Esports tournament news takes video games to the next level — the competitive gaming arena. Bringing together professional gamers to play head-to-head in front of massive audiences, the competitions have become popular and prestigious with big prize pools, global recognition, and brand sponsorships.
Much like traditional sports, esports feature regular season and playoff competition with teams competing in scheduled matches and earning points or rankings. The top ranked teams advance to a championship series where the best of the best face off with high stakes and intense action. While esports may seem new and different, they actually have roots in old-school gamer culture. Originally, the first tournaments took place in the early days of home consoles – such as the Magnavox Odyssey and Atari 2600 – where players competed in classic video game competitions.
2025 has seen a surge in popularity for esports, with some titles attracting millions of peak viewers. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a standout, drawing in hardcore fans for its tactical marathons that challenge teams to work out multi-layered strategies. League of Legends, which draws a huge crowd to esports events, has been around for a while, but developer Riot Games continues to push the envelope with larger-scale tournaments and a coveted Summoner’s Cup trophy made by Tiffany & Co.
With a packed tournament calendar, world-class teams, and high-stakes action, it’s no surprise that Counter-Strike 2 is still one of the most popular esports. The Danish team Astralis, who dominate the CSGO scene, have won hundreds of thousands of dollars from tournament prize pools. Other notable esports teams include OG, known for breaking through at Frankfurt Major in 2015, and FaZe Clan, who are seasoned veterans of the Counter-Strike scene.