The number of eSports competitions conducted within a year is impressive. But most of them are not worth your time. However, several annual events are so anticipated that even people far from eSports wait for them. Do you know what those are? Keep reading, and you’ll find out.
While also discovering why they got so famous.
Dota 2: The International
Dota 2 International is not occasionally in the first place on the list. This tournament was one of the first eSports competitions in the world, with a prize pool of over $1 mil.
The first International launch took time in 2011 at the palace in Cologne. During it, the players were just getting familiar with how Dota 2 works as the game just came out. Still, everybody knew the main mechanics due to their Dota 1 background.
Since then, Internationals have been conducted each consecutive year. Interestingly, Valve (event organizer) strives to choose a different city to run it. However, from 2012 to 2017, it has resided in Seattle.
What’s also cool about Int is how its prize pool is formed. A couple of months before a tournament, Valve releases an in-game item: Compendium. It costs $10 and allows its buyers to receive unique items and complete rewarding quests. And each purchased Compendium contributes a few bucks to the event prize pool. That way, Valve collected a record prize pool in 2021: $40 000 000+.
This year, International will take place in Seattle once again in October. It probably features 20+ teams with the sharpest Dota 2 skills worldwide. And that’s something you can capitalize off. We talk about wagering here.
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League of Legends: Worlds
It is a popular opinion that League of Legends is a Dota 2 rival. And considering that LoL’s biggest annual event was conducted in 2011, we can say that they go equally.
In fact, Worlds used to be conducted in the same month in Dota 2 TI: October (sometimes September). However, the first Worlds were not even close to the TI sizes.
It took place in Sweden and has featured a prize pool of just $99 550. However, the first event got noticed by sponsors. So Riot (LoL developer and even organizer) could improve the event before its second series. Starting from 2012, Words’ prize pool has never fallen below $2 000 000. But again, the peaking prize pool wasn’t even close to Dotas. It was just $6 450 000.
Speaking about a place to conduct the event, it has also differed, including Los Angeles, Seoul, Berlin, Paris, and others. In 2023, Worlds will be conducted in Sky Dome, Seoul. The event’s starting day will be 10.10, and finishing on 11.19.
CS:GO: Major
Now let’s switch to the shooter games. Of course, we couldn’t skip a legendary CS: GO. This game has different tendencies regarding event size. It doesn’t have them as big as TI or Worlds.
However, it has plenty of “minor” ones. Major is the most prominent of them.
CS: GO Major is initiated by the same Valve company (game dev). It happened in 2013 in Sweden at the DreamHack Winter. The tournament was organized by DreamHack company.
The prize pool was $250 000, and it featured 16 teams. Interestingly, earlier versions of CS also had Majors. However, they were not supported by Valve.
CS: GO Major may seem confusing for you. The event is parted into three tournament stages:
● New Challenger State (Offline Qualifier);
● New Legends State (Group Stage);
● New Champions Stage (Playoffs).
Each stage is conducted at a different time. And the task of the first two stages is to pick the strongest teams. At the same time, the Playoffs are an arena where the best of the best show off their skills.
Valorant: Champions
Here we go again. Here is CS: GO’s competitor Valorant. And its anticipated Champions Tour.
As the Valorant came out quite late, the Champions Tour launch date might not impress you: it’s 2021. However, considering Valorant became available in 2020, that’s quite quick. Of course, the event is organized and conducted by Riot and takes place in different cities.
Valorant Champions is divided into three stages: Challengers, Masters, and Champions. The Challengers is a low-tier competition, functioning as a barrier to the throw of weaker teams. The ones who get ahead enter the Masters, where just 16 players can find a way out of it. And traditionally, the Champions stage is a playoff: a performance of the best of the best.
This year, Valorant Champions will start on August 6 and finish on 26. It will be a fantastic clash of the 16 world’s best teams. So grab make sure to grab some snacks and don’t miss it!