Bruce Dias 
The esports industry is steadily growing, with the market expected to reach $10 billion by 2032. The growth is spurred by the growing accessibility of the gaming industry thanks to the increasing number of gaming and streaming platforms. It’s easier than ever for people to play, follow teams, and watch gameplay online, which has allowed the market to grow and thrive.
The popularity of esports has increased significantly, so much that it’s being treated like traditional physical sports—with people even betting on the outcomes. Fans of esports can place wagers on their favorite teams and track their progress through the playoffs, just like football fans. They can also place bets online through betting platforms, including some of the Bitcoin casinos reviewed by Bonus.ca (visit website for details). The sport is now taken so seriously that it is set to have its own Olympic Games.
As the popularity of esports grows, so do the crowds that watch major competitions and tournaments unfold, but these five competitions attract some of the biggest crowds.
Counter-Strike 2 Major Championship (2.7 million)
While Counter-Strike 2, often referred to as CS2, has had many major competitions, game developer Valve held the first Counter-Strike 2 Major Championship in 2024. It offered a $500,000 prize to the winning team, along with the title of the first CS2 World Champion. Though it was the first major championship, it drew many viewers with its peak viewership numbers reaching over 2.7 million people.
The game has been an esports favorite since its release in 2023. It grew off the success of the first game in the series, which came out more than 20 years earlier and developed a huge fanbase. CS2 is a free-to-play first-person shooter game, with two teams competing to either eliminate or achieve their task of planting and detonating a bomb or of defusing it. Typically, the game is played in teams of five and involves multiple rounds. The first team to win 13 rounds is named the winner.
The International (2.7 million)
The International began as a promotional event in 2011 by Valve to promote its game DotA (Defense of the Ancients), and it has remained an annual event since (except in 2020, the year of the lockdowns). Today, the tournament centers around the popular esports game DotA 2, a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game that involves real-time strategy (RTS) to defeat the opposing team.
The international tournament is played in teams of five and offers some of the loftiest prize pools in esports; the biggest surpassed $333 million. Its peak viewership was in 2021, with over 2.7 million viewers.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang World Championship (5 million)
Another popular MOBA game for players and spectators is Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB). The game was released in 2016 and became popular due to its graphics, fast-paced and action-packed gameplay, the many possibilities for different variations of gameplay, and the catalog of heroes players could choose to play as. Another free-to-play game, it has multiple settings that allow it to be adapted for different levels of players, from beginners to advanced, so that the game is always engaging. The objective of the game is for teams of five to try to destroy their enemy’s base while also defending their own.
The MLBB World Championship has been held since 2019, and the competition often draws millions of viewers. Its largest viewership to date was for its 2023 competition, called the MLBB M5 World Championship. At peak viewership, it exceeded 5 million viewers. The championship saw 22 teams battle for first place to earn a cash prize (the total prize pool was worth $900,000).
Free Fire World Series (5.4 million)
The Singapore game developer Garena hosts the Free Fire World Series annually for its game Free Fire, a mobile multiplayer battle royale game. The objective is to be the last team remaining on an island, which your team parachutes into at the beginning of gameplay. You must fight to hold your ground while scavenging to find supplies and weapons.
The game’s first event was held in 2019, with a peak viewership of just over 2 million people. In 2021, it saw its highest viewership to date, reaching 5.4 million viewers.
League of Legends World Championship (6.8 million)
In 2024, 6.8 million viewers tuned into the League of Legends World Championship, making it the most popular esports event in the world and the biggest peak viewer count the championship has seen to date. The championship was first held in 2011 and has grown enormously since.
The prize up for grabs has increased to over a million dollars, and the status of being the winning team and earning the Summoner’s Cup is highly coveted. Where the championship is hosted changes yearly, but spectators can always expect a dramatic, emotional, and action-filled journey.
League of Legends has been available to play since 2009, and it quickly won over fans of MOBA-style games, who at that time had limited options. By 2011, just two years after its release, 15 million people were playing the game.
Honorable Mention: The Fortnite World Cup
Fortnite has become an extremely popular game that keeps players engaged with regular updates and an exciting battle royale style of play. The Fortnite World Cup has only been held once, but that competition had over 2.7 million people tuning in to watch. The game still appears in major esports competitions, like the Esports World Cup, and continues to attract significant attention, but another Fortnite World Cup hasn’t been planned.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re new to esports or a long-time fan or player, if you haven’t tuned into these events, definitely check them out. If they attract this many people, there must be something worth seeing—and there’s no doubt they represent the future of gaming.
