Where did esports originate?

Where Esports Began

In the same year of 1999, a much more anticipated title was released by millions — Quake III: Arena. Incorporating the best elements from its predecessors (the dynamics and speed of the first, the balance and expansiveness of the second), equipped with exemplary, incredibly beautiful graphics for that time, this shooter game almost immediately became the number one game for most fans of online battles. Slightly refined and improved through a series of patches, the third Quake transformed into the main discipline gaining momentum within the CPL. First, let’s try to understand what «esports» (or electronic sports) is. Here is one of the definitions of the second part of this concept: «sport is an organized activity of people according to certain rules, consisting of comparing their physical and intellectual abilities, as well as preparation for this activity and interpersonal relationships that arise during the process.» Based on this, no special definition is required. It turns out that esports is a set of disciplines united by a common feature: competitions in them take place in virtual space.

In Russia, the end of the nineties was marked by a fierce confrontation between two elite clans — NiP and DDT, who competed with varying success in many competitions. At that time, despite the significant prizes and hours spent playing, Quake 2 remained a hobby even for the best gamers, and no one took it seriously. Nevertheless, the prestige of the clans was so great that it became possible to join NiP for a fee of $500. Death — €3000 place All*Lakerman (Sweden) — €2000 place cK.Fatality (USA) — €1500 place c58|Pow3r — €1000 place c4-LeXeR — €900 place c58|PELE — €800.

But let’s go back a couple of years. In 1998, the cult RTS game that still serves as the genre’s benchmark to this day was released — StarCraft. And in the winter, Blizzard released the expansion Brood War. The excellent balance, combined with the evolving Battle.net service, gave the strategy game a future that no one, not even the developers themselves, could foresee. The game became a super hit both in single player and multiplayer battles, but it gained special popularity in South Korea, where it took just two years. By 2001, more than 5,000 people wished to participate in the national qualifiers for the WCG in this Far Eastern country. By 2003, two professional leagues emerged there, OnGameNet StarLeague and MBC Game StarLeague, with competitions broadcast on two exclusively gaming TV channels. Within a few years after the game’s release, it became a national sport, filling entire stadiums for the final matches. The third major player in the world of global esports emerged in France in 2003. The Electronic Sport World Cup was an international championship conceived as a competitor to the WCG, supported by companies like Intel and NVIDIA. With an almost equal prize pool compared to its competitor, but greater for individual disciplines due to fewer games, this event attracted gamers from all over the world. The first tournament of the series, held in August 2003, was organized as a spectacular show on a huge stadium in front of thousands of spectators. Once again, the Russian Quake school shone brightly, as the star Anton Singov aka Cooller emerged victorious in the final showdown against the American Zero4, who had defeated another Russian esports player, Lexer, in the WCG 2001 superfinal. Although Anton took home a modest (by his standards) sum of $4,000, the victory was crucial — he proved the superiority of the Russian Quake school over the American one. It was then that players began to unite in clans, similar to modern teams. They could not yet be called athletes, and their favorite activity was esports, as the prizes were small, and stable earnings were not a consideration. However, this is how the community formed, which would later become the first «pro gamers» — people who earn money in virtual battles.

Additionally, in 2007, a GameX exhibition and a Warcraft tournament took place in Moscow, where the winner received around $30,000. There is hope that such events will become an annual tradition. Two years ago, esports, firmly established in both the Old and New Worlds, began to penetrate rapidly into the rapidly progressing Chinese society. In 2005, the total number of well-known pro gamers in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne in China did not exceed ten people, but by 2006, there were several times more. Then suddenly it was discovered that the Chinese were not only excellent strategists but also played Counter-Strike no worse than the Swedes or Americans. In 2007, a new discovery followed — the world learned that China was a paradise for Warcraft esports players. The abundance of strong opponents, affordability of housing and food, along with good internet, led to several professionals from Europe and Korea moving to Beijing. Especially since esports in the country is supported at the state level, and in 2007, China even officially proposed to the IOC to include esports in the list of Olympic disciplines.