Did you know that the best esports games have been around for years now and that you can even get a college scholarship for playing them? Yes, it’s true. You can get paid to play Overwatch. While some still debate whether the sport is actually a sport or not, colleges esports clubs have been around since 2010.
In 2018 there were more than 70 college varsity esports programs across the US, 30 of them also offering a scholarship. In the UK, the first esports scholarship is available at Roehampton University from the autumn of 2019 and we believe this is just the beginning of a new trend in Europe.
In any event, the esports titles that are popular in 2019 are rather familiar. Today, we present to you a list of games that not only continue to be some of the most popular competitive games but also offer great opportunities for anyone who wants to pursue a professional career within esports.
1. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
The Counter-Strike franchise developed as a mode to Valve's Half-Life has been one of the defining competitive experiences. There is no doubt about that. Today, there is millions worth of prize pools every year, and the game is as popular as ever. True, there has been a small dip in the population, but Valve has been addressing that by releasing the game as a F2P title.
Nevertheless, the competitive scene is as strong as ever, which makes it a truly exceptional experience by itself. The days of competitive CS: GO are hardly numbered and you can rest assured that CS: GO is one of the oldest titles that continue to be played today.
2. Dota 2
Dota 2 started being competitive way before Valve developed it as a stand-alone game. Back in the day, Dota was just a modification for Blizzard's Warcraft, and guess what – it was already quite popular and everyone appreciated it. Since the arrival of the standalone, Dota 2 has been the defining gaming experience, because of its big prize pool. Over $32 million were allocated in 2019 for a single event.
3. League of Legends
League of Legends is another popular title that you will be interested in come what may. The game developed by Riot Games – owned by Tencent Holdings – is one of the most popular MOBA games out there. While the prize pools will definitely not reach Dota 2's amounts, League of Legends has an ever-larger player base. Viewership for the Worlds – the World Cup for the game – managed to gather an estimated 100 million concurrent viewers, an achievement that will hardly be repeated by any other game any time soon.
4. Overwatch
Overwatch is one of the latest arrivals. The game started to show itself as a worthy competitive title back in 2018 and it has been going strong in 2019. The Overwatch League (OWL), as the main competitive structure for the game is called, definitely has some pretty convincing league model. Overwatch is, in fact, one of the few games that rely on local presence, i.e. teams investing in specific cities around the world and identifying themselves with those cities. In the past, and in most other games, the gamers population had to migrate. Just take for example Dota 2 where the best teams are multinational, other than the Chinese who are going strong without the need to add foreign players.
5. Call of Duty
Following the huge success of Overwatch, Blizzard and their partners from Activision with whom they merged a few years ago, have decided to replicate the success of the OWL. Enter the Call of Duty World Cup League, an organization that will create sponsorship deals around the world and builds a competitive structure for Call of Duty similar to that of the OWL.
Looking for one of the most popular titles these days? Call of Duty is definitely it.
6. Clash Royale
Clash Royale is developed by Supercell and it's one of the few games that is played competitively from a mobile phone. Clash Royale is definitely having a good time and people are loving it. A sort of a 'tower-defense,' game, competitive mobile gaming has been spurred by the arrival of this unique game that has enjoyed great reception by the community.
7. Clash of Clans
Another Supercell stroke of genius can be seen in Clash of Clans. Yes, the game is once again for mobile and it involves building towers, invading cities and playing from your smartphone. We can definitely see how Clash of Clans will remain one of the most popular games.
8. Fortnite
Fortnite is going as a competitive game, but is it really? Despite a $100 million investment and a lot of skills invested in the game, nobody really approaches Fortnite as an esports – yet. Things may be changing moving into 2020 however.
Are you ready to pursue a professional career within eSport? Check out the list and try your skills at one of the online betting sites for eSports!
If casino games are more your thing then check out our casino review page for a great selection of online casinos that will offer you a great selection of casino games!
.png)
