tend to sponsor eSports teams. A team sponsorship usually includes travel expenses and sometimes free hardware specific to that company.
Although sponsorships have evolved over the years, and oftentimes only sponsoring one gamer at a time—the first all inclusive team sponsorship was given to Team Abuse in June of 2000. Team Abuse was a well-respected Quake II team led by Doug 'Citizen' Suttles and a gamut of talented players [Toxic, Method, Lord Vader]. Upon their hosting of a grass roots event called Lansanity in Portland, OR Team Abuse was offered a complete sponsorship, setting precedence for many gamers to come. The Speakeasy sponsorship included a fully leased gaming studio in Lake Oswego, OR with a Speakeasy.net T1 connection. Additionally Team Abuse was sent to many CPL events, Quake Invitational League events, hosted Lansanity 2, and also found itself sending Marc 'pureluck' Naujock to the XSI Invitational in London as part of the Top 10 USA players vs the Top 10 European players tournament. Speakeasy paved the way for fully immersive corporate marketing sponsorship for professional gaming by applying merchandising, PR, grass root events, and a serious interest in the gaming community.
StarCraft
- StarCraft: Brood WarStarCraft: Brood WarStarCraft: Brood War is the expansion pack for the award winning military science fiction, real-time strategy video game StarCraft. Released in 1998 for Windows and Mac OS, it was co-developed by Saffire and Blizzard Entertainment. The expansion pack introduced new campaigns, map tilesets, music,...
– Real Time Strategy (1vs1, PC)
This game has found a home in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, where many play it professionally or as a spectator sport. It is the most popular professionally played game due to its immense popularity in South Korea, where the best pro-gamers are seen as celebrities.
In Korea, Starcraft has leagues such as Ongamenet Starleague, MBC Starleague, and Proleague. Finals for these league attract tens of thousands of fans and are viewed on cable TV with great popularity.
StarCraft is the very first game to have been accepted into the World Cyber Games
World Cyber Games
The World Cyber Games is an international competitive video-gaming event operated by South Korean company World Cyber Games Inc., and sponsored by Samsung and Microsoft...
tournament and has a tournament at their events since inception. It also enjoys significant competitive popularity in the west as well.
Counter-Strike
- Counter-StrikeCounter-StrikeCounter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
– Tactical Team FPS (5vs5, PC)
Played all around the world with hot spots in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, there are a few dozen professional teams that gather at just as many tournaments all around the world every year. Without a uniting body in competitive gaming many of these claim to be the game's "World Championship" tournament.
While none of them stand out enough to justify this claim, six tournament finals are generally identified as being the "biggest". The six "Major tournaments" are listed below and are led by WCG (World Cyber Games) and the CPL (Cyberathlete Professional League).
Teams can be observed playing professionally in leagues such as, CEVO, ESEA League, ESL, and others.
The defunct league Championship Gaming Series
Championship Gaming Series
The Championship Gaming Series was an international electronic sports league based in the United States of America, though it had expanded to every continent except Antarctica for Season Two before being abruptly discontinued....
franchised teams with contracted players who played Counter-Strike: Source
Warcraft III
- Warcraft III: The Frozen ThroneWarcraft III: The Frozen ThroneWarcraft III: The Frozen Throne is a real-time strategy computer game developed for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and Mac OS X by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the official expansion pack to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, requiring Reign of Chaos to play...
– Real Time Strategy (1vs1, PC)
Played professionally all around the world with hot spots in South Korea, China , France and Germany, there are a few dozen professional teams. The game lacks a uniting body and has no definable world championship.
Some of the biggest Warcraft III tournaments include the six "Major tournaments" listed below as well as events organised by Blizzard Entertainment, televised Korean leagues and several large tournaments held in China.
Warcraft III is seen as the competitive RTS-game with the second biggest playerbase, with the number players online at Battle.net
Battle.net
Battle.net is a gaming service provided by Blizzard Entertainment. Battle.net was launched in November 30, 1996 with the release of Blizzard's action-RPG Diablo. Battle.net was the first online gaming service incorporated directly into the games that make use of it, in contrast to the external...
ranging between 70,000 and 100,000 at any given moment. It must also be noted that the Chinese scene, which has over three million players, uses their own clients for online competition due to a poor connection to the outside world. In Korea, Warcraft III has significantly less popularity than Starcraft, which is the most popular.
