3 of the biggest games in eSports history

You don’t have to be Einstein to know that esports is something of a big deal. It’s that huge: its current market value is sitting at 1.72 billion dollars, and by 2030, it’s expected to be hitting 6.75 billion dollars… talk about growth! But something far bigger than the gaming itself is the ability to place a bet on your favorite esports team. Gaming and gambling go hand in hand, and while they both make money, gambling trumps anything that it touches. That market reached 231 billion dollars in 2021, so we can only imagine where it will be in 2030.

While both of these marketplaces are creating worldwide phenomenons, we’re going to talk about what we do best – gaming. We’re going to give you the top three games in esports, in terms of fun, esports teams, and the amount you can win in a tournament. Bettors, hang onto your hats; casual observers, grab the edge of your seats, and let’s go!

Counter-Strike

CS:GO, now Counter-Strike 2 – whatever you call it, CS is at the pinnacle of the video game world. Though it’s far from the only game making a mark on the digital landscape, it’s certainly one of the trailblazers in esports history. The tactical first-person shooter game was launched in 2000 by Valve, and ever since, it’s attracted players in the millions… And that’s not to mention the watchers, either.

To play the game, you’re placed on a team, either the terrorist or counter-terrorist team, and your mission is to kill the opposing team. It’s a simple first-person strategy game, just like Fortnite, but its esports history exceeds its gaming ability. The tournaments are based on CS:GO’s statistics, seeing as Counter-Strike 2 was only launched two months ago. Sadly CS:GO has been removed from the servers, and we’re all forced to play Counter-Strike 2, but now they’ve fixed the pregame bugs, we’re happy with what we’re left with.

Counter-Strike’s tournaments offer prizes adding up to millions of dollars, and they attract a vast international fan base whenever one is running. These tournaments win their esports bettors even more money than the players – definitely something that is grabbing the attention of the gambling community. When it comes to betting sites for esports, Thunderpick is the one to go to, as not only do they hold championships and payout huge rewards, but they also offer crypto prizes for the winning team in CS2. The biggest prize pool in history for CS was the PGL Major Stockholm 2021, where the winning teams took home over 2 million dollars between them.

DOTA 2

Every single day, millions of players across the globe tune in to play DOTA. Also known as Defence of the Ancients, the game was launched in 2003 by Valve and is now the title holder for being the biggest game in esports history. Winning its teams millions, and being a brilliant game to watch for bettors, DOTA 2 is a phenomenon. To play, you join a team of five players in a multiplayer real-time strategy game (RTS). Your goal is to choose your avatar, also known as your “hero,” and defend your ancient by destroying the other team’s base.

The game is all strategy, and it takes a lot of skill to outplay the other team, which is why it sits so high in esports rankings. The world-renowned esports prize pool award goes to The International 2021, where the amount stood at a whopping 40 million dollars. Second place goes to 2019 The International, with 34 million dollars, so you can only imagine the magnitude of all the years that The International has been running. It’s huge!

If you’re looking to get stuck into a new game, then we highly recommend DOTA 2, as the funds are enormous, and the wins are highly attractive to old hands and newcomers alike.

Fortnite

One of the newer games in the world of esports, Fortnite is a game on a mission. Already outstripping some of the better-known games, Fortnite’s tournament prize pool is huge. Only released in 2017, the game is a multiplayer battle arena game that puts you into a world to either play in a team or solo. The tournament is a single-player tournament, so if you’re betting in the world of esports, then you have to pick your favorite individual, not your team.

The Fortnite World Cup Finals 2019 prize pool was 15.3 million dollars, and $3 million of it went to one individual called Bugha in the United States. Though it’s pretty new, they’re already keeping up with the tournaments, and they’re sky-high above competitors like League of Legends or Arena of Valor.

These three games are guaranteed to be big names for the foreseeable future in the eyes of esports, and though they aren’t the usual ones that we delve into on APKMODY, they’re ones that you should watch out for. We look for games that aren’t just about the prize pools, and instead consider the overall fun factor. We highly recommend Valorant and have collected some helpful tips for stepping into the esport space that way… just take a look!