Esports Schedule

Getting into the Esports Schedule

Esports, just like “sports,” is a term to describe a wide range of different games, which aren’t necessarily similar to one another, and they definitely differ from traditional sports. Admittedly, a few video games share similarities to soccer (FIFA), basketball (NBA2K), and football (Madden NFL), but generally, esports titles are nothing like traditional sports.

Another thing in which esports differ from sports is its schedule and how each season plays out. While football and soccer are not played during winter, just like winter sports don’t happen during summer, esports don’t necessarily care about the weather or the seasons.

That is because esports – unlike a majority of sports – is played indoors, behind the computer, so it doesn’t really matter if there’s rain, sun, snow, or anything in-between. As a result, the esports scene runs all year round, meaning there’s always something happening.

Brief introduction to the Esports

Esports is basically a term to describe the world of competitive video games, although that description doesn’t do it justice. Esports is far more than just a bunch of kids playing games and competing with one another; rather, it’s one of the fastest-growing industries of the 21st century, particularly the esports betting industry.

Admittedly, esports is yet to be fully accepted around the world as a “real deal,” but there have been enough advancements in the industry for it to deserve respect and recognition as legitimate competition. Moreover, some esports titles surpass the viewership, recognition, and the prize pools of some sports, granted there’s no esports title that can be considered bigger than basketball, football, and soccer as three of the world’s biggest sports.

History of Esports Schedule

There is no esports schedule history to talk about since esports includes a long list of different esports titles in which the athletes compete in. Some of the biggest esports are League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Dota 2, which host competitions all year round, although even the three have small breaks.

Since the first esports competitions were held, CS:GO, LoL, and Dota 2’s season schedules haven’t changed by much. So since the start, CS:GO season runs all year round, except for a small break in July-August.

Meanwhile, League of Legends goes on a break following the LoL World Championship, which ends in November and returns sometime in mid-January. Likewise, Dota 2 goes on a break following The International (October), and it resumes in January.

Main Events on Esports Schedule

If you’re wondering which are the biggest and most significant esports tournaments and events of the esports schedule, there is no clear answer to that, as each esports title has its own “big” event.

For example, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive hosts two Major Championships per year, which serve as other esports’ equivalent of a World Championship. It features some of the world’s top teams who compete for the esports largest prize pool and the eternal glory that comes with winning the Major.

Likewise, League of Legends hosts two big international events per year. The first one is the Mid-Season Invitational, which traditionally happens in May – midway through the season – and the LoL World Championship, which is hosted in November as the season’s culminating event.

Dota 2 hosts between two and three Major championships per year as well as the season-culminating The international – Dota 2’s equivalent to LoL World Championship – which serves as the final event of the season.

Esports Main Venues

At the start, esports events were held in smaller venues and were, for the most part, hosted at any of the major gaming conventions. Most notably, the first-ever League of Legends World Championship (in 2011) was held at a DreamHackgaming convention in Sweden.

But largely thanks to the growing popularity of esports and the demand for bigger venues, esports started hosting separate events, which nowadays happen at some of the world’s largest and most prominent venues.

Some of the most notable venues in which esports happened include Seoul World Cup Stadium, Staples Center, Beijing National Stadium, AccorHotels Arena in Paris, KeyArena, Rogers Arena, Mercedes-Benz Arena, Lanxess Arena, Spodek Arena, and more.

After Covid-19 Details

Sports were heavily affected by the COVID pandemic, which effectively brought the whole sports world to a halt. But while COVID has impacted all areas of our everyday lives, it hasn’t really put much of a dent in the esports scene.

Admittedly, esports had its fair share of problems due to the pandemic – mainly the cancellation of major international events – but the regional competitions continued without any issues. That is because esports, unlike sports, can be played online, so there is no need for the players to meet in person and can instead compete with one another from the comfort of their homes or gaming houses.

But like all esports betting guides will tell you, even with online competitions, the esports scene did suffer. The lack of international events left a huge void in the esports schedule, which the regional events did not manage to fill.

Things are now getting back to normal, as COVID pandemic did, for the most part, pass, grated the effects are still felt. Some countries continue to battle with the pandemic, and the new versions of the virus continue to be affected as teams from these countries aren’t allowed to travel to international competitions.