2017 has been a great year for eSports! New games, championships and teams have changed the video games professional competitions. The audience is growing and the games are even more present on the traditional media, increasing its popularity and reputation.
Do you play or cheer for those who play League of Legends, CS: GO, Overwatch and so forth? So here are some of the most important championships for this year, hosted around the world and even in Brazil!
Remembering these are just some of the championships that happen, the scenario is growing fast and it may be your chance to start to follow it.
LEAGUE OF LEGENDS
- MSI – MID SEASON INVITATIONAL
The MSI is better known as World Mini! The mid-season event happens right after the end of the first splits and is a great opportunity for teams all around the world to come forward showing what they do best, so we certainly will not see feeders – those who feed the enemy with their own deaths!! This year, the championship is even more important for us because it will happen here in Brazil! The games will be held in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro between April 28 and May 21.
Credits: Riot Games
- WORLDS
The League of Legends World Championship brings together the winning teams of the last round of the season. The 13 professional leagues’ cyber athletes will compete to find the best team in the world! As always, Korean teams are the favorites, but who knows if this year’s luck not won’t be in favor of other teams? The World Cup takes place between September 23 and November 4 in China.
SK Telecom T1: current LoL world champion team. Credits: Riot Games
COUNTER STRIKE : GLOBAL OFFENSIVE
- ESL PRO LEAGUE
The sixth edition of ESL PL finishes in December, after the regular season of the championship. Last year, the Brazilian SK Gaming team was the runner-up in the world’s most famous FPS shooting game here in São Paulo. The winning team, Cloud 9, took the award and the victory trophy, which had a special taste for being the first CS: GO tournament americans won out of their country.
Players of the brazilian team SK Gaming, runner-ups in 2016. Credits: SK Gaming Twitter
- COPENHAGEN GAMES FEMALE
After the IEM Katowice Female, we barely see women competing for the CS: GO, so even though it’s small, this is an important championship. Sponsored by Samsung, Compenhagen Games will take place between 13th and 15th of April with a total prize of 14.000 euros. More than 10 women’s teams will play for the prize and also for the chance to show they deserve more opportunities in the midst.
Team Secret – one of the biggest bets to the Copenhagen Games. Credits: ESL
OVERWATCH
- OVERWATCH LEAGUE
The Overwatch League was announced by Blizzard, the company that created the game, during their 2016 fair. With its debut on the third trimester, the championship will feature teams from big cities around the world, what will make the game become more and more known and win new teams with new dedicated professionals. Unlike all the other games competitions, the league will individually reward the players beyond the compensation already received within their teams, an action that has been praised for showing how important it is to professionalize what is still considered, by many people, as simple video games.
Credits: Blizzard
DOTA 2
- THE INTERNATIONAL
Considered the precursor of League of Legends, Dota 2 is certainly one of the most beloved games in the world. Their professional championships started in 2011, and last year the competition won the world’s highest eSports award, distributing more than USD20 millions among participating teams. The championship will happen in August, but the place, usually in Seattle, is unfortunately threatened due to the entry veto of immigrants from seven mostly Muslim nations. Some players from teams such as Digital Chaos and Team Liquid might be prejudiced by the unfair and harmful decision of President Donald Trump, currently frozen by the US judiciary, but with uncertain future.
Credits: Valve