Electronic sports, or the eSports industry as it’s popularly known, has gained increased popularity since the global Covid-19 pandemic hit in March 2020.
By next year, gaming analysts predict there will be a marked increase in internet users viewing eSports gaming.
eSports encompass multi-player video game competitions which are viewed by spectators online. Professional gamers can compete as individuals or within a team.
eSport history in focus
One of the first video game competitions is said to have taken place back in the 1970s at Standford University using the game Spacewar.
In 1974, video game giant Sega hosted the All Japan TV Game Championships in the country. It was a country-wide tournament, and the prizes included TVs, radios and cassette tape recorders.
During the early 2000s, amateur gamers would host friendly competitions among themselves, but the advent of live streaming has taken it to the next level.
By 2010, eSports received a massive buy-in from video game developers who chose to pump huge amounts of money into gaming matches and events.
Gaming experts predict that eSport gaming will amass close to $1.79 billion before this year draws to a close.
Who are the best eSports teams?
- Team Liquid
Team Liquid is regarded as the top dog in the eSport arena. The team have been bestowed the title of the most victorious group in the eSporting community.
The team have competed in 2151 championships and gained a huge amount of gaming experience.
Team Liquid’s top 3 earning video games:
- Dota: $23,095,231.10
- Counterstrike:$5,162,591.35
- Starcraft:$1,622,183.25
- OG
Team OG clinches the coveted second spot with a total earned the prize of $35,717,823.59. The team comprises younger people who won most of their revenue via one game title.
The team was originally known as (monkey) Business. A title was given to them by super pro eSport gamer Johan Sundstein.
The team has done exceptionally well with games such as Dota 2. Team OG secured the top spot in the Dota 2 The International Championships for two years in a row.
Team OG’s top 3 earning video games:
- Dota 2: $34,920,626.13
- CS: GO: $737,750.00
- Dota 2 (OG Seed): $52,600.00
- Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses are ranked number three in the eSports world rankings. This team has performed impressively at nearly 60 games and won huge prize money while playing a single game: Dota 2.
They have earned $25,589,757.09 by high bets during international tournaments. They fared very well while playing the different Call of Duty titles.
Evil Geniuses’ top 3 earning video games:
- Dota 2: $21,072,070.62
- CS:GO: $1,017,866.99
- Call of Duty: $917,740.10
- Team Spirit
Team Spirit is at number four on the world rankings. The team has competed in fewer games than other teams, but they have managed to clinch $19,913,522.11 in prize money.
Team Spirit won most of their prize money while playing Dota 2.
Team Spirits’ top 3 earning video games:
- Dota 2: $18,864,202.41
- CS: GO: $752,751.21
- Hearthstone: $275,968.49
- Virtus.pro
Team Virtus.pro comes in at fifth place in the rankings. They achieved this feat by consistently performing well in all their games. They have earned a total of $18,206,325.79 in prize money.
The team burst onto the eSports scene in 2012 and has been going strong. They fared well in the Dota 2 and International Championships, ESL One championships and the Massive Online Battle Arena (MOBA) championships.
Team Virtus.pro’s top 3 earning video games:
Dota 2: $11,490,018.54
CS:GO: $4,298,190.63
PUBG: $666,213.93
Top 10 eSport games in 2022
- Apex Legends
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Dota 2
- Dragon Ball FighterZ
- Fortnite
- The King of Fighters XIV
- League of Legends
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Overwatch
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Viewership numbers
Viewership numbers for eSports have increased exponentially over the last several years, and eSport gaming revenue grew to almost US$1 billion. Chinese gamers accounted for close to 35% of eSport earnings.
The evolution of various live streaming platforms, such as YouTube and Twitch, has played a pivotal role in the growth of the eSport industry.
The breakdown of the demographics of eSport viewers indicates that 85% of men and 15% of women are regular viewers of the games.
To learn more about eSport games and fixtures, visit the popular online betting site, Neds.
Bargoed-born David Probert, a graduate of the British Racing School in Newmarket, had his first ride in public on Tiny Tim, trained by Andrew Balding, in a lowly banded stakes race at Lingfield on December 13, 2006. He rode his first winner, Mountain Pass, trained by Bernard Llewellyn, in an equally woeful selling stakes race at Wolverhampton nearly a year later. However, from such humble beginnings, under the mentorship of former champion trainer Ian Balding, he made rapid progress, such that in 2008 he shared the apprentice jockeys’ championship with fellow Kingsclere apprentice William Buick.
Thereafter, it would be fair to say that Probert has enjoyed a successful career without hitting the heights that, at one point, seemed likely. In recent seasons, Andrew Balding has tended to entrust his ‘big guns’ to three-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy, such that, more often than not, Probert has found himself playing second fiddle to his younger rival. Of course, Murphy is currently banned until February, 2023, so that dynamic may well change but, for now, Probert is still without a Group 1 winner to his name.
Nevertheless, Probert celebrated 1,000 winners on British soil when riding Tronada, trained by Alan King, to victory at Lingfield on June 8, 2020. In 2021, he enjoyed far and away the most successful season of his career so far, with 169 winners, including a 257/1 five-timer at his home course, Ffos Las, on August 11, and over £2 million in prize money for the first time. Between May 1 and October 16, he rode 93 winners, thereby finishing fourth in the Flat Jockeys’ Championship. Probert continued in excellent form over the winter and was crowned champion all-weather jockey at Newcastle on Good Friday, 2022.
