As eSports has taken off over the last decade, it’s left many people baffled. While it’s easy to see what makes gaming so much fun, it’s taken longer for non-gamers to understand what makes watching gaming fun. In reality, eSports offer the exact same allure as traditional sports—it’s highly satisfying and compelling to watch the pros do their thing.
In fact, supporters of major eSports games, teams, and leagues can even engage with their side much like a sports fan. There are meet-and-greet opportunities, plenty of merch to order, and high-profile matches to watch live with friends. But there’s one distinction for gamers: there’s always the chance that they might one day go pro themselves.
This idea didn’t start recently, either. For decades, poker has been a global affair that might see a casual player go pro and sign with a major poker provider. Even if they don’t advance to the Main Event at the World Series of Poker, there are dozens of other types of events for them to make their name in—from Mystery Cash Challenges to satellite qualifiers.
But which teams would the average video gamer today dream of joining? And what game would they likely gravitate towards? Let’s take a closer look at the world’s most popular eSports teams and games. Our metrics for the former include total hours watched and, for the latter, the peak number of viewers.
T1 (League of Legends, South Korea)
League of Legends is the world’s most popular eSport. According to Esports Charts, there were over 6.4 million concurrent viewers for League of Legends action so far this year. Based on 2022’s final numbers, the world’s most popular LoL team is South Korea’s T1, which racked up over 112 million hours watched by fans last year.
T1 was originally founded back in 2002, at which point players competed in StarCraft. However, a decade later in 2012, the team shifted toward LoL. Since then, they’ve taken home four World Championship titles in the game (2013, 2015, 2016, and 2023). Their win this year has helped keep T1 at the top of the charts in terms of competitive performance and fandom.
RRQ (Mobile Legends Bang Bang, Indonesia)
Let’s shift over to the world of mobile gaming. Non-gamers might be surprised to learn that the world’s second-most popular eSports title is a mobile game (Mobile Legends Bang Bang), but, in reality, mobile competitions are on the rise—especially in Southeast Asia. It should come as no surprise that Indonesia’s RRQ leads in this competitive MOBA.
In fact, RRQ stands out because it leads Indonesia in other competitive mobile games too, including PUBG: Mobile, Free Fire, and even Valorant. Back in 2022, fans watched almost 89 million hours of content from RRQ. Since this team has been championing mobile gaming since it took off in the late 2010s, they’ve become a favorite for millions of gamers in Indonesia and Malaysia.
However, ONIC Esports (also from Indonesia) is starting to take a bite out of RRQ’s fandom. From 2021 to 2022, ONIC’s total number of hours watched jumped almost 20% from the previous year. The team’s most-watched event was their faceoff against RRQ for the Indonesian championship title.
Navi (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Ukraine)
The world’s third-most popular game based on total hours watched is CS: GO. This might come as a surprise for many, as this game includes some of the highest payouts in the industry in terms of competitive matches. Though it makes sense to follow the money, both LoL and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang include significantly smaller prize pools. Despite this, it hasn't stopped either game from becoming a fan favorite and staying at the top of the charts.
Leading the CS: GO pack are long-time favorites Navi (short for Natus Vincere). Last year, fans watched almost 75 million hours of Navi action—which marked a huge drop-off from the year before. This makes more sense considering the global popularity of CS: GO, as Navi only barely pulled ahead of the hugely popular FaZe Clan.
