The Biggest eSports Tournaments of 2022
The global eSports industry continues to thrive despite the roadblocks caused by the pandemic. While bans on public events and travel restrictions had shrunk the scale of such events, the industry is still attracting enough loyal admirers to get it going. After all, the lol wr boost winners take home a huge amount of prize money, along with worldwide fame.
Let’s look at the biggest eSports events that will take place this year.
- League of Legends Worlds 2022
Talking about eSports, nothing tops League of Legends. It’s one of the most popular online gaming tournaments that happen around the world. It receives the most media coverage, the biggest prize money and the wealthiest sponsors. Companies like Louis Vuitton and Mercedez-Benz wait for their turns to sponsor this gigantic event.
Developed by Riot Games, this game was launched in 2009 and in just over a decade, it has managed to amass a cult-like following. The online multiplayer event was first organized in Sweden in 2011 while the previous event took place in Iceland between October-November. The 12th edition of the prestigious tournament will take off presumably around the same time in 2022. However, no date has been confirmed for this year’s event but it is expected to happen sooner or later.
EDward Gaming is the current winner and it remains to see whether they retain their title and the prize pool of a few million dollars.
- PGL Antwerp CS:GO Major
Just like League of Legends, CS:GO also happens to be one of the most popular eSports gaming events globally. Counter-Strike is among the most widely played online game in the world, and is so big now that there are whole ecosystems built around it such as dedicated CSGO gambling sites, and also skin trading sites. Hence, the attendance during the events is always shockingly high. There are multiple CS:GO Major events that take place all year, but PGL Antwerp happens to be the most awaited of them all.
Co-sponsored by Valve, the event will have a whopping $1 million on the line. This year’s event is taking place in May. However, there is a small change in rules and regulations this time around. No team, irrespective of how ‘important’ they are, will get a direct entry into the tournament. Each one of them will have to qualify for the tournament via Regional Major Rankings events.
CS:GO events have suffered due to the pandemic in the past two years. Both the events were cancelled in 2020, and in 2021, only a single CS:GO eSports tournament could take place. Hopefully, this year it will be different.
- Valorant Champions 2022
Riot Games, the developers behind the games such as League of Legends, developed this game called Valorant. Released in 2020, the game has managed to create a separate niche. From a distance, it seems like a combination of CS:GO and Overwatch. In the FPS genre, this team-based class shooter game has become extremely popular owing to the experienced think-tank from the Riot Games working on it.
The competitive hierarchy of Valorant follows the same route as League of Legends. The best teams compete on their regional levels and then the big tournament takes place where the best of the best teams struggle to gain the victory.
Last year’s winner Acend became the first team to win the world championship. While the popularity of Valorant Champions 2022 is still on the rise, it is yet to be seen whether it might ever be able to stand in the league of the eSports such as League of Legends and CS:GO.
- The International 2022
Dota 2 eSports used to be quite a rage among the audience. But thanks to some weird decisions taken by Valve, its popularity is nowhere close to what it used to be. However, The International remains one of the most sought-after events in the eSports industry. With prize money of $40 million that can overnight change lives, this tournament is associated with great prestige and honour. Its huge prize money set a record to be the biggest cash award ever set in the history of eSports. That said, the prize pool is primarily gathered through community contributions.
Team Spirit was the winner of The International 2021. It was a major shocker and turned out to be the biggest gaming surprise of the year. It will be interesting to see if Team Spirits’ victory was a fluke or does the team have the capability of upsetting the biggest of teams.
The International 2022 will feature 20 teams this year, as opposed to 18 last year. This is due to the introduction of a wildcard LAN qualifier to decide the top spots in the tournaments. However, the organizers are playing their cards very close to their chest and nothing much is known about the event.
- FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022
Up until a few years ago, Chess was not even considered to be an eSport, let alone it being compared to CS:GO or League of Legends. But the immense popularity of the game in the online gaming space has changed a lot of things. Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura managed to attract 10,000+ viewers on his Twitch, which was no small deal. Also, the online chess tournaments attract a crowd that is not a lot smaller than the crowds gathered in other tournaments mentioned in this list.
This year’s event is going to take place in Madrid, Spain, between June-July. This event, which happened once in two years, has been shuffled up more recently due to the pandemic. But this year’s event is all set to roll.
With the world champion Magnus Carlen creating some drama ahead of the tournament, the chess lovers are awaiting the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022.
Final Words
Online eSports industries mint great money and pull big crowds. The events mentioned in this list are the 5 top events that collectively pull more masses than the FIFA World Cup in many instances.
No matter if you are a participant or a mere spectator, start marking these events in your calendar and get ready for the chills and the thrills!