E-Sports Entertainment Association League (ESEA League) is an esports competitive video gaming online league & community founded by E-Sports Entertainment Association (ESEA). The company is widely known for their anti-cheat software. ESEA features a system that allows players of all levels to play matches with others. [1]
ESEA League began offering lessons to improve gaming skills in 2003 providing instruction in Half-Life , Counter-Strike , and Warcraft III . [2] ESEA created the first professional fantasy e-sports league in 2004. [3] ESEA began its league history with Counter-Strike, [4] but later added Team Fortress 2 (TF2) a game which gained more popularity after its adaption to "Free-to-play" gaming. [5] However, due to the relative lack of players in its TF2 leagues, ESEA announced its intent to shut down the TF2 leagues on April 17, 2019. [6]
ESEA League games can be viewed by fans as live streams from internet broadcasting channels such as eXtv, Nova Spivack's Live Matrix, TeamFortress.tv, streams on Twitch and clips on YouTube. [7] The annual sponsored ESEA League LAN Finals are held in Dallas, Texas. [8] [9] [10]
On 1 May 2013, a user reported that the ESEA's anti-cheat software was being used to mine bitcoins without the user's consent. This was confirmed by ESEA's co-founder Eric 'lpkane' Thunberg in two subsequent forum posts. As of the date of discovery, the claimed dollar value of bitcoins mined totaled $3,713.55. [11] [12] [13] As of November 2013, ESEA has agreed to a US$1 million settlement, though a separate class action lawsuit is still ongoing. [14]
In 2017, the company announced new server expansion in Dubai to serve the CS:GO community in Middle East. In April 2018, ESEA announced Rank S division for players in that region. [15] Later in May 2018, ESEA announced the first CS:GO League for Middle East teams. [16]