Wiki articles about Warcraft III competitions include a historical overview of "world championships"
Warcraft III World Championships
This article contains a summary of the top four finishers in the various professional Warcraft III world championships from 2003 till present.-Individual competitions:-Team competitions:...
as well as a ranking based on them and a number of player biographies such as: Xiaofeng "Sky" Li, Dae Hui "FoV" Cho, Jang "Moon" Jae Ho
Jang Jae Ho
Jang "Moon" Jae Ho is a South Korean professional gamer of the popular Blizzard real-time strategy games Warcraft III and StarCraft II. He is seen by many as the best Night Elf player in the world...
, Fredrik "MaDFroG" Johansson
Madfrog
Fredrik Johansson , better known by the pseudonym MaDFroG, is a famous Swedish WarCraft III and StarCraft II player....
and Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen.
FIFA
- FIFA Football – Sports (PC)
FIFA Football is a part of the World Cyber Games
World Cyber Games
The World Cyber Games is an international competitive video-gaming event operated by South Korean company World Cyber Games Inc., and sponsored by Samsung and Microsoft...
since its beginning in 2000 and also at every regional WCG Tourney like the SEC or the Pan-American WCG. In 2003 a FIFA tournament was also held at the CPL Europe and is therefore the only sports game that has ever been part of a Cyberathlete Professional League
Cyberathlete Professional League
The Cyberathlete Professional League , founded on June 27, 1997 by gaming entrepreneur Angel Munoz, is a professional sports tournament organization specializing in computer and console video game competitions....
competition.
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
has the biggest FIFA Football community with two professional leagues (Electronic Sports League EPS and the World League eSport Bundesliga
World League eSport Bundesliga
The World League eSport Bundesliga is a German professional electronic sports league. It has its own TV-show, broadcast by the German television channel Deutsches Sportfernsehen. Jana Ina and Giovanni Zarella are the hosts of the show. The only game that is played at the season World League eSport...
which is aired on the national TV-broadcaster Deutsches Sportfernsehen). Besides Germany, South Korea is a strong FIFA Football nation with 3 World Cyber Games titles. There are also leagues in South Korea like the Ongamenet
Ongamenet
Ongamenet is one of two South Korean cable television companies , that specializes in broadcasting video game-related information and matches, which include StarCraft, Warcraft III and others. It is a subsidiary of On-Media, an owner of several cable channels....
FifaLeague that are televised. In 2006 prizes with a value of over a quarter million US-Dollar were handed out to professional FIFA gamers.
Halo
- HaloHalo (series)Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
– Tactical Team FPS (Xbox)
The Halo series has a large impact on the national professional scene in the United States of America. See Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming , founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso, is a North American professional Electronic sports organization, headquartered in New York City, New York. MLG has held official video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. Major League Gaming...
for more information. This has also been picked up in Europe, with the European Gaming League hosting their first event at the end of July 2010 in Liverpool attracting 30 of Europe's biggest teams. Australia have also started their own leagues with the Australian Cyber League hosting their Pro Circuit with tournaments in several major cities in Australia.
Quake 4
- Quake 4Quake 4Quake 4 is the fourth title in the series of Quake first-person shooter computer games. The game was developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. Raven Software has collaborated with id Software, the creators and historical developers of preceding Quake games...
– DeathMatch FPS (1vs1, PC)
Played professionally in western society, there are a dozen professional players signed to a few professional teams and a number of players marketing themselves through other means. As of 2008, Quake 4 has fallen out of favor in competition for the previous game in the series Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena , is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game released on December 2, 1999. The game was developed by id Software and featured music composed by Sonic Mayhem and Front Line Assembly...
.
Four "world championships" took place using Quake 4 in the 2006 season. Most notable are those of the Electronic Sports World Cup
Electronic Sports World Cup
The Electronic Sports World Cup is an international professional gaming championship.Every year winners of national qualifier event around the world earn the right to represent their country in the ESWC Finals...
and the World Series of Video Games
World Series of Video Games
The World Series of Video Games was an international professional electronic sports competition. It held its first season in 2006, with competitions in six different games and six events held around the world including the finals of the event. The total prize purse of the season was US$750,000...
as the game had a top tier status with these organizations, the game had the smallest status of all games played at the World Cyber Games
World Cyber Games
The World Cyber Games is an international competitive video-gaming event operated by South Korean company World Cyber Games Inc., and sponsored by Samsung and Microsoft...
and KODE5.
