Buzz
The Top Trending eSports Titles Today
Top Trending eSports Games Right Now
1. Dota 2
Originating from a custom map in the strategy game Warcraft III by Blizzard Entertainment, Dota 2 emerged under the helm of IceFrog, the mind behind the Dota map. In 2009, Valve Corporation recruited IceFrog to lead the design team for Dota 2, which officially launched in 2013.
Dota 2 boasts not only stunning graphics developed on Valve's powerful Source Engine platform but also a diverse strategic gameplay featuring over 100 heroes, each with distinct roles and a variety of skills. With its 5v5 format, players can devise countless combinations of heroes and strategies to secure victory.
After 6 years of development, Dota 2 stands as the premier eSports title with the highest prize pool tournaments, totaling nearly $200 million USD. Despite a slight decline in player numbers due to the emergence of new eSports titles, Dota 2 tournaments continue to captivate audiences with record-breaking viewership numbers.
2. Counter Strike: Global Offensive
As the latest installment of the renowned FPS eSports franchise Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) faced a challenging start upon its release in 2012. Amidst the dominance of Counter-Strike 1.6 in the eSports arena, the significant changes in graphics and gameplay mechanics made it difficult to attract players accustomed to earlier versions.
Through relentless efforts of the development team, who constantly listened, adapted, and improved the product, CS:GO gradually garnered attention from professional gamers and experienced rapid growth since late 2014. Professional tournament systems were established, and viewership numbers surged.
In late 2018, Valve made a bold decision to transition CS:GO from a paid game to Free to Play. Player numbers skyrocketed in the first half of 2019, along with the total prize pool of professional tournaments nearing $90 million USD. CS:GO undoubtedly maintains its position in the eSports scene for the foreseeable future.
3. League of Legends
League of Legends remains the world's most popular eSports title with over 80 million monthly players. Despite nearing its 10th anniversary, LoL has experienced only minor fluctuations in player numbers, hardly worth mentioning.
League of Legends offers more accessible gameplay compared to titles like Dota 2, with moderate system requirements allowing players without high-end machines to excel. International LoL tournaments continue to attract large audiences of varying ages, including a significant female fan base. To date, LoL's total prize pool has reached approximately $70 million USD, and the game shows no signs of slowing down in its future growth.
4. Overwatch
Overwatch made waves upon its release in 2016, attracting a staggering number of players within a short period. It was a time when Overwatch dominated conversations, wallets opened for Overwatch, and stepping outside meant encountering discussions about Overwatch. However, after just one year of development, player numbers dwindled significantly in the Asian region due to cultural differences in gaming preferences.
To this day, Overwatch maintains a loyal player base primarily in Europe and North America, with continuous updates and a tournament system consistently ranked among the top 10 eSports systems worldwide. In 2018, Overwatch received the award for Best eSports Game of the Year.
5. Rainbow Six Siege
As Ubisoft's tactical shooter title, Rainbow Six Siege had a disappointing start, but it is gradually winning over many enthusiasts of first-person shooter games, including those who transitioned from Counter-Strike.
R6S is hailed as the ultimate team-oriented tactical shooter, continuously challenging players to improve their individual skills and strategic thinking. It's a hardcore competitive game that often proves difficult for younger gamers to access.
R6S's tournament system garnered significant attention in 2018 and continues to thrive in 2019, becoming one of the most talked-about tournament systems.
6. Fortnite: Battle Royale
Fortnite emerged as the top Battle Royale game of 2018, generating billions in revenue for developer Epic Games in just under a year and attracting a global player base of up to 20 million.
Despite ongoing debates over whether Battle Royale games like Fortnite should be recognized as eSports, Fortnite's tournament system has surpassed stalwarts like Starcraft II, reaching a total tournament prize pool of $35 million USD. It's worth noting that in 2019, Epic Games will allocate $100 million USD for major Fortnite tournaments to further elevate the game's eSports status.
7. PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
Although unable to compete with its rival Fortnite and even falling behind, PUBG still maintains a remarkable online player base of nearly 400,000 concurrent players. Despite losing its title as the hottest Battle Royale game after two years, PUBG Mobile's popularity remains unabated.
PUBG also boasts significant tournament systems with a total prize pool of $12 million USD. Considering its achievements in less than a year, thousands of other games aspire to emulate PUBG's success.
8. Starcraft II
Starcraft II, a rare gem in the Real-Time Strategy (RTS) genre, remains firmly entrenched at the top of the eSports scene, while its counterpart Warcraft III is on the decline along with other once-popular titles like Age of Empires, some of which have faded into obscurity without international tournaments.
As a strategy game, Starcraft II's player base has never been exceptionally high, but in terms of eSports, it boasts nearly 2000 professional players participating in major tournaments, trailing only Fortnite by 500 players despite Fortnite's team-based gameplay, whereas Starcraft II emphasizes solo competition. The total prize pool for Starcraft II tournaments reached $30 million USD by early 2019.
9. FIFA
FIFA remains the beloved sports simulation game of over 20 million gamers worldwide, highlighting the enduring appeal of this long-standing sports franchise, with a new installment released each year.
Despite lacking large prize pools and a high frequency of tournaments, FIFA continues to attract the best professional gamers, with the latest iteration being FIFA Online 4.
10. Rocket League
Rocket League offers an incredibly engaging experience where players control racing cars to play soccer on a large stadium. Neither the developer Psyonix nor anyone else anticipated Rocket League's ascent to eSports prominence, as its initial purpose was solely for entertaining purposes.
The Rocket League Championship Series is now the world's most-watched eSports tournament, attracting nearly 600 professional gamers competing in about 300 annual tournaments.
11. Hearthstone
Hearthstone, Blizzard's magical card game, continues to draw in new players despite criticism of its balance issues. By the end of 2018, Hearthstone had amassed over 100 million players. With 830 annual tournaments and a total prize pool exceeding $17 million USD, Hearthstone remains a powerhouse in the eSports scene.
Among the 2000 professional gamers, Vietnam boasts Ngô Minh Đức, a Hearthstone professional who clinched the championship in the Asia region and reached the top 8 globally.
12. Arena of Valor
Known to Vietnamese gamers as Liên Quân Mobile, this mobile game by Garena stands out as one of the hottest eSports titles today.
Its advantage lies in its mobile platform, allowing gameplay anytime, anywhere without the need for a high-end computer. While international tournaments are limited, Arena of Valor boasts a relatively high total prize pool of $4.5 million USD for a mobile game, a benchmark difficult for any other mobile eSports title to reach.
With its release on the Nintendo Switch and upcoming launch on the PlayStation 4, Arena of Valor has a tremendous opportunity for future growth, with more tournaments likely to emerge.
With the continuous growth of eSports, many competitive gaming products will continue to be introduced in the future, ensuring ongoing evolution within the Electronic Sports industry.
