The exponential rise of eSports has been one of the stories of the last decade, and the sector continues to grow year-on-year. With projected revenue expected to reach US$3.4bn by the end of 2024 and US$5.9bn by the end of 2029, the industry is bracing itself for further expansion. Consequently, prize money, sponsorship deals and participation levels have significantly increased since the beginning of the calendar year.
We’ve taken a closer look at the five most popular eSports titles of 2024.
League of Legends (LOL)
There are several statistics to analyse when it comes to compiling the list of top eSports games, and although there are fewer League of Legends tournaments (165) than many of its counterparts, its peak viewership of 6,941,610 simply cannot be ignored.
The LOL World Championship, which concluded at the O2 Arena in London, was the most-watched eSports event in the history of competitive gaming with an average of 1.73 million spectators and a peak viewership on YouTube of 3.3 million.
The tournament eclipsed its 2023 numbers and also broke the record for the amount of time watched.
South Korea’s T1 were the eventual winner of this year’s tournament seeing off their opponents Bilibili Gaming in a best-of-five finals series. These two teams were the most-watched outfits of the tournament with the participation of T1’s star player Faker seemingly helping to attract additional viewers.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO)
In terms of peak viewership, Counter-Strike remains steadily popular with eSports enthusiasts. Furthermore, the number of CS:GO tournaments which took place in 2024, including the PGL Major Copenhagen, reached a hugely impressive 567.
It is easily one of the most recognisable and identifiable eSports titles and although it is now over a decade since the game first launched, there are still millions of devoted fans who enjoy watching and participating in this tactical first-person shooter.
With a pool of familiar names taking part in high-profile events, this is far from a surprising development and its lucrative prize pools (2024 total: US$20,494,549) ensure that each tournament remains extremely competitive. In addition to being able to watch all of the action unfold, CS:GO fans are also able to wager on both upcoming and existing tournaments which take place at various locations around the world.
Gamification is big business for betting sites and online casinos these days, with technology enabling players to fully immerse themselves in the world of online gaming. The addition of live streaming now allows eSports fans to watch their favourite tournaments whilst simultaneously checking the latest odds and statistics.
Dota 2
DOTA stands for the Defence of the Ancients and is a hugely popular multiplayer online battle arena video game which came into existence back in 2012.
It is one of the most established eSports titles and has successfully managed to retain its core audience. Its high production quality is just one of the many reasons for its success and despite going through a raft of changes, it has remained extremely faithful to the original release.
In 2024, it commanded the largest total prize pool of any eSports title (US$21,085,834) and although its peak viewership was barely able to lay a glove on League of Legends, it still managed a very respectable 1,523,957 according to escharts.com.
Valorant
With honourable mentions to Fortnite and Brawl Stars, we simply have to include Valorant on this list. This first-person tactical hero shooter was first launched in 2020 and was inspired by the success of Counter-Strike.
This free-to-play game attracted a peak viewership of 1,687, 848 in 2024 with a whopping 298 tournaments taking place throughout the last twelve months. It has proven to be an extremely popular choice for eSports aficionados. Valorant commanded a respectable prize pool of $7,362,513 and as of December 2024, it has an estimated total of 18.6 million active players on PC.