So far only the Electronic Sports World Cup has announced that they will be using Quake 4 again. It is generally expected that the World series of Video Games will do the same and it is also seen as a potential candidate for a top status game at the World Cyber Games.
Fighting games
- Street FighterStreet Fighter, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
– Fighting (1vs1, Arcade, PS2)
Street Fighter series, The King of Fighters series, Mortal Kombat series, Marvel vs. Capcom series
Marvel vs. Capcom series
is a series of fighting games created by Capcom in which characters created by Marvel Comics and Capcom's own characters appear together. While it was the first Vs. series involving Capcom, the Marvel brand exists to distinguish it from Capcom's other Vs. series with SNK and Tatsunoko Production ...
(also known as crossover or versus series), and Tekken series are amongst those fighting games played at a professional level. Popular tournaments have taken place in the whole world, primarily the Evolution Championship Series
Evolution Championship Series
The Evolution Championship Series is an annual video game tournament that focuses exclusively on fighting games. In fighting game communities it is commonly referred to as "Evo", and is currently the premier video game tournament for fighting games in the United States...
in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, TOOHON in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Tougeki - Super Battle Opera in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
StarCraft 2
- StarCraft 2 – Real time strategy (PC)
Following the success of Starcraft as an e-sport, StarCraft 2 has become one of the most popular e-sports in the world. Hosted in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, where Starcraft originally began to flourish as an e-sport, the GOMTV Global Starcraft II League
GOMTV Global Starcraft II League
GOMTV Global Starcraft II League is a StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty tournament hosted by GomTV and Blizzard Entertainment in South Korea. There is an English stream available for non-Korean viewers. The tournament features two leagues, Code S and Code A...
(GSL) is generally acknowledged as the most prestigious StarCraft 2 tournament by the game's community and players.
Unlike its predecessor, which never found notable success as an e-sport outside of Korea, StarCraft 2 has become truly international. There have since been many leagues and e-sports organizations outside of Korea and across the world hosting StarCraft 2 tournaments, including the Team Liquid StarLeague (TSL), Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming , founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso, is a North American professional Electronic sports organization, headquartered in New York City, New York. MLG has held official video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. Major League Gaming...
(MLG), North American Star League
North American Star League
The North American Star League is a professional e-sports league that features the games StarCraft II and Heroes of Newerth. Originally modeled after successful South Korean professional StarCraft leagues, it was founded in 2011 by Russell Pfister and Duncan Stewart. Following the mid-year...
(NASL), IGN Pro League (IPL), DreamHack
DreamHack
DreamHack is a digital festival, a local area network gathering with demo competitions, gaming competitions and more. It's arranged twice annually at the Elmia exhibition centre in Jönköping, Sweden and also twice a year at Expolaris Congresscenter, Skellefteå, Sweden and holds the world record ...
, and the Intel Extreme Masters
Intel Extreme Masters
The Intel Extreme Masters are a series of gaming tournaments held in various European locations. These ESL sanctioned events include events in Starcraft II, Counter-Strike 1.6, Quake Live, and League of Legends. The body that owns the league is Turtle Entertainment. The League has existed for...
(IEM). As of July 2011, StarCraft 2 tournaments have paid out over $1.4 million USD in cash prizes.
TrackMania Nations
- TrackMania Nations Forever – Racing (1vs1vs1vs1, PC)
TrackMania Nations ESWC released in January 2006, and was the first game to be conceived for a competition (Electronic Sports World Cup
Electronic Sports World Cup
The Electronic Sports World Cup is an international professional gaming championship.Every year winners of national qualifier event around the world earn the right to represent their country in the ESWC Finals...
). The game permits players to create their own tracks. Except ESWC, the Electronic Sports League, Electronic Tournaments and the FuturTech Gaming League organize competitions on this game. In April 2008, a new version of the game, called TrackMania Nations Forever, released and added new features to the original game. The ESWC committee decided to use this new version for ESWC 2008.
This game is downloadable free of charge and counts around 8,000 players at least on any moment. On esports, the game is most popular in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, especially in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where the game was created.
Fortress Assault Games
- Defense of the AncientsDefense of the AncientsDefense of the Ancients is a custom scenario for the real-time strategy game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, based on the "Aeon of Strife" map for StarCraft...
- DotaDota (genre)The Dota genre is a sub-genre of real-time strategy video games, characterized by their likeness to Defense of the Ancients, a custom scenario for Warcraft 3 drawing from both real-time strategy and role-playing game influences. Compared to traditional real-time strategy games, elements such as...