At the time of writing, Brian Hughes has just won the British Jump Jockeys’ Championship for the second time. Between May 1, 2021 and April 23, 2022, Hughes rode 204 winners, 99 more than his nearest rival, Sam Twiston-Davies. In so doing, he became just the fourth National Hunt jockey in history, after Peter Scudamore, Sir Anthony McCoy and Richard Johnson, to ride 200 winners in a season. Reflecting on his second jockeys’ title, Hughes said, ‘Having lost the championship [to Harry Skelton] last year, to win it back, by a considerable margin and with 200 winners, it will mean the most.’
Of course, Hughes won his first jockeys’ title in 2019/20, with 141 winners, thereby becoming the first jockey based in the North of England to do so since Jonjo O’Neill in 1980. Indeed, O’Neill also held the record for the most winners in a season by a northern jump jockey, 149, which he set in 1978. However, Hughes broke that record as early as February 7, 2022, courtesy of an 83/1 four-timer at Carlisle, which took his seasonal tally to 150. Fittingly, three of his winners that day were saddled by Cholmondeley trainer Donald McCain, to whom Hughes was appointed first-choice jockey at the start of the 2018/19 season.
Born in County Armagh in Northern Ireland, Hughes, 36, became conditional jockey to Howard Johnston in 2005/06 but, by his own admission, became ‘a bit disillusioned’ and sought opportunities elsewhere. Nevertheless, he remained in the North of England and formed successful partnerships, first with County Durham trainer John Wade and subsequently with Donald McCain, Nicky Richards, Brian Ellison, James Ewart and others, that would ultimately take him to the top of his profession.
CSGO is one of the most popular online games today. It has been around for over a decade, and it continues to be one of the most played video games in the world.
CSGO began as a mod for the first-person shooter game Half-Life, quickly becoming popular among professional gamers. In 2012, Valve Corporation released CSGO as a standalone game, quickly becoming one of the company’s most successful products. Since then, CSGO has continued to grow in popularity and has even become an eSport – with professional players regularly winning millions of dollars in prize money.
Today, CSGO is available on multiple platforms – including PC, PS4 and Xbox One – and it continues to be loved by both casual and professional gamers alike. Let’s explore the history and evolution of CSGO.
The Rise of Professional CSGO
Counter-Strike has been around since 2000 and was initially just a fun mod for Half-Life. However, over time it grew in popularity and produced independent titles. In 2012, Valve Corporation released CSGO as a standalone title for Windows and Mac OS platforms. This was followed by the release of CSGO for Linux devices in 2014.
In 2013, Valve decided to create a professional circuit for CSGO, which led to the establishment of several prize pools worth millions of dollars. Today, over 100 teams compete in the Professional League (PL). The top teams in the league compete against each other in a series of qualifying rounds before culminating in major tournaments.
The rise of CSGO as a professional sport can be attributed to several factors:
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CSGO is a highly competitive game that rewards skill and teamwork more than pure firepower. This makes it suited for competitive play at an international level, where teams compete against each other to see who the best is.
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CSGO’s map design allows multiple strategies to be used simultaneously by both teams, keeping things interesting for spectators.
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The increasing popularity of streaming platforms has made it easier for fans to follow their favourite professional players and watch them compete live.
Overall, CSGO has been very successful and continues to evolve at a fast pace. It is now one of the most popular eSports titles on earth and provides gamers with an engaging experience they can enjoy online and off.
The Rules of CSGO
Players and teams alike need to understand their role in the game and be able to properly use each of their teammates’ abilities if they have any chance at winning. Each side will choose between one of five different soldier types at the beginning of a match: Offense, Defense, Heavy Assault, Support and Medic. Here are a few rules that apply in CSGO.
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Both teams take their positions and wait for the start signal.
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Both teams try to find the best possible strategy by analyzing what they see in their opponent’s position, players and weapon spawn. This can include choosing a separate tactic for each player or arming them with an appropriate weapon at the start of the round.
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The round starts when both teams attack each other and try to wipe out all of their opponents as quickly as possible without damaging themselves. Players must constantly move to avoid being killed and ensure their team gains an advantage over their opponents’ spawn points.
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To win a match, one team has to win 16 rounds against its opponents (one knock-out round won equals one point). A total of 30 rounds are played in a series, with each side switching sides after 15 rounds have been played (the 15th round is called technical pause). The winner is decided by whichever side has the most points at the end of three matches in a series or whichever side wins 2 out of 3 games on a single map in a round-robin format (this total may vary depending on the tournament structure).
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If both teams are tied after all 30 rounds have been played, there will be overtime where players try to get an advantage by ensuring that they’re respawning near more valuable areas on the map or choosing more powerful equipment than normal (in case it’s available). To win overtime, one team has to get five kills in a row on their opponent or capture two designated areas on the map.
The Future of CSGO
CSGO has been around for a long time, and it’s still going strong. It has seen its share of ups and downs, but it looks like it is on the up and up again. While it may be hard to predict the future of CSGO, based on its performance, most people believe that it has a lot of potential for continued growth in the years to come.
Conclusion
The history of CSGO is long and complex, full of changes and developments that have had a huge impact on the game itself and the industry. Today, it is one of the largest online gaming communities in the world, with millions of active players every month. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, there’s something here for you at CSGO.
