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Play, watch, or wager on competitive professional video games
Esports – Professional Play, Watch, or Wager Video Gaming
If you’re deeply into video gaming or have any close association with someone that does, it’s a fair bet that you’ve heard of Esports. If you’re on the fringes, play games for fun, or just plain have had your head deep in good books or other interesting stuff for the last few years you may not have.
If that’s the case, you surely will know about it soon. It’s already big business stuff and will only get bigger. Figures are bouncing around that state the industry is worth billions of dollars. How many billions exactly is fairly irrelevant. For everyday people like you and I (well definitely me and maybe you) once you get over such and such billion dollars it all becomes meaningless. Big money is big money right?
So what are we talking about?
To be precise – professional video gaming. With players starting off in lower leagues or streaming on Twitch and then working their way up into the big leagues, teams, and tournaments.
Not the skilled gaming you might enjoy from home on a console. Nor even that which you might play in competitive head to head matches or tournaments for cash in competititive real money video games.
Esports really is about making it professional. There are huge live events with competitive tournament-style contests held in arenas in big cities all over the world, teams that have the fame level (or infamy level) of a Manchester United or a Barcelona FC, massive cash prizes, and famous individual players that almost certainly started out just like you and me.
But there’s something different here than many of the other real money games we’ve covered on RealMoney.games, and it lies in the fact that this is player-based and spectator-based gaming.
Playing Esports For Money
This is the one type of real money gaming that not just anyone can play.
If you want to play poker you can do it no problem. Register somewhere, deposit, and play!
Lose your cash in a casino? Fill your boots!
Fancy a game of FIFA for a cash prize in a one against one match. Just go do it!
But playing Esports professionally is the dominion of a chosen few – those gamer’s who are at the top of the tree. Sure you might be strong enough to get into a local league and take some of the glory, but the big time is the preserve of those that are really making their love of video gaming pay.
The Spectator Side Of The Esports Experience
Experience is the key word here. The point is it is an experience, certainly once you’re into the realms of the big tournaments. This is all about entertainment and heroes. Almost the same as you get at a music concert or a major sporting event.
For some, watching Esports can be as much fun as being a participant.
So why classify it as a real money game when many of us won’t be able to actually play?
Well the bottom line is we just can’t ignore it. The industry is too big, it’s only going to grow, and there are one or two ways you can make money from it right now. Plus one day it could be one of us that’s stepping into a tournament arena, and when you hit this sort of growth in an industry there are normally enhancements and other opportunities following on behind.
So on this page we’ll explore as much as we can about the different aspects of Esports that make it unique. – the games, the tournaments, the names, and a whole lot more.
It’s an extensive subject and may well end up as the most talked about of all our real money games.
So strap in for the ride…….
Evolution – A Potted History
Remember those early video games and how they evolved from very basic game-play to more complex? Pong, Donkey Kong, Pacman, Space Invaders, Galaxian, and Sonic. Each one more complex than the last.
Since those days that change in complexity has grown exponentially. First to the initial FPS, RPG, and MMO titles, and then inexorably onwards to the games we know today.
As the games changed so did we as players, and a community grew of gaming fans intent on proving who was the best gamer. Casual contests began to take place, eventually leading to websites where you could play competitive video games for money.
There was a lot of interest and it was (and still is) great fun. Finally there was a real prospect of using skill to win money games.
Then it turned professional. Corporations and new start ups began to take an interest, and Esports was born.
It wasn’t long before players of tournaments were reaping the benefits of their gaming skills, winning tournaments which carried ever increasing cash prize pools. Dedicate Esports arenas, worldwide championships, multiple high class leagues were all suddenly on the agenda.
While the players had an outlet now to use their much-practiced gaming skills, the fans also got some engagement. This was a spectator sport, with the top gamer’s and the best teams on show either live in tournaments or streamed events.
Esports had come of age.
How To Make Money
So as we’ve seen, there are a few different ways to get involved in Esports and hopefully make some cash from the experience.
Play
If you want to play in a big Esports contest you’re going to be one of many. For sure, you’ll need to be a top notch gamer well practiced in all the titles played in tournament. It’s hard to break into this top echelon of players and teams.
Realistically the best chances you’ll have of getting competitive real money video gaming will be to play at one of the sites offering game contests. These can be either one against one or multi-player tournaments.
Organise
The organiser’s of events earn big money, though clearly you need to be a big name in that space already to have any major prospects of arranging an event. We won’t go into any depth on this here, but here’s a highly rated article that may give you a kickstart.
Bet
Wherever there’s a competitive sport, there will be a way to bet on outcomes. Esports is no different. As with any form of sports betting, if you’re well clued up in your chosen sport there are often some good opportunities to strike a winning bet. As we all know though, there are no guarantees. So be careful, bet cleverly, and don’t let it get to a point where it’s an addiction. Read more on the risks and steps to avoid them on the responsible gambling page.
You can place bets on Esports contests at well known bookmakers like Bet365, PaddyPower, and Skybet. Or try a site dedicated to Esports betting like Midnite.
For a full list of Esports betting options you can visit the GamblingSites.com dedicated page.
Types Of Esports Games
The games played in Esports contests fall under a number of formats:
First-person shooters/FPS
FPS titles offer game-play that’s exactly what it says – a shooter game where the play acts out from the perspective of the shooter.
MOBAs/Multiplayer Online Battle Arena
These are normally fought out by 2 teams going against each other, using skills and strengths while also protecting against any weaknesses. Most often this is all about protecting a base while attempting to overcome your opponents base.
League of Legends is a prime example. Two teams of five fight it out in LOL. The other most well known title is Dota 2.
There are other Esports competitions in card games like Hearthstone, sports games (take the FIFA video games series as an example), strategy games such as Starcraft, racing games, and fighting games like Street Fighter.
Fantasy Esports
Fantasy esports is very similar to traditional fantasy sports.
You’ll be creating a team of Esports professional players competing in a specific event or series of events. Your team builds up points depending on how your chosen players perform.
Sites that currently cater for fantasy Esports contests include:
- DraftKings – a major traditional fantasy sports operator
- EsportsPools – offering fantasy esports and other games
- Esportsone – research teams and players, build a lineup, and compete with friends
- FantasyEsports.gg – Play for free and win great prizes! Just choose a contest, pick your roster, watch and (hopefully) win
What Skills Do You Need To Play
To be good at Esports games involves a number of personal attributes:
- the ability to think and act strategically
- the skill to work well with other team members
- dedication and a desire to win
- timing skills
- fast reflexes
- calmness under pressure
- endurance, determination, and a competitive nature
If you’re betting on eSports you’ll need to have a good understanding of the abilities of different teams and of the different types of bet you can place, and always remember that betting comes with risks. Make sure you read the responsible gambling page.
Resources
As usual there are a handful of resources which might be useful.
Videos
You’ll find a wide collection of videos on Youtube, with some going into billions of views. Take a look at this channel run by theScore eSports.
Social
There’s plenty of up to date information posted regularly on the popular social networks. Twitter is always worth keeping an eye on, while Tumblr posts on eSports are another potential useful resource.
Info Websites
http://www.esports-news.co.uk/
streaming channel Smasher
https://www.reddit.com/r/esports/wiki/faq
Improving skills is of course of the utmost importance, and this Wikihow page on how to become a master gamer is worth a read for some basic pointers.
Dedicated eSports forums are probably the best go to for news, views, and discussions for anything eSports related. This one at DailyeSports looks to be the most well known and stands out as a good example.
The Future
The near future and the far future of Esports both have equal significance. Up and coming developments are most likely to centre on big sponsorship announcements, new tournaments and leagues.