(5v5, PC, Mac) - Dota 2Dota 2Dota 2 is an upcoming action fantasy strategy video game being developed by Valve Corporation. The stand-alone sequel to the popular Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne mod Defense of the Ancients, it was formally announced on October 13, 2010 via the website of magazine Game Informer...
- DotaDota (genre)The Dota genre is a sub-genre of real-time strategy video games, characterized by their likeness to Defense of the Ancients, a custom scenario for Warcraft 3 drawing from both real-time strategy and role-playing game influences. Compared to traditional real-time strategy games, elements such as...
(5v5 PC, Mac) - Heroes of NewerthHeroes of NewerthHeroes of Newerth is a free-to-play science fantasy, action real-time strategy game developed by S2 Games for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The game was heavily inspired by the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne custom map, Defense of the Ancients and is S2 Games' first game title in the...
- DotaDota (genre)The Dota genre is a sub-genre of real-time strategy video games, characterized by their likeness to Defense of the Ancients, a custom scenario for Warcraft 3 drawing from both real-time strategy and role-playing game influences. Compared to traditional real-time strategy games, elements such as...
(5v5, PC, Mac, Linux) - League of LegendsLeague of LegendsThe BetFred League of Legends was a darts tournament featuring some of the legends of the game of darts which commenced in May 2008. The tournament is broadcast on Setanta Sports in the United Kingdom....
- DotaDota (genre)The Dota genre is a sub-genre of real-time strategy video games, characterized by their likeness to Defense of the Ancients, a custom scenario for Warcraft 3 drawing from both real-time strategy and role-playing game influences. Compared to traditional real-time strategy games, elements such as...
(5v5, PC, Mac)
Defense of the Ancients
Defense of the Ancients
Defense of the Ancients is a custom scenario for the real-time strategy game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, based on the "Aeon of Strife" map for StarCraft...
, League of Legends (LoL) and Heroes of Newerth (HoN), are the three major Fortress Assault Games played professionally. All 3 games have been played at Dreamhack
DreamHack
DreamHack is a digital festival, a local area network gathering with demo competitions, gaming competitions and more. It's arranged twice annually at the Elmia exhibition centre in Jönköping, Sweden and also twice a year at Expolaris Congresscenter, Skellefteå, Sweden and holds the world record ...
. The League of Legends Grand Finals was broadcasted live over the Internet where the winning team received $50,000. LoL has been added to the Intel Extreme Masters lineup for the 2011 Electronic Sports League season. Both LoL and DotA have been included in the World Cyber Games and DotA will also be included in ESWC. It was recently announced that HoN will be included in the second season of the North American Star League
North American Star League
The North American Star League is a professional e-sports league that features the games StarCraft II and Heroes of Newerth. Originally modeled after successful South Korean professional StarCraft leagues, it was founded in 2011 by Russell Pfister and Duncan Stewart. Following the mid-year...
as a promotional title.
Other competitions
In September 2006 FUN TechnologiesFUN Technologies
FUN Technologies was a listed company providing online games.Founded in 2002 by Canadian businessmen Lorne Abony and Andrew Rivkin, FUN grew to become the world's largest provider of online casual games and fantasy sports, with over 35 million registered customers. FUN was publicly traded with a...
held the first WorldWide Web Games for a $1 million prize. The competition had 71 contestants and featured the casual games Bejeweled 2
Bejeweled 2
Bejeweled 2 is a web-based game, sequel to Bejeweled, developed and published by PopCap Games. In 2004, Bejeweled 2 Deluxe was released. They both add extra game modes and features to the game. Bejeweled 2 Deluxe, like all PopCap titles, is available on a "try before you buy" basis...
, Solitaire
Solitaire
Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself or with other people. The solitaire card game Klondike is often known as simply Solitaire....
, and Zuma. The champion was 21-year-old Kavitha Yalavarthi of Odessa, Texas
Odessa, Texas
Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small portion of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 99,940 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan...
.
