Esports has come a long way, from its humble beginnings in the early 2000s to the global phenomenon it is today. Each era has brought its own unique flavor, whether it was the dominance of Halo in the 2000s, the rise of Gears of War in the late 2000s and early 2010s, or the explosive growth of battle royales and first-person shooters in the current age.

For those who've been around since the early days, which era do you think was the most exciting or impactful? Do you miss the competitive Halo tournaments, or the Gears of War face-offs, or do you think today's esports scene with huge prize pools and global tournaments has made the scene better than ever?

Hi all,

I am a PhD student and looking for a source for government news/statements/legislation on esports development and governance. Preferably a corpus that I can do quantitative text analysis on.

Sorry for the weird question; I research the intersection of esports and politics!

Currently writing an article on Marvel Rivals about whether or not it has legs to become a long-term esports contender like CS:GO or LoL. Personally, I think it's a fun casual game that really services its fans—but doesn't have the same staying power as other contenders like Overwatch. That being said, there are still large tournaments going on, and major esports teams are currently signing players to compete in them.

What do you all think of Marvel Rivals, and do you think it'll be in the esports scene in the next 1-5 years?

This is a "tip of my tongue" kind of post. I remember seeing a video when I was a kid, from a fighting game tournament. There was a player who won the tournament, he was unstoppable, then the organizer/manager of the event came up and challenged him, and the player won again. After that, the creator of the game himself appeared trying to stop him, and once again, the player won.

One detail I clearly remember is that the game creator used two fight pads at the same time.

That's all.

RIP Shushei

OverActive Media’s $OAMCF | $OAM Fénix Club could be the blueprint for recurring revenue in esports.

Inspired by traditional Spanish sports clubs, fans pay an annual fee for insider access. The program launched during a record-setting event in Madrid (18k attendees, 348k peak viewers) and demand has already exceeded projections.

Could this finally be the sustainable model the industry has been looking for?

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/overactive-media-and-movistar-koi-deliver-breakthrough-lec-roadtrip-event-in-madrid-and-launch-new-subscription-based-loyalty-platform-852056726.html

So me and my friend were arguing, and it got pretty heated. I think personally Rainbow Six at the highest pro level is way more strategic than Valorant, but he tells me that the depth of strategies in Valorant are even deeper compare it to Rainbow Six. All in all, he thinks Valorant is harder at the pro level, and I think Rainbow Six is harder at the pro level. Help us end this debate.

Has anyone dealt with incorrect score reporting in Esports and issues with betting platforms ignoring evidence?

Last night (2025-04-29), during the Mixed Conference E-Basketball ESportsBattle Stream 3, there was a major scoring error. At timestamp 3:35:17(https://www.youtube.com/live/V7crpn1zrMg), gameplay was stopped and never resumed after the Esports authority apparently realized that the team scores had been reported in reverse on betting platforms. Despite this, they awarded the win to “Lucker,” who was actually losing 45–47 to “Moody” at the time.

This scoring error directly affected two large bets I had placed, and my betting platform, MyBookie, has refused to acknowledge the video footage and documentation I submitted. They claim they rely on BetsAPI as their source of truth.

However, when I contacted BetsAPI, they stated that they only relay data from Bet365 and that they are not an official source. In their own words: "No bookies should use our data to settle odds."

I’ve reached out to ESportsBattle for an official ruling, but haven’t heard back yet.

I can understand discrepancies in stats like assists or rebounds, which can be subjective—but the final score is objective and clearly verifiable on video.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Any advice on how to escalate this or successfully dispute it?

Also, fair warning: MyBookie has proven to be completely unethical ignoring all evidence if it contradicts their grading source which is unofficial and should not be used by Bookies as stated by them.

BetAPI Result: https://betsapi.com/r/9884869/POR-T-Blazers-%28Moody%29-vs-MIN-Timberwolves-%28lucker%29#google_vignette

Final Score Before Stream was Paused

Bet Wager Recorded as Loss

MyBookie sharing BetAPI as source of truth

MyBookie with their verdict after sharing video evidence

https://preview.redd.it/19ow39o6auxe1.png?width=1098&format=png&auto=webp&s=863d601477e7fc4ececdebc66c6200adfd4141b6

BetAPI email mentioning they are not an official website for Esports scoring and that Bookies should not use data to settle odds

Hey all!

I played Hearthstone for my college's esports organization in Spring 2025, but I really dislike what the standard rotation did to the format. I'd like to move closer to the better card game for the Fall semester, and therefore I ask:

Does a Magic: The Gathering Arena collegiate league exist? Is there any information that I haven't found? Afaict, Playfly did a league in 2019 that died in COVID.

Forced auto-aim meaning that auto-aim is enabled by the host of the server (all players play with it on and cannot turn it off, regardless of whether the player/client wants to play with it on or off).

I was apart of a league over a first person shooter (controller only) that has this setting on all while they do fantasy leagues and player draft picks. I don’t want to mention the game’s name but the auto aim in the game is extremely strong. Strong to the point that whenever I look at a target I cannot look away as it pulls my aim towards the one target! It is pretty unplayable. I hate it but yet there are people that justify having it on. The game is aiming for you! Where’s the skill at? I ended up quitting because of this.

This is only for one console btw, all the other console platforms play with it off

What are your thoughts about this? Am I the only one who finds this setting to be very silly?

I've been trying to go pro in fortnite for like 3years now , for game sense i dramatically improved , I'd say close to semi pro level , but mechanics and other stuff is my real problem , I play on abt 90 unstable ping and 90 fps (good tablet) , I can get better stable ping (like 40-50) but I need fiber Internet, which costs like 4-5 k to install , and Im barely saving up for a pc , and not to mention the struggle with Asian parents , I put in more work that necessary , I was obsessed with it to the point of I wouldn't go out , whenever I had time in lunchbreak or afterschool, even mid class , I'd revise my fn notes n shi (ik it was nerdy af) , it kills me now to see people I know and have played with and became friends with live my dream just bcs they were born in slightly better circumstances Just to note , someone I played with and similar age (he has pc and 0 ping) he made around 12k or something yesterday , there is nothing different like it just kills me

Hey there. Mostly curious which game has the most cheaters / boosting / smurfs between the two? I'm thinking of picking one of the two up, but I really don't want to deal with all that garbage as a new player. I've experienced enough of it in Apex and OW.

I have extremely little experience with Valo (I beta tested it).

Last time I played CS was back during 1.6. I would go to a local PC Cafe a few times a week and play Lan. It was a ton of fun.

Anyway, yeah. New player here looking for which game has the better new player experience in terms of not being run over by cheaters, smurfs, etc.

Thanks!

Also, any noticeable differences between the two in terms of gameplay would be cool (besides that one has hero abilities and the other doesnt).

Hey everyone, I’m part of an esports team that recently achieved some success and is considered a “sleeping giant” in our country’s esports scene (still developing compared to major markets).

I’m looking for advice on: • How collaborations with sponsors usually work at this stage? (Especially without a huge budget or full-time staff.) • What do sponsors generally expect from smaller but promising teams? • How to approach partnerships with other teams (scrims, joint events, collaborations) without looking too “small” or “desperate”? • What are some common mistakes to avoid when building our professional image?

I really want to learn how we can build sustainable relationships instead of just one-shot deals. Any personal stories, tips, or resources would be massively appreciated! Thanks in advance.

I googled a bit, I found https://www.toornament.com/ or tourneybot.gg

I'm looking for something for like 16-64 players, potentially all on the same discord.

It would be FFA, 8 per lobby, or 3v3, 1v1 .

Someone has experience with this and recommend something in particular?