E-Sports History: How it all began

The term e-sports stands for "electronic sport" and describes computer players competing in professional tournaments and leagues. It started as a small niche scene and has since become a movement of millions around the world. The history of e-sports is closely linked tothe development of video games, fast fibre-optic lines and even online phenomena such as casinos without a blocking file.

Since 2000, e-sports have become a real mass phenomenon, captivating more and more people. With the outbreak of Covid-19 and the cessation of play of many sports, some athletes have also started playing video games such streaming platforms:

• Twitch
• YouTube
• Kick

This development gave the scene a new boost.

The precursors: the beginnings of gaming competitions

The roots of e-sports can be traced back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. Titles like "Pong" already enticed many gamers to compete against each other. With the advent of arcades and leaderboards on vending machines, new means of competition were created. Titles like Space Invaders and Pac-Man were among the first games to inspire competitions and high score lists. Players gathered in arcades and competed to achieve the best scores. This laid the foundation for the competitive culture in gaming.

In the 1990s, e-sports experienced a decisive step forward. Home consoles and computers made multiplayer games more popular. Games like Street Fighter and StarCraft attracted competitive gamers who could already compete in local tournaments. This was a time of experimentation and spontaneous competition.

There were also tournaments back then

In this early phase, there were also larger international tournaments. For example, on 10 November 1980, Atari invited more than 10,000 players to a Space Invaders tournament. In 1982, the Atari VCS Bundesliga was even founded in Germany, but like the game manufacturer, it quickly disappeared again. Nintendo organised the Nintendo World Championships in the USA in 1990. The opponents played Super Mario Bros, Rad Racer and Tetris against each other on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

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The era of professional gamers and online gaming

Between 1990 and 2000 was the beginning of the professional e-sports scene. Counter-Strike, a popular tactical shooter, became a pioneer in the competitive scene. Before that, network cables and LAN cards became suitable for the masses, so that they were also installed in domestic PCs. Players met at so-called LAN parties and played against each other from then on.

Organised leagues and tournaments, such as the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) or the Electronic Sports League (ESL), offered professional gamers the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and win prize money. This era led to the emergence of teams, sponsors and an increasingly professional environment.

In parallel, the rise of the internet and broadband connections enabled online gaming on a large scale. Players could now compete against each other worldwide, which laid the foundation for the global e-sports movement. Games like Warcraft III and Counter-Strike became cult titles in the e-sports community. The development of professional leagues was particularly rapid in South Korea.

The players themselves see themselves as real athletes and train daily. It is not comparable to gambling in an internet casino, for example. They have their luck in their own hands and trust in the skills they have learned. They receive fees for registering for tournaments. You play the games out of passion, you may also make a financial profit, but first and foremost it's about the competition.

The breakthrough: League of Legends and Dota 2

The 2010s were marked by exponential growth and recognition. Games like League of Legend s (LoL) and Dota 2 led e-sports into a new era. These Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games attracted millions of participants and spectators. Major tournaments for Dota 2 offered prize money in the millions, which attracted the attention of the media and sponsors.

At the same time, the leagues marketed themselves better and better. In Germany, there was the TV channel GIGA in the meantime, which regularly presented new games and informed about the development of the e-sports leagues. With the advent of Amazon's video game platform Twitch, every player could stream their own games and also organise and share their own tournaments with friends. Viewers also give "donations" to the players in the process, so it can become a lucrative business.

Today's landscape: a billion-dollar phenomenon

The popularity of streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube has helped millions of people watch e-sports tournaments in real time. For example, a League of Legends Championship has been held since 2011. The prize money was 2.225 million US dollars. While the first tournament attracted only 8,000 spectators, by 2022 there were already more than 300 million fans watching the championship.

The players demonstrate real skill and must therefore not be compared to online gamblers who are only looking for a win of a high payout and reputable online casinos. They are more than simple slots players and even see themselves as professional athletes or artists. So e-sports are now a serious sport and a worldwide phenomenon. Surely, the athletes are smiled at by some people just as computer players, but most of them give everything for their passion.