Some online games can be played using a variety of peripheral input devices that require physical activity. These include game cycles, bicycles both upright and recumbent, steppers like the Gamercize
Gamercize
Gamercize is an example of an exergaming accessory, connecting exercise machines such as stationary cycles and steppers to video games consoles....
peripheral and treadmills. In March 2009 a new sort of computer video game (exergaming) peripheral was launched, the FootPOWR peripheral. Until this time the majority of electronic game competitions consisted of players using the mouse and select keyboard input for game play. The FootPOWR peripheral is quite versatile since each of the nine area of the item can be mapped to specific keys or mouse functions. Like other online game competitions it is difficult for those using activity-driven (exergaming) input devices to be certain they are playing in a similar fashion as others who may be using conventional mouse or keyboard input.
Media coverage
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Electronic sports websites generally focus on professional tournaments and the top level amateur games, leaving the other games to be covered by the leagues themselves or smaller game-specific community websites if at all.
Mainstream coverage in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
has increased, and more mainstream news websites are starting to regularly provide some coverage of the major events with occasional television coverage. One of the biggest contributors to the video game media coverage are professional video gamers such as Lil Poison
Lil Poison
Victor De Leon III aka Lil Poison is the youngest professional video gamer. Born on May 6, 1998 in Long Island, New York, Lil Poison became the youngest pro gamer at the age of 6 years old when a gaming league signed him as a professional gamer...
and Fatal1ty.
In South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, electronic sports and events are regularly televised by dedicated 24-hour cable TV game channels Ongamenet
Ongamenet
Ongamenet is one of two South Korean cable television companies , that specializes in broadcasting video game-related information and matches, which include StarCraft, Warcraft III and others. It is a subsidiary of On-Media, an owner of several cable channels....
and MBCGame
MBCGame
MBC Game is the South Korean non-'free-to-air' television network, which is well-known for its E-sports broadcasting.- Contents :...
. The most frequent games in South Korean electronic sports are the real-time strategy games StarCraft
StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
and Warcraft III. The South Korean scene is often cited as an example of popularised electronic sports by those who would like to see a similar level of popularity in the west.
In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, GIGA Television
GIGA Television
GIGA was the brand name of a digital TV channel and several German television shows. The channel ceased operations in 2009.-Early Days:...
's majority of shows are covering e-sports.
ESL TV was transformed into GIGA II in June 2006 but the concept failed and ESL TV was reintroduced in autumn 2007. ESL TV features e-sports only.
In the UK, XLEAGUE.TV
XLEAGUE.TV
XLEAGUE.TV was a broadcast production unit owned by The New World Assembly Group, creating and providing content on its primary subject of video games...
broadcasts on SKY channel 208, showing both features on eSports and broadcasting matches from its online leagues and tournaments, which for the purpose of television shows, are shot from its studio rather than played online. This channel has ceased broadcasting as of 1 March 2009.
In France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Game One
Game One
Game One is a French television channel owned by MTV Networks Europe.The channel has shown several Japanese anime on a regular basis, such as Fairy Tail, Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Z Kai and Eyeshield 21.-External links:*...
propose some e-sport matches in a show called "Arena Online" and is a partner of the Xfire
Xfire
Xfire is a proprietary freeware instant messaging service for gamers, that also serves as a game server browser and has various other features. It is currently available for Microsoft Windows. Xfire was originally developed by Ultimate Arena based in Menlo Park, California...
Trophy, an invitational tournament. They broadcasted matches on games like Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
, Counter-Strike: Source
Counter-Strike: Source
Counter-Strike: Source is an FPS video game developed by Valve Corporation. It is a complete remake of Counter-Strike using the Source game engine. As in the original, Counter-Strike: Source pits a team of counter-terrorists against a team of terrorists in a series of rounds...
, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts for the Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox 360 platforms, and released internationally in March 2007...
, and recently Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a 2007 first-person shooter video game, developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. A handheld game was made for the Nintendo DS. The game was released in North America, Australia, and...
.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, gaming is seen on a variety of channels. ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
has a show called Madden Nation
Madden Nation
Madden Nation is an American reality television show, created as a joint effort between EA SPORTS and ESPN Original Entertainment to take viewers inside the world of Madden NFL, a popular video game with over 10 million players worldwide. The series premiered on December 6, 2005 and is currently...
, which shows gamers playing the Madden NFL
Madden NFL
Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game series is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders and color commentator...
game for Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. These players are competing for a cash prize. DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
shows live video game matches for the Championship Gaming Series
Championship Gaming Series
The Championship Gaming Series was an international electronic sports league based in the United States of America, though it had expanded to every continent except Antarctica for Season Two before being abruptly discontinued....
. CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
aired footage of the 2007 World Series of Video Games
World Series of Video Games
The World Series of Video Games was an international professional electronic sports competition. It held its first season in 2006, with competitions in six different games and six events held around the world including the finals of the event. The total prize purse of the season was US$750,000...
tournament that was held in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. G4 (TV channel)
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
is dedicated to keeping viewers up to date on video games.
Professional leagues
| League name | Game | Country | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Warfighter League (GWL) | Team Fortress 2, Combat Arms, Star Wars Battlefront 2, Red Orchestra 2, Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops, any new game competition worthy. Also host events for gaming communities. | North America/International | 2003 |
| Ongamenet Starleague (OSL) | Starcraft | Korea | 2000 |
| MBCgame Starleague MBCgame Starleague The MBCgame StarCraft League, also known as MSL, is a StarCraft tournament hosted by MBCGame. The tournament started outin 2002 under the name of KPGA, and in 2003 it was renamed the MSL.-League Championships:-2009 Avalon MSL:... (MSL) |
Starcraft | Korea | 2003 |
| Proleague | Starcraft | Korea | 2005 |
| SIXAXIS Gaming | COD4, Gran Turismo 5, FIFA '11, NBA 2K11, Killzone 3 | Australia/New Zealand | 2008 |
| CyberGamer | Left 4 Dead 2, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Source, StarCraft 2 | Australia/NZ, North America | 2007 |
| Major League Gaming Major League Gaming Major League Gaming , founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso, is a North American professional Electronic sports organization, headquartered in New York City, New York. MLG has held official video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. Major League Gaming... |
Halo: Reach, StarCraft II, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Call of Duty: Black Ops, League of Legends, Gears of War 3 (Possible) | North America | 2003 |
| Pro Gaming League Pro Gaming League Pro Gaming League was founded in September 2007 in Regina, Saskatchewan. The league has, since 2009, been abandoned by its owners and members due to lack of participation.... |
Halo 3, Halo: Reach, NHL 11 | North America | |
| ESL Extreme Masters Intel Extreme Masters The Intel Extreme Masters are a series of gaming tournaments held in various European locations. These ESL sanctioned events include events in Starcraft II, Counter-Strike 1.6, Quake Live, and League of Legends. The body that owns the league is Turtle Entertainment. The League has existed for... |
Multiple. Changes occasionally. | International | 2007 |
| ESL Major Series | Multiple and not included in the "Extreme Masters" | European | 2007 |
| ESL Pro Series | Multiple. Changes occasionally. | European | 2002 |
| European Team Fortress 2 League (ETF2L) | Team Fortress 2 | European | 2004 |
| NGL One | Warcraft 3 and StarCraft 2 | European | |
| Poznań Game Arena | European | 2004 | |
| ClanBase EuroCup ClanBase EuroCup The ClanBase EuroCup is a competitive online esports event that occurs twice a year, and sometimes includes prize money and a LAN final. The EuroCup began in 2000 with the game Quake 3 Arena. Fall season 2008 is the 18th season of the eurocup featuring six different games... |
European | 2000 | |
| UKeSA Dell XPS Premiership | United Kingdom | ||
| National Professional Cybersport League | Russia | ||
| Evolution Championship Series Evolution Championship Series The Evolution Championship Series is an annual video game tournament that focuses exclusively on fighting games. In fighting game communities it is commonly referred to as "Evo", and is currently the premier video game tournament for fighting games in the United States... |
Multiple. Changes per year | North America | 2003 |
| Athens Gaming League | CS:Source, CS 1.6, Call of Duty 4, PES, DotA Allstars | Greece | |
| World Cyber Games World Cyber Games The World Cyber Games is an international competitive video-gaming event operated by South Korean company World Cyber Games Inc., and sponsored by Samsung and Microsoft... |
Multiple. Changes per year | International | 2000 |
| E-Sports Entertainment League | International | ||
| Cyber Evolution | Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Source, Call of Duty, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead | International | |
| Tougeki – Super Battle Opera | Multiple. Changes per year | Japan | 2003 |
| Xtreme Professional League | CS 1.6, CS:Source, COD4, America's Army, and more | International | 2003 |
| Electronic Sports World Cup Electronic Sports World Cup The Electronic Sports World Cup is an international professional gaming championship.Every year winners of national qualifier event around the world earn the right to represent their country in the ESWC Finals... |
CS 1.6, Quake Live, WarCraft 3, Trackmania, NFS Shift, DotA, CS Female, Super Street Fighter IV, Guitar Hero 5, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty | International | 2000 |
