Everybody knows that esports is one of the fastest growing sports and entertainment trends in the world. The billion-dollar industry is awash with all manner of first-person shooters, battle arena titles and battle royales that always throw up plenty of incredible gaming performances. Whilst the idea of sitting down to watch other people play video games may be a bit odd, there is no doubting the fact that esports have somehow become a massive spectator sport.
For the outsider, esports can often seem like a murky and impenetrable world. Although 200 million people tuned in to watch last year’s League of Legends World Championship final, this battle royale game is packed with weird characters that aren’t too far removed from fantasy blockbusters like Lord of the Rings.
So, if you are a sports fan looking to get better acquainted with esports, then which game provides a good gateway? Battle royale titles like Fortnite have become hugely popular over the past year, but the cartoonish graphics may prove a little off-putting for serious sports fans. Whilst the battle royale game, Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds, looks a bit more serious, unless you like the idea of watching gamers spend ages walking around looking for ‘loot’, then there is a good chance that you might find PUBG a bit boring.
Thankfully, it seems that there’s a good generation of sports simulators that are starting to prove immensely popular. Everything from soccer titles like FIFA to the NBA2K basketball franchise have managed to garner decent viewing audiences. But surely, if you want to watch basketball, then you will probably just want to watch the real thing?
This is why first-person shooters are a great introduction to esports. It’s a well-known fact that many top NFL stars love titles like Call of Duty. Plus, the Pittsburgh Steelers players, Le’Veon Bell and Alejandro Villanueva even made a surprise appearance in the Call of Duty: WWII title.
Whilst Call of Duty is a good option, the game has yet to make the highest tier of esports tournaments. This is why Counter Strike Global Offensive could be a good option for esports newbies. There’s no shortage of huge CSGO tournaments with big money prize pools, plus there are even betting resources like that counterstrikebetting.com allow you to place bets securely on the outcomes of these first-person shooter contests.
There’s a good reason as to why NFL players like Ricky Lumpkin spent many hours streaming CSGO. This is because the multiplayer game is so action-packed, and it relies on teamwork that encourages each side to work together to get a winning result. Although there are plenty of CSGO star players like Coldzera who can always produce the goods in a Counter Strike deathmatch, it’s only those teams who communicate well and outthink their competitors that are going to come out on top.
Take a look at the recent IEM Katowice Major tournament that took place earlier this month in Poland. This was won by a Danish team called Astralis who, on paper, looked fairly ordinary. But it was the way that Astralis managed to work together to consistently outclass the opposing team that made this CSGO tournament such enthralling viewing.
Many traditional sports broadcasters have been skeptical about games likes Counter Strike as a result of the pretty violent content. But if you like a good Hollywood blockbuster, then you will appreciate that titles like CSGO deliver plenty of high-powered action and successfully marries it to the sporting finesse of the best NFL clash. So, if you wanna check out esports, give CSGO a try.