Esports is gaining popularity worldwide and the games that are being played by the premier Esports athletes are expanding rapidly. Read on for a summary of the most popular games in Esports & some statistics that might have you raising your eyebrows about how lucrative the tournaments are.
Dota 2
Dota 2 is a game that is played worldwide by millions of players daily. The game consists of 5v5 team clashes and is the deepest multiplayer action RTS game ever made. The game is free to play, and with such a large player pool, players are due to encounter some interesting characters and battles.
In 2022 there were 119 professional Dota 2 tournaments held. The prize money of those tournaments topped almost $33 million. 1051 professional Esports athletes competed in such events. Dota 2 is especially well positioned to be a top dog in Esports for years to come because the Dota Pro Circuit features ultra-high-level streaming regularly in the game client, on Twitch, and Steam.TV.
Arena of Valor
Arena of Valor is a 5v5 online battle game where players master unique and powerful heroes. The game includes characters from the DC Comics, and each character has a special set of abilities.
Players start the game at a base level and can earn XP several different ways. Players’ objectives are to kill non-player creatures such as minions or monsters, defeating other players, destroying structures, passively through time and through special items that can be purchased through the shop.
Arena of Valor ranked second among all professional Esports games with a total tournament prize money of almost $32 million. In 2022, there were 116 professional Esports tournaments for Arena of Valor, consisting of 751 different Esports athletes who participated.
Player Unknown Battleground Mobile
Player Unknown Battleground Mobile, better known in the gaming community as “PUBG,” is a player versus player battle royale style game. Players are spawned into a large-scale map and must be the last man standing to reign champion. Players can enter matches as a solo, in duos, or even with a small team.
Player Unknown Battleground Mobile hosted a total of 75 professional tournaments in 2022. The total prize money of the tournaments amounts to almost $24 million. A total of 1629 esports athletes participated in such tournaments.
Most Popular Games in Esports: The Future
It is only a matter of time before parents and young people see the financial potential of participating in Esports. In the next decade, I would expect to see Esports-geared training programs as well as academic programs in United States universities. Such a move would truly bring Esports into the mainstream sporting flow in America.
But how will the list of most popular games in esports change? Time will tell!
A LOOK AT THE 2022 DOTA PRO CIRCUIT WINTER TOUR
