eSports has slowly evolved into a cultural phenomenon. Across Asia, North America and Europe, the best pro gamers are competing for a share in hundreds of thousands of dollars at each tournament, watched by thousands if not millions of people around the globe. The very thought of professional gaming and competing is still battling perceptions of obscurity, but the truth is that eSports actually dates back decades, leading to what we know as the stadium-filling juggernaut today. Let’s take a look back at where it all started.
The Beginning
According to Kotaku, the very first video game competition took place at Stanford University way back in October, 1972. That was well before the gaming PC and console had a common play in the family home. The game was Spacewar, a revolutionary two-player battle in which competing virtual spaceships combat each other while avoiding a dying star, which is constantly pulling on their ships. Simple in execution but rather complex in theory for the time. Funnily enough, the winner of that tournament went on to land a year’s subscription to Rolling Stone, which at the time was probably a rather valuable asset. A man name Bruce Baumgart is attributed for having won this tournament, and as such goes down as the world’s first eSports champion.
Soon after, the arcade craze took hold, and a little known game by the name of Space Invaders kickstarted a new generation of eSports. It was in 1980 that the very first Space Invaders Championship was held by Atari, attracting more than 10,000 entrants. While eSports these days made be considered rather “niche” by the mainstream, this championship generated widespread media attention due to the innovative and inspiring nature of the technology driving it. Space Invaders took over living rooms and became a household name, and as such, a competition focused on it would unsurprisingly generate a lot of community interest.
The late 1970s and 1980s continued this trend. Video game tournaments for the likes of Pac-Man and Donkey Kong Country were featured in prominent magazines and newspapers, while the Guinness Book Of Records created the Video Game Masters Tournament, which was a series of high score contests for a variety of arcade games. eSports even had its own primetime coverage, with a show called Starcade continuing the high score obsession and having players attempt to beat each other.
The video game industry would struggle through a “crash” in the early 1980s, often attributed to poor quality games and hardware flooding the market to meet rising demand. eSports and arcades were immune from this crash, however, and the competitive gaming scene continued to grow leading into the era of the internet.
Nintendo, The Internet, And Warcraft
Leading into the ‘90s, Nintendo was dominating the games industry. While the likes of Sega and even Atari still had a place, the house that built Mario was comfortably atop the charts. The creation of the 1990 Nintendo World Championships fed into Super Mario hysteria, with the touring eSports tournament touring the United States before hosting a grand final at Universal Studio in Hollywood, California. The tournament would return in 1994 with the release of the Super Nintendo. Blockbuster Video, a relic of the video rental industry, also held its own eSports tournaments for a variety of popular Nintendo games, namely NBA Jam and Virtua Racing.
Aussie kids of the ‘90s will remember a weekday afternoon game show called Amazing, which acted as one of the best ways at the time to get an insight into the latest Nintendo games. The show would pit two competing schools against one another in a battle of wits, with a final stand-off at the end of each episode, in which a player from each school would battle it out in Mario Kart, Super Mario World, and a host of other Super Nintendo games.
With the rise of the internet came increased popularity in games such as Quake, Counter-Strike and Warcraft. QuakeCon, which had existed until 2016 and was often referred to as the “Woodstock of gaming”, would host a number of Quake tournaments across 1v1, 3v and other team-based modes. It arguably helped set the scene for large-scale tournaments based on popular online competitive games.
The “Modern” Era
eSports has gone immensely in the 21st century. This is due in part to improved broadband speeds, which is said to have played a major part in South Korea’s obsession with pro gaming. The ease in which people can access, watch and participate in tournaments has allowed eSports to grow beyond town halls. It’s also fed an entirely new industry in the LAN cafe gaming centre, which attracts prospective pro gamers who want to test their wares in a local area environment against like-minded players.
While eSports still has a way to go in the Western world to establish itself as a mainstream sport, it was Korea that truly established it as a near-billion dollar industry. It was in 2000 that the Korean eSports Association was created as an arm of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, such was the popularity of professional sports in the country. Many tournaments are held in Asia and South Korea more specifically. The global number of tournaments has risen from around 10 in 2000 to more than 400 in 2016.
eSports teams are also proving to be a healthy investment opportunity for large organisations. A number of pro teams covered across Counter-Strike, StarCraft, Call Of Duty, Dota 2 and League Of Legends are owned by large conglomerates and in some cases celebrities. Cable television networks are broadcasting eSports tournaments live, and while South Korea is certainly at the time of the interest scale, North America, Europe, and even Australia have proven to be very strong eSports areas with large fanbase.
The ever-increasing popularity in streaming has also attributed to the rise in eSports. The likes of Twitch allow game developers and tournament organisers to live stream events, attraction audiences in the millions from around the globe. While eSports may not necessarily be a household name just yet, it’s slowly working its way into mainstream recognition, and will certainly make it there within the next couple of years.
