Top 3 Cybersport Disciplines

Fifteen years ago, the concept of ‘cybersport’ caused many people to laugh and misunderstand. It seemed that video games were a sedentary pastime that could have nothing to do with sports. Those interested in placing bets on cybersports can visit RG.ORG to find reliable bookmakers. Now, the attitude has become more serious.

When you discover how much the prize money for tournaments is, your opinion about cybersports changes: we are talking about tens of millions of dollars.

Third place – Dota 2

Valve’s MOBA game doesn’t have the biggest gaming community, and the same goes for the game as a cyber sport. While the views of its official competitions are slightly higher than those of the competitors we’ve covered above, this pales in comparison to the size of the prize pools that Dota 2 has, which are incredible.

The first official international tournament, ‘The International,’ was held in 2011. The prize pool was 1.6 million dollars. Even today, only a few official competitions can boast such an amount, but this was just the beginning. In 2017, the prize fund of ‘The International’ was 23 million dollars, and in 2021, it was increased to a record 40 million. By the way, the winner was the Russian team’s ‘Team Spirit’.

The prize pool dropped to $18.9 million in 2022, but it’s still a considerable amount of money for the cyber industry. Moreover, there are many other tournaments on Dota 2, not only within ‘The International’. Valve’s MOBA is one of the most significant and best disciplines for cybersports on PC.

Second place – Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Everyone has heard of Counter-Strike, even those who are not into gaming at all. Such popularity is largely due to the project’s long history, which attracts a huge audience. Counter-Strike is a unique game played by schoolchildren, students, and adults whose age has long passed the fourth decade.

This explains the game’s popularity as a cybersport discipline. However, it is instead the merit of the developers who still need to change the principles of competition in favour of making money.

The size of their prize funds is about 1-2 million dollars, and 300-500 thousand people regularly watch the matches. The final competitions are watched many times more, which is not surprising: everyone is interested in seeing the best teams in the discipline.

First place – League of Legends

The crowning jewel of modern cybersports is League of Legends. For the second year in a row, Riot Games’ MOBA is the most-watched cybersport discipline in the world. The regular online attendance of its official tournaments is half a million people, and the peak number of viewers exceeds one and a half million. These are the most significant projects from the top 10 cybersport games.

Many gamers may disagree because ‘LOL’ is unpopular in Europe or America. Then where do so many views come from? It’s all about the Asian audience. In the territory of China and South Korea, the League of Legends is very popular. If the number one MOBA in the West is Dota 2, in Asia, it is ‘LOL’. Given how many people live in the Far East, it is not surprising that the number of spectators at League of Legends tournaments is enormous.

Many gamers may disagree because ‘LOL’ is unpopular in Europe or America. Then why are there so many views? It’s all about the Asian audience. In the territory of China and South Korea, the League of Legends is very popular. If the number one MOBA in the West is Dota 2, in Asia, it is ‘LOL’. Considering how many people live in the Far East, it is unsurprising that the number of spectators at League of Legends tournaments is enormous.

The same cannot be said for the size of the prize pools. The largest official competition, the League of Legends World Championship, drew $2.2 million in 2022, much less than Dota 2. Despite this, the game is still the most popular cybersport discipline in the world.