Cyber sport is one of the fastest growing modern industries. In 2018 the main Dota 2 tournament – The International – attracted about 15 million spectators worldwide. According to research by Nielsen, the average age of fans of cybersports tournaments in Western countries is 26 years.
At the same time 71% of the surveyed fans believe that cybersports will become the mainstream in the next few years, and 28% think that cybersports should be one of the disciplines of the Olympic Games. So how did computer games become a spectacular sport? Dota 2 main tournament .
Where did it all start?
We can say that eSports emerged when people had the opportunity to compete with each other, not just to play computer games. The first really dynamic and spectacular game with team battles is Doom 2. But really eSports was a multiplayer shooter Quake, where was completely recreated three-dimensional world. It is with the advent of this game usually associated with the emergence of eSports.
In 1997, the American founded the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) and began conducting tournaments on Quake. Fans of computer games were enthusiastic: their passion was a spectacular and large-scale competition. Since 2001, CPL has also held Counter-Strike tournaments. Tournaments were held in the USA, Europe, Latin America and Asia. As of 2006, about 3,000,000 million prizes have been drawn at CPL tournaments.
It describes a computer network connecting all people and information sources, the interface of which is a virtual landscape. This landscape in the novel was called cyberspace. Angel realized that by playing computer games, people compete in a similar virtual space and use special skills, constantly “pumping” them. It reminded him of the work of professional athletes.
By combining the words “cyberspace” and “athlete”, Muñez introduced the term “cyberatlet”, which is still used today to refer to professional players. Cyber-attendants, however, do not need to have developed muscles to win competitions. The main feature of cyber sport is its accessibility. Age, gender and country of residence do not matter – only skills and desire to develop are important.
How Cybersports Develops in Kazakhstan.
In the early 2000s, LAN (Local Area Network) competitions were gaining popularity in Kazakhstan, when all participants are in one room. At the same time, the country also saw the first cybersportsmen who understood that games are not just a way to relax and kill time, but an opportunity for self-realization and earnings. In 2005 team k23 (Kazakhstan 2030) took the 2nd place by Counter Strike.
Cybersports becomes an official sport.
The International Olympic Committee in 2017 accepted the issue of recognition of cybersports as an Olympic sport. The growing popularity of the industry over time is being transformed into support at the state level. For example, in 2016 in Russia cybercompetitions were recognized as an official sport.
Kazakhstan came to this in 2018. The reason was the foundation of the Qazaq Cybersport Federation, a non-profit organization. The Federation has just started its work and its main goal is development and popularization of cybersports as a part of international sports movement and preparation of the country for life in information society.
How Cyber tournaments are held
Cyber tournaments have little difference in form from the usual sports championships. Competitions are held in disciplines. At the same time, games that contain an element of randomness, which dominates over the factor of ability to play, will not be suitable for the competition.
A cyber sportsman and organizer of cyber tournaments, knows firsthand what it means to organise a tournament. He started practicing cybersports professionally in 2009 and works for xGame team. “We can take on the organization of the event from scratch, until the award, or we can take a separate part, for example, at the last tournament from Red Bull – Last Champion we were attracted as specialists in the sports part.
We are responsible for the organization of the final part of the event, the organization of online selections, control over the tournament, the work of referees, communication with the audience and, of course, all game moments.
The history of Cyber Sport
Begins in 1997 when CPL was founded, which made the first tournament in the discipline Quake. But the first game with the possibility of a cooperative bout was Doom 2.
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Recognition of Russia
Russia was the first country in the world that recognized eSports as an official sport. It happened on July 2001, by the order of the previous head of the State Committee for Sports of Russia Pavel Rozhkov. After the change of management and renaming of the State Committee for Sports of Russia into the Federal Agency for Physical Culture and Sports, as well as in connection with the subsequent introduction of the All-Russian.
Register of Sports (VRVS), it was necessary to repeat the procedure of recognition of computer sports on March 12 by order of the head of the State Committee for Sports of Russia Vyacheslav Fetisov .
In July 2006, cybersports was excluded from the All-Russian register of sports because it did not meet the criteria required for inclusion in this register: development in more than half of the subjects of the Russian Federation and the presence of a duly registered all-Russian physical culture and sports association.
On the recognition and inclusion in the All-Russian register of sports disciplines, sports and the introduction of changes in the All-Russian register of sports. According to this order, computer sports were transferred to the second section – sports developed at the All-Russian level.
