Ivan Larsen 
Esports statistics don’t lie — esports have become popular in recent years, and in 2019 the esports market was worth a staggering $957.5mm. Esports industry growth stopped briefly and dipped to $947.1mm during the pandemic but rebounded to nearly double that in 2024, settling at $1.6bn. Here are some statistics and facts about esports.
Esports competitive gaming is driven by the growth of streaming platforms, in particular Twitch, that allow audience participation. Rather than being passive observers, viewers can engage the streamers, who react in real time to the engagement. The social factor compels viewers to keep watching and reacting, which further drives engagement and makes everyone feel like they belong to a community.
The proliferation of video content is another esports growth factor. Video games are, by definition, a visual medium, allowing easy creation of clips and highlight reels that can be shared and remixed. Even when the stream ends, clips and reels let viewers with little spare time feel like they didn’t miss anything.
Esports Game Statistics
Esports statistics show that tactical shooters and MOBAs dominate the esports scene. Out of the 10 most popular esports, 3 are MOBAs:
● Dota 2
● Arena of Valor
● League of Legends
6 are shooters:
● Fortnite
● PUBG Mobile
● CS: GO
● R6 Siege
● VALORANT
● PUBG
One is the Rocket League, a soccer game that involves cars.
The most popular esports video game is Dota 2, with the largest cumulative prize pool of $29.56mm in 2023. In total, Dota 2 disbursed a whopping $346.43mm to 4,875 players through 1,892 tournaments.
Fortnite is the most streamed game on Twitch, with 5.5 million streamers in 20203. The game disbursed $180mm in prizes throughout its history, offering a $19.11mm prize pool in 2023.
CS: GO had 1 million Twitch streamers in 2020. The game disbursed $162mm in prizes throughout its lifespan, with the 2023 prize pool being $14.99mm.
Esports flagship events attract the most viewers, amassing hundreds of millions of view hours. However, that is still nowhere near sports flagship events, such as the Superbowl or the FIFA World Cup. There has also been a slight drop in US viewership in 2023, indicating that the economic recession has affected the industry.
What Are The Most Popular Esports For Betting?
The 2019 esports betting statistics show that the most popular esports for betting are:
● Dota 2
● CS: GO
● League of Legends (LoL)
● Fortnite
● Valorant
● FIFA
Esports statistics indicate that the most promising growing betting esports are:
● Hearthstone
● Overwatch
● StarCraft
● NBA 2K
● Call of Duty
● Valorant
The most dominant demographic is the 18–25-year-olds, representing 76% of the market share. LoL accounts for 45% of all betting. 43% of all betting occurs in Europe, with the key betting sites being:
● William Hill
● Betway
● Betfred
● Bet365
● BetVictor
For a complete list of reliable esports betting sites, visit somagyarkaszino.
Similarities Between Sports And Esports Betting
There are many similarities between conventional sports betting and esports betting. Esports bettors can bet on:
● first kill (equivalent to “first to X points” or “first to score”)
● total kills (equivalent to “total points/goals scored”)
● map winner (equivalent to “period winner” or “half-time winner”)
● over/under total maps played (equivalent to “half time and full-time result”)
● match winner
Bettors can place pre-match and live bets, with esports statistics showing the latter is more popular. That is no surprise, seeing how esports are designed to allow turnovers and discourage runaway leads. With pre-match bets, esports bettors can create accumulators that work just like the ones in sports betting.
Differences Between Sports And Esports Betting
Esports, in many ways, mimic traditional sports, such as basketball and soccer. However, esports growth has been largely driven by corporate spending and advertising, compared to traditional sports in which fans support their team financially. That is evident from the average viewer spending only $5.30 a year on esports.
An esports bettor is less likely to have access to disposable income for betting and will make smaller bets. Still, the esports betting market is projected to reach $2.5bn in 2024. At a 7.27% CAGR, it should reach $3.3bn market volume by 2028.
Esports Tournaments and Teams
In 2023, the most watched esports tournament was LoL’s World Championship 2023, with 6.4 million peak viewers. The second and third were Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s M5 and M4 World Championship with 5 and 4.27 million viewers.
In 2024, the top 5 most watched recent esports tournaments are:
- LCK Spring 2024 (LoL)
- MPL Indonesia Season 13 (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang)
- PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 (Counter-Strike 2)
- Mid-Season Invitational 2024 (LoL)
- VCT 2024: Masters Madrid (VALORANT)
The biggest esports teams are (approximate combined values of players in parentheses):
● TSM ($540mm)
● 100 Thieves ($460mm)
● Team Liquid ($440mm)
● FaZe Clan ($400mm)
● Cloud9 ($380mm)
● G2 Esports ($340mm)
● Fnatic ($260mm)
● Gen.G ($250mm)
● NRG ($240mm)
● T1 ($220mm)
In terms of revenue, TSM earned $56mm in 2021, with FaZe Clan earning $52.9mm.
The Worst Esports Team
A Russian all-women LoL team, Vaevictis, holds the record for the worst esports team. In their first match in February 2019, Vaevictis lost 1-12. The next day, they lost 2-52.
The next month, Vaevictis lost a match in 13 minutes, earning them a Guinness World Record certificate for the fastest loss in a professional LoL match. On average, a game of LoL lasts 30 minutes.
Esports Player and Viewer Statistics
The highest esports earner is Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, a professional Dota 2 player who earned $7.18mm as of 2024. In total, 177 esports players have earned over $1mm, and 5 of them have earned over $5mm. They are all men.
As for women, the highest esports earner is Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn, a professional StarCraft II and Dota 2 player. She earned over $465,000 in her career. In total, 250 women esports players have earned over $10,000 and only 4 have earned over $100,000.
Viewer Statistics
As of 2022, the global esports statistics show the esports audience counted 523 million people. At the current pace of growth, this is scheduled to reach 640 million in 2025.
Over half of all esports views come from the Asia-Pacific region, with China representing over 20% of the viewer share. That explains the popularity of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which has a devout following in Indonesia.
