Enter the explosive world of betting on esports
Sports has come a long way from football, basketball and other physical sports being the only games watched and enjoyed by millions of people across the globe. Today, video games enjoy their share of the limelight as professional electronic sports are played competitively in local and international tournaments. Welcome to the world of esports, where solid teamwork, quick reaction time and game stats are the measures of success.
Gone are the days when video games were just played for fun and gamers were thought to be nerds who never leave their house. In today’s modern landscape, professional gamers aged anywhere between 15 to 35 can now enjoy the same glory, prestige and wages given to professional athletes.
With multi-billion-dollar companies sponsoring teams and tournaments, the whole industry has garnered over a billion dollars in revenue in recent years. It only gets bigger as time passes, cementing its position in the world of sports and entertainment.
When you enter the explosive world of esports, you’ll be amazed by the thrilling environment brought by fictional worlds and the titillating atmosphere created by millions of fans all over the world.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a noob who doesn’t have the faintest idea about RPG or an experienced gamer who’s looking for something different—the world of competitive gaming will take you on a whirlwind adventure you wouldn’t find anywhere else.
Learn more about it here at Sportsbet.jp! From the basics of esports to the numerous games available, you can discover all these and more when you continue reading below. Once you’ve gathered enough information, you can start placing your bets on competing teams and experience the action yourself!
What is esports?
Electronic sports, or more commonly known as esports, is all about playing video games professionally in a competitive and organized environment. During tournaments, teams play a specific video game and compete against each other for prize pools that are sometimes worth over a hundred thousand dollars. It offers multiplayer experiences online and all over the world, connecting gamers like never before.
Like in football and other physical sports, players are recruited to undergo rigorous training and become professional gamers. Major sponsorships from big companies such as Red Bull, Logitech, and Samsung make all these possible. In return, they organize tournaments for players to put their skills to the test. There are competitions and tournaments from local to the international level where teams representing schools, cities and countries battle each other on the stage.
Millions of fans tune in to these tournaments by watching online or going to the arenas themselves. Donning their supportive merch, fans cheer on their favourite teams and players with banners in tow the way traditional sports fans have always supported their favourite athletes.
A wide variety of video games awaits in the exciting world of esports. From first-person video games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to multiplayer online battle arena games like League of Legends and DOTA, you won’t run out of competitions to watch, support and bet on.
What makes esports different from traditional sports?
A whole new world to explore
Unlike traditional sports, the games in esports are not grounded and limited by the rules of reality. There are no laws of physics confining their worlds, which makes it all the more enticing to explore. Nothing else matters other than the rules of the game and competition.
The battle happens inside a fictional world where players use avatars to kill their enemies and win the game. But it’s not as easy as simply choosing your weapon and slashing everyone in your way. In reality, it’s more complicated than that and it requires hours of mental and psychological exercises aside from physical training. It takes team strategy, high skill level and hours of training to take home the title of the champion.
Free and unregulated
Additionally, there’s no one sanctioning or governing body responsible for tracking the entire industry. While there are local or national organizations, there’s no one federation that defines the rules and laws of esports. This can be attributed to the online and cross-border nature of video games. Unlike professional sports, the games played in these leagues are privately owned by gaming companies who developed them. Ultimately, they have a large control over their games and can make changes without consulting their player base.
Players are not limited to playing only one game
Esports leagues are also divided by game similar to how leagues are separated by sport. However, players and teams are not limited to playing one game only. Professional teams can play both League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and participate in tournaments for both games.
Some of the most popular tournaments ever are the League of Legends World Championship, DOTA 2 International and Overwatch League. These tournaments fill entire arenas such as the Barclay’s Center in New York and gain millions of online viewers from all over the globe who watch through streaming platforms such as Twitch and Youtube.
At one point in 2017, over 80 million viewers watched the League of Legends World Championship, making it one of the most-watched and popular esports competitions ever. This competition alone generated US$5.5 million in only ticket sales. That’s a lucrative market right there!
What’s the world of esports like?
In the competitive video gaming scene, teams usually composed of 5 members play against each other in a specific number of rounds. Whoever emerges as the winner gets to play in the succeeding round until only one team remains as the champion.
History of esports
Though it has only garnered attention in recent years, competitive gaming has been around for more than a decade now. An insanely fast-growing international sport, there are no physical boundaries for players in esports because it’s playable online. This allows them to play all at once wherever they are in the world even with different time zones. Its cross-border and online nature made it possible for these games to flourish.
