The outbreak of COVID-19 across the world brought with it postponements and cancellations never before seen in the world of sport, at least in this generation, with pretty much every leading league in every single community being affected. 

One area that has found itself going in the opposite direction however is video gaming. Competitive video gaming, known as Esports, was already a blossoming behemoth before the pandemic, but the outbreak of COVID-19 has helped launch gaming to staggering new heights and allowed it to showcase all of the benefits it has in the new world, as opposed to its more traditional real-world sports. 

Here are the world’s 5 biggest Esports that you absolutely need to follow. 

• Fortnite

 The undisputed cultural phenomenon of 2018 and 2019, Fortnite is a title that currently boasts a fanbase of over 250 million active players on its servers right now. With countless references in films, television and music, Fortnite was always going to make a splash in the world of Esports. 

The 2019 Fortnite World Cup was the Esports event of last year’s summer and pulled in audience and mainstream media attention in a way that the sector had rarely seen before. Sixteen year old superstar ‘Bugha’ scooped up $3 million of the tournament’s $35 million prize purse, and this year’s event already looks set to better the heights set by last year’s tournament.

• Overwatch

Blizzard Entertainment gave the world games such as World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Diablo and Heroes of the Storm, but Overwatch was their first venture into the world of competitive first person shooters. Even before its launch, it was clear that Blizzard were targeting the world of Esports with its release, announcing the formation of the Overwatch League in 2016 and overwatch boosting has been proved icing on the cake.

Not only did the first Overwatch League feature twenty of the best teams around the world battling it out for a share of a hefty $3.5 million prize purse, but it lay the foundations for games like Call of Duty and League of Legends establishing leagues of their own. 

• Dota 2 

One of the oldest Esports in the world, Dota 2 was released back in July 2013 by Valve Corporation as a sequel to the first Defence of the Ancients franchise. The game is easily the most strategic of any title on this list and possesses a skill ceiling higher than any other leading game. 

Dota 2 also boasts the biggest event in the entire history of gaming with its annual International tournament. From 2015 to 2020, the tournament has broken records for the largest prize purses, with the most recent tournament going past the $36 million marks. 

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Smashing plenty of records of its own recently, Counter-Strike is the world’s leading first person shooter. Companies like ESL and DreamHack help make this one of the most stacked games in terms of competitions across the year, and the meta across the top twenty or so teams has never been more exciting. 

The game recently broke a record one million concurrent players, and is still going strong in the aftermath of the COVID outbreak. Events such as ESL Cologne loom on the horizon, and the ESL One: Rio Major this year looks set to be the biggest and most hyped event in the game’s history. Definitely one to check out.

• League of Legends

Undoubtedly the game most think of when they hear the word ‘Esports’, League of Legends is the oldest and still biggest competitive game in the world as we make our way through 2020. Watched by over 250 million people, boasting the most popular esports betting markets  and leading the way with its sponsorship programmes and ever-evolving pro circuits.

The League of Legends calendar is always rounded off with the famous World Championship at the end of the competitive season however. ‘Worlds’ features 24 of the best teams in the game during the year, regularly pulls in over 4 million total views on Twitch and boasts a prize purse of over $2.25 million.