The Most Popular Games On The Competitive eSports Circuit Right Now
Competitive gaming is growing in popularity as it showcases the very best gamers in the world as they tackle your favorite games.
If you’ve never watched some professional eSports matches before, it is well worth looking into. The industry is thriving, and it’s more exciting than you initially suspect. If you’re an avid gamer that wants to start taking in the competitive scene, here are the most popular games to start watching:
DOTA 2
Defense of the Ancients 2 is a highly popular game in the competitive scene. It’s an online battle arena game where two teams of five compete against one another. Both teams defend an area on the map, and they have to try and destroy a structure inside the other team’s base. It’s become wildly popular due to the strategic nature of the game, with new ideas and methods for besting the opposition coming up in every new tournament. It reels in massive numbers on Twitch when live events are broadcast, and it’s a fairly easy game to learn to play.
Valorant
A new game compared to the others on this list, Valorant is only a year old, but it’s taken the streaming world by storm. For the last few months, it’s been right at the top of the Twitch streaming charts, largely thanks to how addictive the game is to play – and watch. It’s an FPS game that’s built around accurate gunplay in intense situations. A typical Valorant match will feature two teams of 5, each made up of different agents. The agents have their own unique abilities that make them good for attacking, defending, clearing sites, splitting sites, and so on. Part of the joy of the game is picking the right agent for each map and team. It’s very much a Search and Destroy-style game, with one team planting a bomb and the other team trying to either kill them or defuse the bomb. The roles switch after 12 rounds, and it’s the first to win 13 rounds.
The competitive scene is in its infancy, but we’ve already seen some impressive figures from the recent Valorant Master’s event in Berlin. Top eSports Teams have but through squads for this game, and it’s certainly one that’s going to grow. A key reason Valorant is such a fun competitive shooter is that the pros do things we regulars could never do. It’s enjoyable to marvel at how they play the game, picking up pointers along the way.
FIFA
The FIFA franchise has always been one of the big names in competitive gaming. Some actual soccer teams have got eSports teams that compete for them in tournaments. It’s one of the biggest and most complex games on the competitive circuit, with all sorts of competitions and tournaments running throughout the year.
The interesting thing about FIFA is that it’s actually started making it to betting websites. A lot of bookies are starting to allow bets on eSports football matches, and it’s proving to be very popular. The new FIFA 22 season is about to start soon, so it makes sense to take advantage of some of the deals you can find online. Plenty of bookies have offers, like this BetRivers bonus code that you can claim. Check that your betting site of choice has FIFA games on it, and you can join in with the fun as well.
Call of Duty
Famed as one of the best FPS franchises of all time, Call of Duty has taken the competitive scene by storm. What makes it popular is that most gamers grew up playing COD, so there’s a nostalgia to it. Some of the most popular streamers are professional COD players, and it’s where most of the big teams in eSports made their name – like 100Thieves and Optic Gaming.
Another thing that makes competitive COD popular is the diversity in tournaments. You have the base COD game that plays out Search & Destroy matches in a high-intense fashion, and you also have COD Warzone that follows a Battle Royale formula. So, regardless of what your FPS style of choice is, there’s something for you to enjoy with COD.
Rocket League
A game that involves cars flying around an arena trying to score goals with a giant soccer ball. The concept behind Rocket League is what makes it so entertaining and popular. It’s a unique game, and the professional scene is a cut above the amateur one. That’s what makes it such a fascinating eSport; the pros will do things with their cars that regular gamers could only dream of.
When watching Rocket League events, you’ll be blown away by how impressive everyone is. One mistake is all it takes for the other team to score, and the matches can be highly intense. It’s one of those games that you watch once and instantly become inspired to play.
League of Legends
League of Legends, or LoL as everyone knows it, is arguably the biggest competitive game in the world. It’s a team-based battle arena with over 140 agents to choose from – and it’s even getting its own Netflix series in the coming months. The format is similar to DOTA 2, with two teams of 5 each defending their half of the map.
A team wins by successfully pushing over into the other team’s half of the map, destroying the Nexus at the heart of it. People go crazy for this game, and its constant updates keep it highly popular. Amazingly, a whopping 3.8 million people tuned in to a LoL tournament last year, making it one of the most-watched eSports events of all time.
The world of competitive gaming is growing year after year. We’ve listed some of the most popular games at this current moment, and there are plenty of honorable mentions as well. CS: GO deserves a shoutout, as do Fortnite and Rainbow Six Siege. In general, shooter or battle arena games seem to be the most popular – it’s only FIFA that stands out as something different in the current scene.