When Did Esports Take Off?

Esports has been around for a while, but it’s only recently that it has started to take off. Here’s a look at when esports took off and what has been driving its growth.

The Beginnings of Esports

It is difficult to pinpoint when esports first took off as a competitive activity. However, many people trace its origins back to the 1970s, with the launch of video game competitions at Stanford University. These early competitions paved the way for the bigger and more organised tournaments that exist today.

The First Esports Tournaments

Esports tournaments have been around since the 1970s, but they only started to gain mainstream attention in the 1990s. One of the earliest and most popular tournaments was held in 1972 at Stamford University, where students competed in a Spacewar tournament. This event is often considered the first ever esports tournament.

The 1990s saw a surge in popularity for esports, with many new tournaments emerging. One of the most iconic early tournaments was Red Annihilation, a Quake tournament held in 1997. This event was significant because it was one of the first times that prize money was offered as an incentive to compete. The winner of Red Annihilation, Dennis “Thresh” Fong, took home a Ferrari as his grand prize.

Tournaments continued to grow in popularity throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. The release of Counter-Strike in 1999 led to a new wave of competitive gaming, with many major tournaments being held for the game throughout the early 2000s. One of the most prestigious events in Counter-Strike history is still ongoing today: the annual Major Championship series hosted by Valve, which has a prize pool of over $1 million USD.

Today, esports is a multimillion dollar industry with events being held all over the world. The popularity of esports shows no signs of slowing down, making it an exciting time to be involved in the competitive gaming scene.

The Growth of Esports

The history of esports is often traced back to the early days of video gaming tournaments, which took place in the 1970s and 1980s. These tournaments were mostly organized by video game companies and featured games like Atari’s “Space War” and “Asteroids.”

However, it wasn’t until the late 1990s and early 2000s that esports started to become more organized and popular. This was due in part to the growth of internet connectivity, which allowed gamers from all over the world to compete against each other in online multiplayer games.

The first major esports tournament was held in 1997, featuring the game “Quake.” Since then, the popularity of esports has grown exponentially. Today, there are multiple professional leagues and tournaments for a variety of games, including “League of Legends,” “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive,” “Overwatch,” and many others.

The prize pools for these events have also grown significantly. The largest prize pool in esports history was over $34 million for the 2019 “Dota 2” tournament The International. With such large prize pools on offer, it’s no surprise that many professional gamers are now making a living from playing video games.

The Modern Era of Esports

The modern era of esports is often considered to have started in the early 2000s with the launch of the original Counter-Strike game. However, the origins of esports can be traced back even further to the 1970s with the rise of arcade gaming. It wasn’t until the early 2000s though that esports really started to take off.

The Popularity of Esports

The first esports tournament took place in 1972 at Stanford University, featuring a Spacewar competition with a top prize of a year’s subscription to Rolling Stone magazine. But it wasn’t until the late 1990s that esports started to gain traction with the rise of internet connectivity and broadband speeds. This allowed for gamers to connect and compete with each other online in real-time. The late 1990s also saw the launch of popular first-person shooter games such as Quake and Counter-Strike, which further boosted the popularity of esports.

The early 2000s were a pivotal period for the esports industry, with the launch of several key tournaments and organizations that helped to professionalize the scene. In 2002, the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) organized the first professional esports tournament with a prize pool of $15,000. This was followed by the formation of Major League Gaming (MLG) in 2003, which helped to establish esports as a legitimate form of competitive gaming.

Today, esports is a multi-billion dollar industry with global appeal. Competitive gaming is now featured at major sporting events such as the Asian Games and X Games, while some of the world’s most iconic stadiums have been adapted to host large-scale esports tournaments. The popularity of esports shows no signs of slowing down and it is poised to become one of the biggest spectator sports in the world.

The Growth of Esports

The origin of esports is difficult to pinpoint, but most people agree that it started with hosted video game competitions in the 1970s. The first recorded esports event was held at Stanford University in 1972, where students competed in the Spacewar video game.

The 1990s saw a growth in both the popularity and the competitiveness of esports. The formation of clubs dedicated to playing video games started becoming more common, particularly in Europe. These clubs gave rise to organized, multi-player video game competitions which started attracting large audiences of spectators.

The late 1990s and early 2000s were a period of great experimentation for esports. Many different games were played in competitions, and various formats and rules were tested. It was also during this time that the first professional players began to emerge and competition became more structured.

The modern era of esports is generally considered to have begun around 2006-2007 with the release of two popular games: Counter-Strike: Source and League of Legends. These two games helped solidify fps and moba genres respectively as popular esports disciplines. Since then, the popularity of esports has continued to grow exponentially.