From Space Invaders to Stadiums: The Evolution of Esports Tournaments

The modern world has created many new opportunities for people thanks to the advancement of technology and specifically the expansion of the Internet. New jobs and money making opportunities have multiplied as there are thousands of jobs that have been created thanks to the creation of the internet. Things like being an online influencer and professional video game player are now available jobs to earn money. If successful, being an online influencer could make you millions but it is a very unstable and fast paced job that requires consistency and patience. Esports is one of the biggest up coming trends. 

Esports is a type of sport that instead of physical feats, consists of online games and the reflexes and reaction times of the people who play it. It is an extremely intense and focus intensive sport that requires hundreds of hours of practice in the games to become a professional player. These tournaments can range from local get togethers, to national tournaments that have the prize money in the millions. As of a recent study by Forbes they have stated “Global revenue generated by the gaming industry is greater than the global revenue generated by the music and movie industries combined.” Essentially esports has been taking over the modern entertainment industry. Games such as League of Legends, PUBG, Rocket League, Valorant, Super Smash Bros. have become staples for the best of the best and have become some of the most intense and popular games in the world. Attracting millions across the globe. 

Tournaments from Esports are quite large and attract larger crowds than most people would expect for a video game meet. When you look at Esport tournaments they have about the same amount of budget as most professional sports and it goes to show how influential and popular video games are now. It didn’t start out like this though. Esports are not a new phenomenon, in fact according to the University of Southern Illinois in an article about the History of Esports it has been around since 1972. It began when the first home consoles were produced for playing games from the comfort of your home. In 1980 it showed its first glimmers at what it would become with the first national tournament of Space Invaders with 10,000 participants. This would be followed by the cutthroat competitions such as the Donkey Kong tournament. These tournaments continued to flourish with the growing popularity of expansion of the video game market making tremendous leaps from the 1990’s to 2000’s into the billion dollar industry it is today.

The expansion of Esports has reached local schools and now even students can fight other students in tournaments against each other. It opens a new debate on whether or not schools will fully integrate this new genre as much as other traditional sports such as wrestling and football. According to the Native Oklahoma Magazine in 2018 the National Federation of State High School Associations recognized Esports as an official sport, and the increase in interest has exploded by 90% showing that many schools have begun adopting it. Considering how 90% of teens play video games it is no wonder that the idea of local esports tournaments for school has become a prospect and a new sport that has become one of the most popular over the past few years.

Overall, Esport has been one of the most successful sports that has been expanding massively over the past few decades. It is a huge opportunity for many young people whose passion is playing video games and provides a large amount of money and stability to people who train hard to participate in. It has become so popular that it has even reached schools and who knows, even Belleville in the foreseeable future might even have a team too.