Esport is a kind of competitive sport activity with digital video games. Esport generally takes the form of either organized, multiplayer online video game competitions, especially between several top level players, either individually or in teams, all competing for honors and money. These are often televised events, but many amateur players enjoy this as well. Some big esport events include the Electronic Sports Festival (ESF) which is usually hosted by the game’s publishers and/or production companies.
Online and offline tournament esport events usually come with a set prize pool, which can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, unlike regular sports where the winner takes only the prize money and the loser has to play more to continue playing, in esport the players and teams play continuously until one team wins or loses. Some of these tournaments feature teams from all over the world, while others are based only on a specific country or region. There are also international tournaments, such as the Hyper Tours Series, which features teams from all over Europe and other international countries.
In most cases, there are numerous international teams that sign up to compete in any esport event. Usually, there is an open registration phase for potential teams, allowing anyone who wants to join the competition to do so. Then, once a team qualifies for a esport tournament – often through a large competition – they are given a place to play. There is no actual skill testing during this stage; however, teams are tested with various different kinds of gameplay scenarios in order to determine their strengths and weaknesses and how they should develop further. In this way, the top teams are often able to gain a solid advantage over lesser teams during play, resulting in long-term esport careers.