| World e-Sports Games World e-Sports Games World eSport Games is a competitive, international video game league with elite amateur and pro gamers from around the world battling to be crowned world champions... |
International | ||
| Total Gaming League | International | ||
| GOMTV Global Starcraft II League GOMTV Global Starcraft II League GOMTV Global Starcraft II League is a StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty tournament hosted by GomTV and Blizzard Entertainment in South Korea. There is an English stream available for non-Korean viewers. The tournament features two leagues, Code S and Code A... (GSL) |
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty | Korea/International | 2010 |
| North American Star League North American Star League The North American Star League is a professional e-sports league that features the games StarCraft II and Heroes of Newerth. Originally modeled after successful South Korean professional StarCraft leagues, it was founded in 2011 by Russell Pfister and Duncan Stewart. Following the mid-year... (NASL) |
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty | North America/International | 2011 |
| iRacing.com World Championship Series Road Racing | iRacing.com IRacing.com iRacing.com is an online, subscription-based racing simulation service for Microsoft Windows created by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations... |
International | 2009 |
| iRacing.com NVIDIA Series | iRacing.com IRacing.com iRacing.com is an online, subscription-based racing simulation service for Microsoft Windows created by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations... |
International | |
| NASCAR iRacing.com Series NASCAR iRacing.com Series The NASCAR iRacing.com Series are online oval racing series officially sanctioned by NASCAR and hosted by iRacing.com. In 2010 they include seven different series in total, with a World Championship series, a qualifying series for the championship and five amateur series.-History:The partnership... |
iRacing.com IRacing.com iRacing.com is an online, subscription-based racing simulation service for Microsoft Windows created by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations... |
International | |
| NASCAR iRacing.com World Championship Series NASCAR iRacing.com World Championship Series The NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship is an online stock car racing simulation series officially sanctioned by NASCAR and hosted by iRacing.com. It is the top level of the NASCAR iRacing.com Series... |
iRacing.com IRacing.com iRacing.com is an online, subscription-based racing simulation service for Microsoft Windows created by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations... |
International | |
| Formula SimRacing Formula SimRacing Formula SimRacing is a professional international sim racing league which is arguably the world's most established and largest Formula 1 sim racing league. It is owned and organised by the International SimRacing Club which was founded in 1999 for the promotion of professional sim racing on the... |
rFactor RFactor rFactor is a computer racing simulator, designed with the ability to run any type of four-wheeled vehicle from street cars to open wheel cars of any era. rFactor aimed to be the most accurate race simulator of its time... |
International | |
| Armaroli Sim Racing World Cup Armaroli Sim Racing World Cup The Armaroli Sim Racing World Cup was one of the championships run using rFactor. Using a fictional formula racer designed around Armaroli's own Sim Racing products, the championship used to offer a cash prize to the winning nation, and was contested by 38 nations.The first race in the 2006... |
rFactor RFactor rFactor is a computer racing simulator, designed with the ability to run any type of four-wheeled vehicle from street cars to open wheel cars of any era. rFactor aimed to be the most accurate race simulator of its time... |
International | |
| Australian Cyber League (ACL) | Halo: Reach, Call of Duty: Black Ops, FIFA 11, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Streetfighter IV, Super Smash Bros: Brawl, Super Smash Bros. Melee | Australia/New Zealand | 2009 |
Associations and governing bodies
- Cybersports & Online Gaming Association (Singapore) [SCOGA] (Singapore)
- International eSport Federation (International)
- eSport Verband Österreich (Austria)
- Belgian Electronic Sport Federation (Belgium)
- E-sport Denmark (Denmark)
- Deutscher eSport Bund (Germany)
- Nederlandse Electronic Sport Bond (Netherlands)
- Swiss E-sport Federation (Switzerland)
- Korea e-Sports Association [Kespa] (South Korea)
- Taiwan eSports League (Taiwan)
- United Kingdom eSports AssociationUnited Kingdom eSports AssociationThe United Kingdom eSports Association or UKeSA was a governing body of eSports in the United Kingdom and a member of the International eSports Federation . The headquarters were in London, United Kingdom....
(United Kingdom) - eSports Vietnam (Vietnam)
- Mind Sports South Africa (South Africa)
- Versus (Brazil)
- France Esport Console
- Finnish eSports Federation (Finland)