The most popular titles to watch in esports gaming

Esports has grown in popularity astronomically in the last few months. While the likes of football, cricket, rugby and F1 have been put on hold, the world-class players who ply their trade with a controller are still entertaining the masses.

Dozens of great games now have competitions, with prizes worth millions of pounds, and it proves an intriguing and exciting spectacle.

It has also led to a huge esports gaming phenomenon emerging, with the best esports bookies attempting to fill the void left on a Saturday afternoon by offering odds and markets on everything from Call of Duty to FIFA.

But what are the best and most popular esports games to watch?

League of Legends

League of Legends is perhaps the most popular esport to both watch and bet on, with dozens of leagues and tournaments worldwide.

The Massive Online Battle Arena game is watched by millions on the likes of Twitch.tv and YouTube, with the Legends Pro League among one of the very best esports divisions, attracting all the top teams.

Over $70million in prize money has been handed out across the many tournaments and it continues to be the dominant and favourite game for most esport fans.

It’s estimated that there are around eight million players enjoying the game online at any one time, welcoming over 27 million users each day, so it’s perhaps no surprise it’s made its way into the bookmaker mainstream.

DOTA 2

DOTA 2 is one of League of Legends’ main competitors and has a much wider spread of fans and top players. LoL generally dominated the Asian market, with the top stars almost exclusively being from Asia.

DOTA 2, on the other hand, welcomes stars from across Europe and offers huge prize money for all their major gaming tournaments.

That makes it incredibly competitive and a great watch, with events streamed daily across social channels.

The International is one of the biggest events to look out for, and is essentially the DOTA 2 equivalent of the Masters or US Open, with a prize pool of almost $35million.

Call of Duty

Call of Duty is a game that many of us will be familiar with and it’s been well and truly taken to the next level in world-class competition.

It’s one of the few esports games that come from console gaming and is continually refreshing as new titles are released.

The COD franchise is hugely popular with fans, and that has transferred to esports events. The league is an exciting one, with teams representing cities and $6million up for grabs in prize money. It isn’t available to watch as frequently as other esports, but the Call of Duty League is certainly one to add to the diary.

FIFA

Of course, if you are missing your football fix, then there are plenty of FIFA esports fixtures you can watch each week.

The recent FIFA UltimateQuaranTeam put on by Leyton Orient proved a huge success, but you’ll also find the likes of FIFA Electronic Football and much more available to stream across Twitch.tv and YouTube.

It’s one of the world’s most popular games, and while you may not think it, watching really can be as entertaining as the real thing.

The editorial unit