People have enjoyed competitive gaming for decades. However, the industry and money around esports is a relatively recent development. Currently, esports is a billion-dollar industry. It includes the biggest esports games and titles in various genres, from simulators to shooters and all that comes in-between. Here are five top esports in games that you cannot miss in 2020. We have compiled the following list keeping in mind many different factors such as events, viewership, and overall success of these top esports games.
Top 5 eSports Games in 2020
CS: GO
Even after eight years of its launch, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive continues to be one of the best esports games. With its frequent updates, an array of events each year, and a profitable market in weapon knives and skins, it is very successful.
Last year, the biggest tournament for the game, IEM Katowice major, took place. It had a one million dollar prize and accumulated over 1.2 million views.
League of Legends – #2 in eSports Games
LoL (League of Legends) is one of the two MOBA (Massive Online Battle Arena) top esports games dominating the industry currently. It has been eleven years since its launch. The total prize money awarded till now across more than 2400 events is a shocking $73.5 million. By far, the most successful and popular market for the game is South Korea. In fact, eight out of the top ten earners in LoL belong to this country.
Dota 2
Dota 2 is the direct competitor of LoL. It comes from the same studio that is behind CS: GO, Valve. While LoL is mostly popular in Asian countries, the top earners in this game are from sixteen different nations, including France, Romania, China and, the USA.
Moving on to the prize pool, Dota 2 beats all other esports games due to their brilliant method of funding. Dota 2’s annual event is called The International. In its build-up, fans can buy what is called the “Compendium” in-game. It has all kinds of content, from consumables and new modes to challenges and cosmetics. 25% of these proceeds go directly to the prize pool of The International. Therefore The International in 2019 had a prize pool of over 34.3 million dollars. Along with the 200 million dollars that they have offered throughout the years.
Fortnite
Some people do not consider Fortnite to be an esport due to its developer Epic’s tendency to make changes before huge events. They are also unable to maintain a healthy metagame. Still, the fact that more than 80 million dollars have been distributed as tournament rewards over two years goes to show it is one of the biggest esports games.
Call of Duty
One of the top esports games that is only available on the console: Call of Duty’s competitive scene is different in the sense that there is a brand new title every year. Due to the game’s yearly release schedule, players are required to learn the latest details, the ins-and-outs of an entirely new game each October. Currently, we are on COD: Modern Warfare.
Similar to what Activision has done with Overwatch since the last couple of years, the Call of Duty League now has franchise-based events. There are twelve location-based teams across Europe and North America, such as Toronto Ultras, Los Angeles Guerillas, and the London Royal Ravens.
While there have not been many large-scale events in the previous years, one can tune into Call of Duty esports live every two weeks as the twelve teams compete for six million dollars.
