Esports is a rapidly growing phenomenon around the world. Between 2023 and 2035, the global market value is expected to increase five fold to more than $10 billion dollars. A precursor to esports, casino games such as online slots and poker tournaments helped to introduce many current esports enthusiasts to the world of online gaming in £10 deposit casinos not on GamStop. Casino games were a foundation for esports with many casino players initially steaming themselves playing casino games and sharing their gambling strategies like what games to play, the top tricks and finding the right casino bonus for you. Some gambling platforms now even offer esports related games and bets.
The popularity of eSports events has enabled them to offer huge prize pools to participants. In fact, in 2023 the cumulative prize pools for five of the big eSports tournaments totaled more than $15 million US dollars. This helps competitions to attract highly skilled players and makes the events even more intense and highly anticipated.
In this article, we profile some of the biggest eSports competitions that you should watch out for in 2025, including what the event involves and the potential earnings that winners can take home:
The International (Dota 2)
The International is an annual eSports event founded in 2011 and centres around the popular video game Dota 2. Hosted by developer Valve, the prize fund for this competition is crowd funded through the purchasing of Dota 2 Battle Passes.
This competition is one of the most watched international eSports events and last year had more than three million viewers. In the same year, the prize fund reached more than $2.6 million dollars.
How does the event work? The International is actually the final event in the Dota Pro Circuit and includes 20 teams from all around the world.
The organizers are changing things for a bit for the 2025 event. There will be a new format with double eliminations and an extended playoffs stage for an added level of competitiveness. The next competition is set to take place in early September 2025.
League of Legends Worlds
League of Legends Worlds is an annual event created by Riot Games and sees a number of teams go head to head for the championship title. In 2024, the LOL Worlds competition had more than 6.94 million viewers!
The tournament rotates around several countries each year and this year it will be hosted in China. It has been rumored that the prize pool could reach as high as $5 million dollars. The South Korean teams are the ones to look out for, they have been crowned champion at five LOL World Championships.
The 2025 event will take place in the later part of the year between October and November.
Fortnite World Cup
Another eSports event that you do not want to miss is the Fortnite World Cup, this competition is next set to take place in July 2025 and is expected to be in Los Angeles, US.
Epic Games are the host of the Fortnite World Cup and have been running the competition since it was founded back in 2019. There is the main world cup event and then there is also the battle royale with up to 100 players participating.
Spectators get to experience some of the action too with the chance of benefiting from some of the in-game reward drops. It is anticipated that the prize pool for this World Cup will be in the region of $30 million dollars.
PUBG Global Championship
Do not forget to tune into the PUBG Global Championship that is expected to take place in 2025 in December. With a $3 million dollar prize pool this Championship is likely to be hosted in South Korea and will include 32 teams from different regions around the world.
It’s a last man standing type of competition with some seriously high stakes. The 2025 edition will have some updates on the previous format with some new game play mechanics to look forward to.
Lastly, here are some top tips if you are planning to watch some of these upcoming esports events:
First of all, to help you get into the spirit of things and stay up to date with the order of events and what to expect, it is highly recommended that you follow the event and the top competing teams on social media.
Can you watch the games in-person? For some eSports events there is sometimes the opportunity to watch the events unfold in-person, this is usually at a large stadium or other traditional sports venue.
For more insights into the world of eSports you can even attend the relevant panels and exhibitions and see interviewees with some of the most skilled competitive players in the industry.
Watching eSports is a great way to immerse yourself in the world of gaming and enjoy you favorite video games in a new way. The most dedicated players may even wish to look into becoming an eSports competitor themselves.
Whichever events you tune into in 2025, you are guaranteed to witness some really exciting high-stakes action.