However, the competitive gaming scene didn’t begin online. Before, spectators would convene in one place and watch as players compete against each other.
The competitive gaming scene started in the late ‘90s with players coming together in one place to play Counter-Strike, StarCraft, Quake and Street Fighter among others. Playing via a local access network, they connected their desktop computers to play as teams.
The real-time strategy game StarCraft boomed in 1998, especially in South Korea where it received tremendous support from the government. PC shops opened everywhere, allowing local players to play in one place while television shows covered teams playing in live television. Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism even launched the Korean e-Sports Association to oversee the promotion and regulation of the novel sports in the country.
It wasn’t long before other countries followed Korea’s lead and took competitive gaming seriously. France, Germany and other countries followed suit and joined international competitions like the Electronic Sports World Cup in 2003.
In the 2000s, the trend spread even further to other continents such as North America and Europe. Counter-Strike became even more popular in 2001 with the launch of some of the earliest tournaments such as the Cyberathlete Professional League Winter Championship.
The world of esports exploded in the late 2000s with the launch of League of Legends. Not only did it see a significant increase in viewership but esports also saw a massive rise in prize pools. By 2010, the number of yearly tournaments rose from 10 in 2000 to an astounding 260. This only proved how robust the industry has become throughout the years, cementing its status as a professional sport.
But things only became better when Twitch launched in 2011. The live streaming platform made it possible for gamers to stream their gaming session while at home, making esports more accessible. Twitch provided a platform for esports enthusiasts, and casual and professional gamers to come together in one space and interact with each other online. YouTube even launched YouTube Gaming in 2015 which is a dedicated platform for gamers who stream their sessions.
Today, the esports industry has grown tremendously with more viewers, players and enthusiasts than ever before. Arenas built specifically for esports tournaments have been constructed, universities now offer scholarships for professional gamers, and esports is finally being considered in the Winter Olympics.
In October 2017, the International Olympic Committee acknowledged esports as a competitive sporting activity and professional gamers who train intensely can be compared to athletes of traditional sports. This acknowledgement is a huge recognition for the industry, encouraging more people and institutions to recognize the legitimacy of video games not just as a hobby but as a real sport.
Esports you can bet on at Sportsbet.jp
Here at Sportsbet.jp, we offer a lot of esport games where you can bet and cheer on. From the groundbreaking Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to the legendary League of Legends, you can check them out here and see which tournaments are ongoing. Check out our roster of esports games below and discover which one suits you best:
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
The latest franchise from the Counter-Strike franchise, Counter-Strike Global Offensive or CS:GO is a first-person shooter video game launched in 2012. It brought back the spotlight to the classic CS game that has been overshadowed by newer releases such as League of Legends. The CS:GO gameplay proceeds like the usual FPS game where two opposing teams of terrorists and counter-terrorists battle each other by accomplishing opposite tasks.
Some of the most popular CS:GO teams today include Astralis, Vitality and Natus Vincere of Na’Vi. You can watch these teams compete against each other in tournaments such as BLAST Premier and PGL Major, and place your bets at Sportsbet.jp.
DOTA 2
When it comes to action real-time strategy games set in a multiplayer online battle arena or MOBA, few go above the success and reputation of DOTA 2. Valve, the same developer of Counter-Strike, released DOTA 2 in 2013 which was the sequel to DotA or Defense of the Ancients. The free-to-play and entirely customizable game was well-received by players all over the world. Though it looks complicated at first glance, the main objective in DOTA 2 is as simple as destroying the opposing team’s Ancient that hides inside their stronghold.
The International is considered the most prestigious DOTA 2 tournament since it’s the game’s flagship annual championship. However, there are also other tournaments such as DreamLeague and The Kiev Major where the champion won the prize pool worth US$3 million. Some of the most popular DOTA 2 teams include OG, Team Liquid and Virtus.pro.
League of Legends
American game developing company Riot Games took the world of esports by storm when it released League of Legends or LoL in 2009. It follows similar gameplay with DOTA 2 where you and your team protects your Nexus from the opposing team while trying to destroy theirs. Just like DOTA 2, LoL also falls under the mobile online battle arena genre where you control a group of champions and destroy the enemy.
Once tournament seasons begin, check out some of the most popular teams in the LoL sphere such as 100 Thieves, Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses. Every year, Riot Games hosts the world championship tournament for LoL titled the League of Legends World Championship.
Betting on esports
Once you’re ready to place your bets, review the following bet options available at Sportsbet.jp so you can get started on Bitcoin sports betting.