Esports Betting Milestones
Dota 2: Team Falcons claim The International 2025 title
Esports World Cup 2025 concludes with record $70 million prize pool distributed
Alberta set to legalize eSports betting in 2026
Esports World Cup announces record-breaking prize pool
Legalised esports betting in California gains momentum
Riot Games announce record-breaking League of Legends prize pools
IOC announce 2027 Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia
Team Liquid lift The International 2024 trophy
IOC unanimously vote yes for 2025 Olympic Esports Games
Olympic Esports Games 2025 to be held in Saudi Arabia
ESIC & IOC collaborate to combat esports misconduct
Team Spirit dominate Gaimin Gladiators to claim Dota 2 TI12 title
Counter-Strike 2 officially launches replacing CS:GO after 11 years
Esports makes Asian Games debut in sign of the times
IEM Sydney sold out in just over a week
Overwatch League waives outstanding fees from franchised teams
BLAST & unikrn sign multi-year global partnership
Overwatch League announces end of city-franchise model in major restructure
IOC announces 2023 Olympic Esports Series finals
Liiv Sandbox signs first-female esports player Jeon “DangMoo” Su-jin to its LSB Challengers
Olympic Esports Week to be held in Singapore in June 2023
Tundra Esports sweep Team Secret to win The International 2022
The International 2022 prize pool surpasses $11m
2026 Commonwealth Games could feature esports events
Riot Games introduces new Valorant international leagues
Overwatch 2 Beta streaming hits over 1 million viewers, breaking game viewership record on Twitch
PGL Stockholm Major marks CS:GO return after two-year COVID absence
Team Spirit win The International 10 as Dota 2 sets record $40 million prize pool
VALORANT Champions Tour officially launches as Riot global competitive circuit
COVID-19 fears put TI10 & DPC dates in doubt
VALORANT launches globally as Riot Games enters the tactical shooter market
The International 10 on track for biggest-ever prize pool
The International 10 postponed until 2021
ESL One Rio Major moved to Nov with $2m prize pool
Gfinity Australia to shut down esports operations
Epic confirms $10m prize pool for Fortnite Champion Series
Fortnite World Cup: 16-year-old Bugha wins $3 million solo prize
The International 2019 prize pool tops $30m
Curse lifted as Team Liquid win IEM Sydney final
eSports industry estimated to surpass $1 billion in revenue in 2019
Olympic Committee decides eSports not ready for Paris 2024 games
Growing eSports industry on the fast lane towards $1 billion
CS:GO goes free-to-play and adds Danger Zone battle royale mode
eSports on Olympics Summit agenda, but significant hurdles to climb
Fortnite esports scene launched with record $100,000,000 prize pool
Prize pool for Dota 2 International passes $5m in 17 hours
Formula 1 Esports Series back for season 2
Intel makes first step towards getting esports into the Olympic Games
Overwatch League starts Jan 10, here is what you need to know
Report: European esports market is officially worth $209 million
Unikrn loses esports betting licenses following Luxbet closure
Report: Japan will issue pro licenses to esports players in 2018
NBA 2K League: Official logo & all 17 team brands unveiled
Report: PUBG surpasses 200 million unique viewers on Twitch
Survey reveals children are gambling more due to skin betting
Esports industry brings in $1.5b worldwide revenue in 2017
UK Gambling Commission maintains its position on loot boxes
Belgium to convince Europe that loot boxes count as gambling
Formula 1 joins the esports race with new world championship
Hong Kong tech festival hosts world’s first women’s esports event
Paris open to esports at 2024 Summer Olympics program
The International 7 Dota 2 kicks off with record $23m prize pool
Australian city to receive its first esports bar
Report: Overwatch League franchises already sold, ready to field
Seven Media & St George team up for Australian esports league
NBC Sports Group is airing Rocket League esports tournaments
Unikrn is launching its own cryptocurrency for esports betting
Twitch signs exclusive broadcasting rights for Blizzard esports
Nevada officially makes it legal to bet on esports
eSports will be discussed as an addition to the Olympics
Intel Extreme Masters event to fuel Australian eSport market
AFL eyes $1.2 billion eSports market to broaden exposure
eSports will be at Asian Games, could make Olympics
UK Gambling Commission warns parents of eSports skin betting
Intel Extreme Masters 2017 debuts in Sydney, Australia this May
eSports punters bet $5 billion on CS: GO weapon skins in 2016
EsportBet.com launches as dedicated esports betting guide
The Road Ahead
Esports betting has come a long way from the fringe markets of 2016. What began as a handful of operators offering odds on CS:GO majors has grown into a global industry worth billions — with dedicated regulatory frameworks, specialist odds compilers, and a new generation of bettors who grew up watching competitive gaming. EsportBet.com has been here for every stage of that journey, and we’re not done yet.
The next decade will bring new titles, new markets, and new questions about integrity and regulation. We’ll be covering all of it — with the same independent perspective we’ve maintained since day one.
Ky Pitstock
Sports Betting Writer
Kynan 'Ky' Pitstock is a sports and racing writer covering thoroughbred racing and Formula 1 for EsportBet and its sister properties. Kevin Pitstock's son, Ky grew up embedded in the Australian racing industry and brings an insider's knowledge to every piece.