Esports, or electronic sports, refer to competitive video gaming at a professional level. These competitions can take place online or at live events and often have large prize pools. In recent years, esports has exploded in popularity and many professional players are able to make a living competing in these games.
Here are 15 unbelievable facts about the various esports games that are available:
- The first recorded esports competition took place in 1972 at Stanford University. The competition featured the game Spacewar and had a prize pool of $1,000.
- Dota 2, a multiplayer online battle arena game, has the largest prize pool in esports history. The game's annual tournament, The International, has a prize pool that exceeds $20 million.
- The highest-earning esports player of all time is Johan Sundstein, a professional Dota 2 player from Denmark who goes by the nickname "N0tail." Sundstein has earned over $6.9 million in prize money throughout his career.
- The most popular esports game in the world is League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena game developed by Riot Games. The game has over 100 million monthly active players and a dedicated professional league called the League of Legends Championship Series.
- The first female player to win a major esports tournament was Sasha Hostyn, who goes by the nickname "Scarlett." Hostyn won the 2012 World Cyber Games Grand Finals in the game Starcraft II.
- The largest esports event in history was The International 2019, a Dota 2 tournament that had over 15 million unique viewers and a prize pool of over $34 million.
- The first esports event to be broadcast on national television was the 1990 Nintendo World Championships. The event was held at Universal Studios Hollywood and featured the games Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and Rad Racer.
- The oldest esports game still played at a professional level is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a first-person shooter game developed by Valve Corporation. The game was first released in 2012 and has a dedicated professional league called the Esports Championship Series.
- The first esports league to be franchised was the Overwatch League, a professional league for the team-based first-person shooter game Overwatch. The league consists of 20 teams from around the world and has a total prize pool of over $5 million.
- The first esports event to be held at the Olympic Games was the 2022 Asian Games, which featured the games Starcraft II, Hearthstone, and League of Legends. Esports was added to the program as a demonstration sport and are set to become a full medal event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
- The highest-earning female esports player of all time is Katherine Gunn, who goes by the nickname "Mystik." Gunn has earned over $122,000 in prize money throughout her career and is best known for her success in the game Halo.
- The highest-earning esports team of all time is Team OG, a Dota 2 team based in Europe. The team has won over $33 million in prize money throughout its history and has won The International, the game's annual championship, twice.
- The first esports arena in the United States was the Esports Arena in Santa Ana, California, which opened in 2015. The arena features a variety of games and hosts a number of professional and amateur tournaments.
- The first esports team to be valued at over $1 billion was Team SoloMid, a professional esports organization based in the United States. The team has teams in a number of games, including League of Legends, Fortnite, and Valorant.
- The first esports event to be held at a major sports arena was the Intel Extreme Masters event in 2006, which took place at the Olympic Stadium in Katowice, Poland.
In conclusion, esports has a rich and fascinating history, with a number of interesting and unbelievable facts. From the first recorded esports competition in 1972 to the inclusion of esports in the Olympic Games, the industry has come a long way. With the growth of technology and the increasing popularity of video games, it is likely that the future of esports will continue to evolve and bring even more unbelievable facts and achievements.
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