Sportsbooks

Esports has become one of the fastest-growing markets of the past decade. Data analytics firm Newzoo describes esports as the “biggest thing in the tech market since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007.”

The term ‘esports’ simply refers to electronic sports. It is used to describe competitive gaming at a professional level, with the best esports athletes often regarded as the best globally in their respective fields. Esports simply converts video game playing into a playing sport, with viewership running into hundreds of thousands. In some cases, it involves individuals. Most times, however, it involves teams. Young people are the major participants in esports since they can earn while playing their favorite video games.

Like traditional sports, esports makes money via branding, advertisements, and sales from merch. The global eSports industry raked in over $950 million in 2020. The esports market is projected to grow rapidly in a few years and it is estimated that the revenue will increase to $1.6 billion by 2023.

How Does Esports Work?

Esports tournaments are organized, professionals compete, they win, and that’s the end. However, there are several rules and regulations that players must abide by, but the rules are not complex. 

It starts with the formation and funding of an esports team, this is particularly important because self-sponsored teams may not be allowed to participate in tournaments and competitions. 

Like any other sport, the goal of esports players is to be the best among the best. Esports athletes are contracted to play, just like a footballer or basketball, and the teams practice and play games just like traditional sports. Depending on the game, several tournaments and events are hosted yearly with six-figure winnings up for grabs, and even up to a million sometimes.

How Is Esports Organized?

Unlike traditional sports where there is usually one professional league for each sport, esports has multiple leagues for each game. Additionally, there are specific consoles for specific esports leagues. For instance, the Call of Duty World League involves playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 specifically on the PlayStation 4 console. 

Other leagues like the European Gaming League (EGL), Cybergamer, and Ultimate Battle are specific to a particular region. Ultimate Battle is played locally in India, and the EGL is played in Europe, including the UK, while Cybergamer is specific to the Oceania Region including New Zealand and Australia. 

Despite this, esports is international in every sense of the word, so it’s only normal that international leagues are established. An excellent example of this kind of league is the Electronic Sports League which was established in 2000 and is headquartered in Cologne, Germany. It is the biggest esports organization globally.

There are two ways to access esports games. Players can attend the live event where they have to purchase a ticket. Another viable alternative is to stream the event. This is usually done via Twitch.tv, Youtube Gaming, or Mixer. The Esports Calendar is a comprehensive resource for finding the esports events taking place.

Some of the most popular esports tournaments include: 

• The International Dota2 Championships
• Evolution Championship Series
• Halo World Championships
• Major League Gaming
• League of Legends World Championships
• Intel Extreme Masters
• Capcom Pro Tour
• Call of Duty Championship

Esports Formats

There are several esports tournaments for all kinds of games. However, there are 4 major categories that every esports game falls under. They include:

First-person Shooter

This involves using weapons and strategy to achieve tactical goals which can range from defense to shooting as many people as possible. It can be played as an individual arena-style contest as seen in games like Overwatch and Halo,  or it can be in the form of a team-based fight as represented in Call of Duty and Counterstrike.

Fighting games

Combat games have always been a popular feature in couch-based competitions and arcade battles. These games involve mixed martial art and players deploy a combo of timing, positioning, fundamentals, and special skills to defeat opponents. This is represented in games like Street Fighter and SuperSmash.

Real-time Strategy

This involves a combination of strategic planning and swift decision making. Players have to manage resources, develop structures, mount defenses, and launch attacks. This is represented in games like Warcraft III, StarCraft: Brood War, and StarCraft II.

Multiplayer online battle arena

Gotten from a combination of the strategic planning and tactical attack of Real-time Strategy and the individual skills in First-Person Shooter, MOBAs shifts the RTS action to smaller divisions of even stronger units- generally referred to as Heroes, each handled by one player, then the struggle is converted into an opportunity for team play. “Dota (Defense of the Ancients)”, “Dota 2” and “League of Legends”.

Esports Betting

There are several ways of betting on esports. Esports betting is fast becoming a popular betting feature in many sportsbooks.

Real-money Betting

Similar to traditional wagers on sports like football, bets are placed on specific odds. If the predictions are correct, your winnings will be paid out. Bets can be placed on several outcomes such as the winners of individual matches and tournament winners.

Some of the most popular types of real-money eSports bets include:

1. Draw: Here, you are betting on whether the outcome of the match will result in a draw. 
2. Group of Winner: Wagers are placed on the group that includes the final winner.
3. Handicap bet: Here, a sportsbook sets a margin, otherwise known as a line. This gives an unfavorable team a ‘handicap advantage’. So you have to bet on the winner of the game, whether it’s the team with the handicap advantage or the other team.
4. Tournament winner: Wagers are placed on the overall winner of the tournament. 
5. Over/Under: You place bets on the number predicted by the sportsbook for a specific statistic in the game. Wagers are placed on whether the actual number is higher or lower than the bookmaker’s odds.

Fantasy Betting

Fantasy betting is another way of betting on esports. It works just like daily fantasy sports for traditional sports, but this features esports athletes instead.

Sources

• Gerbis, Nicholas. “How Professional Gaming Works.” How Stuff Works. Aug 6, 2016. (Dec. 3,2020)
• https://money.howstuffworks.com/professional-gaming.htm
  De la Navarre, Tristan “Esports Tournaments & Leagues Guide” Line Ups. June 5, 2020. (Dec 4, 2020)
• https://www.lineups.com/esports/esports-tournaments-leagues-guide/
  De la Navarre, Tristan “eSports Teams & Players: How eSports Teams Work” Line Ups. July 15, 2020. (Dec 4, 2020) https://www.lineups.com/esports/esports-teams-players/
• “eSports market revenue worldwide from 2018 to 2023.” Statistica. Oct. 13, 2020 (Dec4, 2020) https://www.statista.com/statistics/490522/global-esports-market-revenue/
• “HOW TO BET ON ESPORTS: UNDERSTANDING ODDS AND MARKETS” https://esportbet.com/how-to-bet/
• “An Expert’s Guide to Esports Betting in 2020” https://www.gamblingsites.com/esports-betting/