Esports, or competitive gaming, has its roots in the early days of videogames of the 1970s and 1980s. The first competition on record was held at Stanford University in 1972, where students competed in a game called Spacewar. However, it wasn’t until the 1990s that esports began to take a form that we might recognize today.

The History of Esports

Founded in 1997, one of the first major esports events was the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), which organized competitive tournaments for games like Quake and Counter-Strike. These events were relatively small-scale, but laid the foundations of esports as a legitimate form of competition.

It could be argued that one of the first and most successful esports to emerge was online poker. Although the exact date and circumstances of the earliest online poker game are not entirely clear, the first online poker site, Planet Poker, was launched in 1998, and is generally considered to be the first destination to offer real-money online poker games. 

Fast-forward to 2003 and Chris Moneymaker would become the first player qualifying from an online tournament to go on to win a World Series of Poker main event bracelet. Nowadays, it’s easy to find polished and professional poker tournaments from your smartphone or laptop, wherever a stable internet connection is available. 

During the 2000s, esports began to grow rapidly, thanks in part to the popularity of online gaming and the increasing availability of high-speed internet connections. Organizations like the Electronic Sports League (ESL) and Major League Gaming (MLG) emerged, hosting large-scale tournaments for games like StarCraft, Warcraft III and Halo.

The rise of streaming platforms Twitch and YouTube in the 2010s helped push esports into the mainstream. Fans could now watch live streams of their favorite players and teams competing in real-time and this helped generate a massive following for favorites like League of Legends, Dota 2 and Overwatch.

The Biggest Esports Genres

Much like traditional sports, esports events are divided into several distinct categories. We explore some of the most popular here:

• MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena)

MOBA games are characterized by teams of players battling it out, usually on a large open map. Each player controls a single character with unique abilities and weaknesses.

Successful MOBA players have an uncanny ability to multitask, communicate and work effectively in a team, and stay cool under pressure. League of Legends and Dota 2 are popular examples of the genre.

• FPS (First-Person Shooter)

FPS games involve players controlling a character from a first-person perspective and using an arsenal of weapons to eliminate opponents or accomplish an objective. The best FPS players train their fine motor skills for hours a day in order to have optimal control of their character’s crosshair – sometimes including memorizing recoil patterns to mitigate their effects. 

FPS esports athletes are also known to have some of the fastest reflexes of any gamers. Popular titles include Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege.

• Battle Royale

Battle Royale games have become ubiquitous in the esports world in recent years. Typically large-scale multiplayer games where players are dropped onto a map and tasked to eliminate each other until only one player or team remains, Battle Royale games include Fortnite, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Apex Legends.

• Fighting

Fighting or “beat ‘em up” games are one-on-one combat games where players use various moves, combos and techniques to defeat their opponent. Popular fighting games include the classic franchises Street Fighter, Tekken and Mortal Kombat, and more recently Super Smash Bros.

• Sports

Esports has also embraced traditional sports simulation games like FIFA and NBA 2K where players compete against each other using virtual versions of real-life sports teams and players. The Zwift UCI esports cycling World Championship has blurred the lines between traditional cycling races and their digital counterparts.

• Racing

Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo are popular examples of racing esports where players compete against each other in high-speed virtual races. These players often utilize steering wheel and pedal control inputs.

• Card and Board Games

Games like Hearthstone, Magic: The Gathering Arena, Poker and even Chess have all developed their own competitive scenes in the esports world, with players using strategy and skill to outwit their opponents. The best of these players have an encyclopedic knowledge of their chosen game.

With the amount of media attention games like Fortnite have received, Battle Royale sits atop the esports crown for the time being. Being a free game – Epic Games make their money from in-game purchases – the player base is huge.

Today, esports is a massive industry with a global audience of hundreds of millions of fans. It has grown from humble beginnings in the early days of video gaming to become a mainstream form of entertainment and competition, with professional players, teams, corporate sponsors and a dedicated fan base.