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This is a list of esports players. This is not a complete list of all active, professional esports players, but rather a consolidation of the most influential or significant. The list does not include online poker or online chess players, since they are usually separated from esports.
Shoutcast is a service for streaming media over the internet to media players, using its own cross-platform proprietary software. It allows digital audio content, primarily in MP3 or High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding format. The most common use of Shoutcast is for creating or listening to Internet audio broadcasts; however, there are also video streams. The software is available to use for free or as a paid cloud service with additional professional features.
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams.
The video game industry in Mainland China currently is one of the major markets for the global video game industry, where more than half a billion people play video games. Revenues from China make up around 25% of nearly US$100 billion video game industry as of 2018, and since 2015 has exceeded the contribution to the global market from the United States. Because of its market size, China has been described as the "Games Industry Capital of the World" and is home to some of the largest video game companies. China has also been a major factor in the growth of esports, both in player talent and in revenue.
GKART, also known as QQ Speed or Speed Drifters, is a massively multiplayer online kart racing game developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Tencent Games and Garena. The game was originally released in China as QQ Speed in 2010 and gained enormous popularity in China, with a record number of 2 million players online at the same time in 2011. The game was heavily inspired by Nintendo's Mario Kart franchise.
The fighting game community, often abbreviated to FGC, is a collective of video gamers who play fighting games such as Marvel vs. Capcom, Mortal Kombat, Soulcalibur, Street Fighter, Guilty Gear, The King of Fighters, Blazblue, Super Smash Bros., Tekken, Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs., Dead or Alive, Samurai Shodown, Shadow Fight 2 and many others. The fighting game community started out small in the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s referred to as the grassroots era, but it has grown to a larger scale in the 2010s, with many tournaments being held around the world. This is predominantly due to the rise of esports, online gaming, and digitized viewing habits on live streaming sites such as Twitch.
Professional Super Smash Bros. competition involves professional gamers competing in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games published by Nintendo. Organized tournament competition began in 2002 with Super Smash Bros. Melee, released for the GameCube in 2001; however, in the series' native Japan, there have been tournaments as early as 1999 with the original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. Later tournaments have featured the other games in the series, with the two largest and most popular Smash Bros. scenes revolving around Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. Smaller scenes exist for the original game and Project M, a popular fan modification of Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii, and to a lesser extent, Brawl itself. Major Smash Bros. tournaments include the GENESIS, Evolution Championship Series (EVO), Super Smash Con and The Big House annual series. Major League Gaming (MLG) has also previously included Smash Bros. games in its Pro Circuit.
Video games are a rapidly growing industry in Thailand, with an average growth rate of 15% per year since 2017. In 2021, the Thai games market generated over a billion dollars, making it one of the highest-profile games markets in Southeast Asia. The number of gamers in Thailand has reached 32 million according to a report by Newzoo, an international games and esports analytics and market research group. And in 2022, Thailand was ranked among the top Southeast Asian video-game markets, with a revenue of US$1.24 billion that is forecasted to reach $1.4 billion in the same year.
Arena of Valor, formerly Strike of Kings, is an international adaptation of Honor of Kings, a multiplayer online battle arena developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Level Infinite for Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch for markets outside Mainland China. As of September 2018, the game has grossed over $140 million outside China. Arena of Valor was one of six Esports video games featured at the 2018 Asian Games, 2019 Southeast Asian Games, 2021 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, and 2021 SEA Games as part of the competitive sport. Arena of Valor was published in other regions by Garena, DeNA, Actoz SG, and TiMi Studio Group.
The live streaming of video games is an activity where people broadcast themselves playing games to a live audience online. The practice became popular in the mid-2010s on the US-based site Twitch, before growing to YouTube, Facebook, China-based sites Huya Live, DouYu, and Bilibili, and other services. By 2014, Twitch streams had more traffic than HBO's online streaming service, HBO Go. Professional streamers often combine high-level play and entertaining commentary, and earn income from sponsors, subscriptions, ad revenue, and donations.
List of events in 2018 in esports.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, succeeding Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014). The game follows the series' traditional style of gameplay, in which players control one of the various characters and use attacks to weaken their opponents and knock them out of an arena. It features a wide variety of game modes, including a single-player campaign and multiplayer versus modes. Ultimate features 89 playable fighters, including all characters from previous Super Smash Bros. games as well as newcomers. The roster ranges from Nintendo characters to those from third-party franchises.
Enthusiast Gaming is a Canadian digital media company specializing in video game journalism. Founded in 2014 by entrepreneur Menashe Kestenbaum, the company owned the websites Destructoid and Escapist Magazine from 2014 to September 2022, as well the gaming convention Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo (EGLX). The company went public on the TSX Venture Exchange in October 2018. In January 2020, the company's listing moved to the Toronto Stock Exchange. In April 2021, the company also began trading on the Nasdaq. Enthusiast Gaming owns a number of websites and runs an annual convention in Toronto.
Ludwig Anders Ahgren, known mononymously as Ludwig, is an American live streamer, YouTuber, podcaster, comedian, esports commentator, and competitor. Ahgren is best known for his live streams on Twitch from 2018 through late 2021, and on YouTube beginning in late 2021, where he broadcasts video-game-related content as well as non-video-game-related content such as game shows and contests. He is also known for his work as an esports commentator at various Super Smash Bros. Melee tournaments. He is the co-owner of the esports organization Moist Esports. He began streaming full-time on February 16, 2019.
The video game industry has been substantially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in various ways, most often due to concerns over travel to and from China or elsewhere, and delays in the manufacturing processes within China.
Pokémon Unite is a free-to-play, multiplayer online battle arena video game developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by The Pokémon Company for Android and iOS and by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was announced in a Pokémon Presents presentation on 24 June 2020. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch on 21 July 2021, and was released for Android and iOS in 73 countries on 22 September 2021. As of August 2022, the game has been downloaded over 80 million times across all platforms.
Splatoon 3 is a 2022 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the third game in the Splatoon series following Splatoon 2. Like its predecessors in the Splatoon series, the game consists of online multiplayer alongside a single-player campaign, all featuring combat based around ink.
Cheating in esports is a deliberate violation of the rules of an esports governing body or other behavior that is intended to give an unfair advantage to a player or team. At its core, esports are video game competitions in an organized, competitive environment. Tournaments often pay out prize money to the highest placing teams in these events, giving players an incentive to cheat. Commonly cited instances of cheating include the use of software cheats, such as aimbots and wallhacks, exploitation of bugs, use of performance-enhancing drugs, such as Ritalin and Adderall, and match fixing.
The Smash World Tour (SWT) was an annual Super Smash Bros. tournament circuit operating all around the world, but based in the United States. It took place three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, although only the 2021 edition was completed fully, and mostly consisted of a series of tournaments aiming to determine a number of players qualifying for the Smash World Championships, major singles tournaments for both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate; the Championships themselves acted as the culmination of the tour, with the crowning of world champions for both games.
Esports and competitive video gaming | |
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| Fighting | |
| MOBA |
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| Real-time strategy | |
| Shooter | |
| Sports | |
| Other genres | |
| Multi-genre | |
| Governing bodies |
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| Defunct organizations | |
| Years | |
