Modern eSports is one of the world’s most developed entertainment industries. As of 2023, it’s estimated that close to 540 million viewers tune in for major events. By 2025, analysts believe up to 640 million spectators could be following leagues like ESL, Overwatch League, and The International. For context, just over 14.5 million viewers tuned in concurrently to watch last year’s FIFA World Cup final.

But how did we get here? Only twenty years back in the early 2000s, video games were still associated with a sedentary lifestyle and spending time indoors. Even though PC and console games were starting to gain more coverage in mainstream headlines—and some were even getting TV and film reboots—official competitions weren’t nearly as large or widespread as today.

It wasn’t until the Twitch boom of the 2010s that eSports took off globally. As more streamers exposed subscribers to new titles, interest in those titles and different gaming genres took off. In fact, modern eSports closely resemble parallel industries, especially traditional sports. This resemblance includes elements like qualifying for major tournaments, trading players internationally, and even sponsorship deals.

Just like sports academies, there are now training academies designed to turn amateur gamers into top-tier pros. But before eSports became a global affair on par with traditional sports, only hardcore and dedicated fans banded together based on their love of a certain game. And some were around even before ethernet and LAN parties started.

Poker

Today, poker remains one of the largest online gaming communities. In fact, though the most popular platforms are all virtual, some companies also host in-person events and tournaments for pros looking for a live experience. But back in the early 2000s, the poker boom was all about remote play.

Today, the World Poker Tour estimates that around 100 million players still log on to play poker—compared to a paltry 2.5 million for games like League of Legends. Despite the fact that the World Series of Poker helped popularize games like Texas Hold’em and Omaha in the 1980s and 90s, it wasn’t until the game jumped online that it really took off.

StarCraft

Around the same time that online poker was seeing a virtual boom, StarCraft steered the interest in real-time strategy games. The game follows a military sci-fi theme, which explores the story of four distinct alien races. Despite a slow start after its release in 1998, StarCraft is now considered one of the first games to have championed modern eSports.

That’s because the first competitions were held in 2003, a time when it was still logistically difficult to connect gamers to the same server. Thanks to pro gamers in South Korea, StarCraft competitions helped define tournament organization in terms of infrastructure, media coverage, team formation, and much more.

Tetris

Tetris is one of the most interesting games to study. It was invented by a software engineer who wanted to spruce up his work life back in the 1980s. Within a few years of the game’s invention, it had become a global phenomenon. Due to issues related to copyrighting, Tetris was spread across multiple platforms and consoles, helping introduce millions to the puzzle game.

By 1990, it was a major title at the Nintendo World Championship—and thousands were hoping to beat the game and attain glory. Thor Ackerlund became the first Tetris champion, but he was far from the last. Most consider the 2009 Classic Tetris World Championship winner Harry Hong the be the greatest of all time. He was the first to attain the highest possible score of 999,999 points.

Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics

Officially, the first eSports-adjacent competition was hosted by the US’s Stanford University. Players competed in a game called Spacewar!, a rudimentary predecessor to 1978’s Space Invaders. In 1972, over a dozen gamers gathered in a room to compete in five-man free-for-all teams.

A champion was named and gifted a year-long subscription to Rolling Stone magazine. Though the prizes and organization in modern eSports have evolved significantly since then, they aren’t totally unfamiliar to this foundational tournament.