[4][5][6] Multiplayer competitions were long a part of video game culture, but were largely between amateurs until the late 2000s, when the advent of online streaming media platforms, particularly YouTube and Twitch, enabled a surge in participation by professional gamers and spectators.

[22] In 1984, Konami and Centuri jointly held an international Track & Field arcade game competition that drew more than a million players from across Japan and North America.

[41] The popularity of fighting games such as Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom in the 1990s led to the foundation of the international Evolution Championship Series (EVO) esports tournament in 1996.

Large esports tournaments in the 1990s include the 1990 Nintendo World Championships, which toured across the United States, and held its finals at Universal Studios Hollywood in California.

In 2014 Nintendo hosted an invitational Super Smash Bros. for Wii U competitive tournament at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) press conference that was streamed online on Twitch.

[70] The 2014 League of Legends World Championship in Seoul, South Korea, had over 40,000 fans in attendance and featured the band Imagine Dragons, and opening and closing ceremonies in addition to the competition.

[104] In 2013, Canadian League of Legends player Danny "Shiphtur" Le became the first pro gamer to receive an American P-1A visa, a category designated for "Internationally Recognized Athletes".

[131] In the late 2010s, leaders in Japan became involved in helping bring esports to the 2020 Summer Olympics and beyond, given the country's reputation as a major video game industry centre.

Esports in Japan had not flourished due to the country's anti-gambling laws that also prevent paid professional gaming tournaments, but there were efforts starting in late 2017 to eliminate this issue.

[139] The inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championship had separate branding, medals, and organization and included both men and women's Dota 2, eFootball, and Rocket League events.

Downsides to online connections include increased difficulty detecting cheating compared to physical events, and greater network latency, which can negatively impact players' performance, especially at high levels of competition.

[179] In April 2020, researchers from the Queensland University of Technology found that some of the top esports players showed similar aspects of mental toughness as Olympic athletes.

Although these teams or tournaments don't get nearly as much attention, budget, or prize pool as the main leagues of popular esports, it is still important to recognize these amazing players that have overcome their unfortunate positions and strive to succeed.

[223] The European Esports Federation was formed in April 2019 and includes UK, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, France, Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, Sweden, Turkey, and Ukraine.

[227] These sedentary behaviors of sitting for too long concerns public health researchers because spending more than 6–8 hours per day has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.

[229] Recent research has also shown that structured esports activities can foster teamwork, problem-solving skills, and promote digital literacy among participants, though concerns about sedentary behavior and mental health risks persist.

One study found that competitors in esports are often under psychological and physical stress, and the amateur ones are the most affected, since they frequently aim at greater wins without enough preparation, though no clear training guidelines are set to become professional players.

[235] Esports athletes are usually obligated to behave ethically, abiding by both the explicit rules set out by tournaments, associations, and teams, as well as following general expectations of good sportsmanship.

[252] In 2014, four high-profile North American Counter-Strike players from iBuyPower were suspended from official tournaments after being found guilty of match-fixing, allegedly profiting over US$10,000 through betting on their fixed matches.

[253] Gambling on esports using Counter-Strike: Global Offense "skins", worth an estimated US$2.3 billion in 2015, came under criticism in June and July 2016 after several questionable legal and ethical aspects were discovered.

[254] Reports of widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in esports are not uncommon, with players discussing their own, their teammates' and their competitors' use as well as officials acknowledging the prevalence of the issue.

[257] In 2020, former Call of Duty champion Adam "KiLLa" Sloss told The Washington Post that one of the major reasons he stopped competing in esports was the "rampant" use of Adderall in the competitive scene.

[259] The unregulated use of such drugs poses severe risks to competitors' health, including addiction, overdose, serotonin syndrome and, in the case of stimulants, weight loss.

[citation needed] The top female players that are involved in esports mainly get exposure in female-only tournaments, most notably Counter-Strike, Dead or Alive 4, and StarCraft II.

[272] In 2019, the countries where esports gambling is legal include the UK, New Zealand, Australia, China, Spain, Canada, South Korea, and Japan, and many of them are the international hosts for gaming tournaments.

[291] In 2018, the Associated Press' AP Stylebook officially began spelling the word as "esports", dropping support for both the capital "S" and the dash between "e" and "sports" styles, similar to how "e-mail" transformed with common usage to "email".

[305] In December 2016, Riot Games announced a deal with MLB Advanced Media's technology division BAM Tech for the company to distribute and monetize broadcasts of League of Legends events through 2023.

Riot Games' Dustin Beck stated that "TV's not a priority or a goal",[308] and DreamHack's Tomas Hermansson said "esports have [been proven] to be successful on internet streaming [services].

In an interview with The New York Times about the purchase, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick explained that the company was aspiring to create a U.S. cable network devoted to esports, which he described as "the ESPN of video games".

TV 2 partnered with local Norwegian organization House of Nerds to bring a full season of esports competition with an initial lineup of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and StarCraft II.