Esports has quickly become a massive industry, with millions of people participating in competitive gaming across the globe. People travel from all around the world to attend esports tournaments to cheer on their favorite teams. Spectating professionals going up against each other in some of the most popular games in the world is something that has blown up in recent times. Here are some of the most exciting esports tournaments that you should keep an eye out for in 2022/23.
Apex Legends Global Series Championship
Apex Legends is a battle royale-style game where teams of 3 fight against 19 other teams until one is left victorious. The Apex Legends Global Series Championship (ALGS), by far the biggest esports tournament for this game, is being held in North Carolina at the PNC Arena. The last team to win the competition was DarkZero, a team from the Asia-Pacific region. They are one of the favorites to win the title once more, but there are a few teams that are strong contenders. The other teams you should keep an eye on include TSM, UNITE, Optic Gaming, and Team Liquid.
Rocket League Championship Series
The Rocket League Championship Series is the season’s last tournament, which will be held in Arlington, Texas. A number of teams have a good shot at winning the Championship Series, with the favorites being Moist Esports from Europe, Team Queso, and Team BDS. FURIA, a team from Brazil, is another team you shouldn’t count out after making the top 6 in a number of the last tournaments. It’s all up for grabs at the Rocket League Championship Series, so get ready to be on the edge of your seat as it comes down to the final wire.
Call of Duty League Championship
Call of Duty Esport tournaments have been around for a long time now; however, one tournament that has remained a favorite is the Call of Duty League Championship. People travel from all over to support their favorite Call of Duty team as they go head to head in the hopes of being crowned the best in the world. Without a doubt, the team that is being regarded as the likely winner is Atlanta Faze. They have shown themselves to be consistently placed high on the podium in several of the last tournaments. This doesn’t mean they are guaranteed victory, however.
Other teams trying to cause an upset at this year’s championship include Optic Texas. They are another team that has shown that they can consistently perform at a high level and have had a lot of respectable performances. This year’s Call of Duty League Championship will be held in the sunny state of California in the great city of Los Angeles. One thing that can be sure, the stadium will be packed with fans hoping that their team will clinch the victory, and the atmosphere will be one not to be missed.
Valorant Champions
Valorant is a game that exploded in popularity after Riot released it back in June 2020. Since then, the hype for esports tournaments in Valorant has only increased, and now a huge fan base is supporting many of the different Valorant esports teams. After a convincing victory at the Valorant Masters in Reykjavik, Optic Gaming is a clear favorite to take another title.
This doesn’t mean that there isn’t a good chance that another team might come out of nowhere and snatch the victory. The game is still relatively new, meaning there is plenty of space for new strategies to come out and dominate at the professional level. This year’s Valorant Champions will be held in Istanbul, Turkey.
League of Legends World Championship
Leaving the best until last, the largest esports event of the year goes to the League of Legends World Championship. Millions of people tune in from around the world to watch the best League of Legends players battle it out on the Summoner’s Rift in the hopes of being crowned the next champions of the world. This year, the World Championship is being held in four different locations. The play-ins are being held in Mexico City, and both the group stages and quarterfinals will be played in New York. Players will travel to Atlanta City for the semifinals to fight for a place in the finals.
The finals will be played in San Francisco, where one team will win the World Championship title. The best League of Legends teams traditionally come from South Korea and China, with SKT1 and RNG being the favorites to win every year. However, the talent coming out of Europe and other regions is becoming more and more impressive each year. G2 from Europe have shown that they are able to play at the same level as the top teams in the world, even beating them on some occasions. One thing you can be sure about is that this year’s world championship will be one not to miss.