What is Esports?

Esports has recently taken off as one of the most popular forms of spectator entertainment in the world, which is partially due to the fact that all other sports have stopped for some reason. But it's also because esports is fast becoming its own legitimate wing of the sporting world, and its momentum is only going to increase.

Esports has, however, come into the zeitgeist so quickly that you could be forgiven for it passing you by, leaving you asking yourself what on earth that Monster Energy-and-Dorito-fuelled blur even was.

Maybe you’ve heard the name esports being thrown around and have your concerns. Is it a new Nintendo that the kids are playing? A new dance they picked up on MySpace? A new doodad I have to buy for my MP3 player? The answer to all of these questions is a hard no, but don’t worry because we’re going to break it all down for you right now.

What is Esports?

Esports is a catch-all term for any kind of professional competitive gaming, whether individual or team-based. Esports players will battle it off against each other in games like FIFA, League of Legends, and Call of Duty, to find who out is the ultimate champion.

Esports has been around a lot longer than you might think: you could even argue that competing for the top score in the arcade was a prototypical esport. It has since grown into a multi-million-pound global industry with millions of fans all over the world who tune in to live streams with commentary, or catch the highlights of matches after the fact, with the most successful players being huge stars with fanbases and endorsement deals and sponsorships.

So, esports is really very similar to the traditional sports that you might be familiar with, except esports fans have a shred of common sense.

Who Can Get Involved?

Anyone! That’s part of what makes esports great – there are no gendered tournaments and there is space for people of all physical abilities. And even if you, like a certain writer of articles for Esports Scotland, are terrible at playing video games, there is a large spectator culture where you can follow your favourite teams and gamers and get heavily invested in the outcomes.

Thanks to modern black magic, esports competitions can take place between players all around the world, with competitors from all over coming together to play. It really goes against the stereotype of gamers that you might have – it’s all about being social and interacting with a whole variety of different people!

If you want to get involved in the culture, a great place to start is the Esports Scotland Twitch channel, where you can watch our weekly community cups and get a taste of lots of different games.

How has it been Affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic?

The short answer is that it hasn’t really! We’re still organising tournaments and competitions, with competitors playing from the safety of their own homes.

Just like everyone, we’re anxiously waiting for the time when we can all gather together to enjoy the spectacle and atmosphere of in-person events, but until then it’s our goal to keep our community safe and entertained from the comfort of your homes. Keep an eye on our social media pages (here, here, and here!) for more updates on what’s new in the world of esports, and for when we’ll be able to geek out together in person again!

What has Esports Scotland got to do with it all?

Like in all other sports, Scottish gamers are leading the esports charge, with our players competing all over the world. We here at Esports Scotland aim to support the Scottish esports industry into becoming the best esports scene in the world.

To do that, we facilitate and organise tournaments to create a cohesive esports community in Scotland, where gamers can come together, compete, spectate, and participate in all aspects of the community.

We’re basically just really, really enthusiastic fans who want to make esports as big and as brilliant as it can be! If you want to learn a little bit more about our past and future events, click here.

So there you have it, you’re now a certified esports expert! We’re so proud of you. Now, get out there, find a stream to watch, and continue your esports education. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be the next big esports star!

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About the Author

Calum Rosie is a writer and editor, and is the Writing Coordinator for Esports Scotland. He is world-renowned for his elite gaming skills, charm, handsomeness, and is responsible for editing these bios and is not above lying in them.