Each player assumes control of an attacker or a defender in different gameplay modes such as rescuing a hostage, defusing a bomb, and taking control of an objective within a room. The game puts heavy emphasis on environmental destruction and cooperation between players.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is a tactical first-person shooter developed by Ubisoft that released in 2015. Peak Viewers: 206k (RLCS Season 8 Finals, December 2019) 8. The peaks in viewership for Rocket League are quite high and peaked at over 200k viewers in December of 2019. Out of the 2.8 million views in total for Rocket League on Twitch in 2019, 2.5 million came from the second championship weekend in December. Viewership for Rocket League is relatively low, outside of major events.
The original prize pool was $55,000 when the league first began and has grown to over $350,000 for the Championship Series Event scheduled for the latter half of 2020, depending on the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic at that time. Two teams compete against one another to try and score on each other just like soccer, but each player is a small car that can fly and boost around the map.Ĭompetitive Rocket League has existed since 2016 when the Rocket League Championship Series was created. Rocket League is described by its developer, Psyonix, as “soccer, but with rocket-powered cars”. Peak Viewers: 61.8k (2019 2k league finals) 9. Before doing that in the last month, the number of viewers for a 2K event ranged between 5k-10k, which is the least on this list. Since the pandemic, ESPN has shown 2K league games on ESPN 2, which helped increase the number of viewers. Viewership is the main reason why 2k is this low on the ranking. The NBA announced that they were adding 4 more teams in 2018, and it is only a matter of time before more teams are added again. The league is still relatively new, but is actively supported by the NBA, and will continue to grow in the coming years. There is a $900,000 prize pool for the playoffs, and the winning team takes $420,000. The top 7 teams make the postseason, as well as the winner of the last regular-season tournament. The 2K League has a 15-week regular season, with 3 regular-season tournaments with significant prize pools.
They have a combine for players to compete and showcase their skills to be drafted, just like in the regular NBA. The league has a concrete path for new players to enter the league. The teams in the NBA 2K League are owned by that franchise, and 21 teams in the NBA have a team in the 2K League. The NBA 2K League underwent its first year in 2018 as partners with the NBA. But what is the biggest eSport of 2020? Is it the game that attracts the most fans for events, the ones with the largest active player base, or the game with the largest prize pool for the competition.įor this ranking, I will be using data on viewership of 20 events and prize payouts so far. Viewership on streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube have increased over the past three months, with the views of eSports leading the charge. The worldwide Coronavirus pandemic halted sports leagues across the globe, but eSports continued and excelled. Whether you prefer long-standing eSports such as Counter-Strike and League of Legends, or a faster-paced game that attracts a large number of players like Call of Duty or Fortnite. As prize pools and viewership numbers increase every single year, I think it is safe to say that eSports are going to continue to grow in popularity for the rest of the year. The eSports scene has continued to thrive in the first half of 2020.