The Rise of PC Gaming Tournaments: A Look into the Esports Phenomenon.
For the past few years, competitive gaming has been slowly transforming from an underground activity to a mainstream phenomenon. Professional gaming competitions, commonly referred to as e-sports, have now become some of the most popular entertainment spectacles in the world. Unlike most traditional sports, e-sports tournaments are all played on personal computers – a fact that has come to define the genre as we know it today.
These days, PC gaming tournaments draw in massive crowds, with some events generating millions of viewers. Aside from the sheer entertainment value, this newfound popularity has created a market of lucrative sponsorship deals. Professional players now have the potential to make millions, while dedicated organizations have taken the place of traditional sports organizations.
In this blog post, we’re taking a closer look at the phenomenon of PC gaming tournaments. We’ll explore the origins of these competitions and how they’ve become a prominent form of entertainment, as well as the systems that are currently in place for PC gamers to make a living through professional gaming. Along the way, we’ll also take a closer look at some of the most notable tournaments and organizations that have shaped the industry.
A Brief History of PC Gaming Tournaments
The roots of competitive gaming can be traced all the way back to the 1970s and 80s, when arcade machines gave rise to the early days of gaming tournaments. Players of classic arcade titles such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong flocked to dedicated arcades to compete against one another for high scores.
While arcades faded from popularity in the early 90s, the competitive gaming scene was revived when PC gaming began to take off. With the help of LAN connections and the internet, players of PC games gained access to much larger competitive fields. The release of competitive titles such as Doom and Starcraft prompted the establishment of dedicated gaming tournaments and leagues.
Today, PC gaming tournaments are firmly entrenched in the competitive gaming industry. With games such as Counter Strike Global Offensive, League of Legends and Dota 2 becoming increasingly popular, the competitive gaming market has become a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to grow.
Organizations and Tournaments
With the rise of competitive gaming, organizations have sprung up have to compete in PC gaming tournaments. These organizations are usually made up of professional players and all-star teams; they are responsible for funding, organizing, and managing teams and tournaments.
Some of the best-known organizations in the industry include Evil Geniuses and FaZe Clan. Evil Geniuses was founded in 1999 and has since gone on to become one of the biggest names in the industry. In particular, the organization has found success in DOTA 2 and it remains one of the most recognizable companies in the PC gaming world.
Meanwhile, FaZe Clan is a sports entertainment collective that was founded in 2016. The organization quickly grew to become one of the most respected names in the industry, scooping up trophies in a variety of PC gaming tournaments. And, in 2018, FaZe Clan also entered into a massive brand deal with Puma, becoming the first e-sports organization to join forces with a massive global brand.
Tournaments are the lifeblood of the PC gaming industry. Every year, a number of major events take place – tournaments that bring together the best teams, sponsors, and the most dedicated fans. Some of the most highly anticipated events of the year include The International, ESL One and DreamHack.
The International is the premier competition in the Dota 2 world, and is held annually by Valve—the makers of the game. It is one of the most anticipated tournaments of the year and brings together teams from around the world in a battle for the Aegis of Champions. This tournament is widely considered to be the peak of Dota 2, and attracts audiences of up to 10 million viewers globally.
Meanwhile, ESL One is a professional tournament series hosted by one of the oldest and most respected organizations in the industry—ESL Esports. It is held annually in different cities around the world and attracts the best teams to fight for a share of the one-million-dollar prize pool.
DreamHack is an event series organized by DreamHack AB, a Swedish production company. It specializes in esports tournaments and conventions and is renowned for its massive LAN parties that attract thousands of participants from around the world.
Sponsorship and Prize Money
The PC gaming industry has seen an influx of brands and sponsorships over the years. This has enabled professional gamers to make a living off their craft. Teams now have the potential to sign lucrative sponsorships deals with brands such as Audi and Intel, while players have the potential to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money.
In the past couple of years, there has been a significant increase in the amount of prize money on offer at major tournaments. The 2018 International, for instance, saw a prize pool of over twenty million dollars—an incredible sum for an esports event. The same tournament also featured a number of sponsorship deals, as brands such as Intel, Acer, and Alienware helped to boost the prize pool.
The Rise of PC Gaming Tournaments
Over the past few years, PC gaming tournaments have grown from an underground activity to a mainstream phenomenon. Thanks to their entertaining spectacle, these tournaments have attracted millions of viewers from around the world. They have also created a lucrative market for sponsorship deals and huge prize pools for players to compete for.
At the same time, organizations and tournaments have firmly established themselves as influential players in the industry, laying the foundations for competitive gaming to become a major form of entertainment in the years to come.
With this in mind, it is clear that the PC gaming tournament scene is only just beginning to reach its full potential, and is set to become an even bigger force in the world of esports.
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