What are the top 5 best esports to watch?

Whether you are new to esports, or someone that’s watched esports for years the games you watch massively depend on your interests. As someone that’s watched and followed a variety of esports here is my opinion on the best games to watch. It is worth saying that I have never played some of the big name titles so they won’t make this list (apologies DOTA fans). Let me know down below if you agree or disagree with my list, what have I missed?

5. Street Fighter

I’m starting this list with a game that I have never put any serious time into. The reason it sits at number 5 is the simplicity of it as a spectator. It is a 1 vs 1 fighting game with the winner being the one left alive. Intel have picked it as one of the games being included in their event partnering what was Tokyo 2020 showing that there is enough of a following to justify it as an attraction.

It is also a game that just about anyone has played, whether it was at an arcade, on a mega drive or a N64 it is a game that has evolved through the years but kept the same concept at its core. It allows just about anyone to watch and understand it and creates plenty of drama along the way.

4. Call of Duty

Call of duty is the game that first attracted me to watching top level competitive gaming. The constant action and strategic ways teams play around various objectives is a thrill to watch. As an FPS (First Person Shooter) game it is simple enough to follow for this that haven’t watched it in the past and there is plenty there for the more experienced call of duty players.

The major issue with Call of Duty esports is that there is a new game every 12 months. This means spectators need to learn and understand the new maps, new guns and new game modes so its not the easiest game to stay on top of year after year. Other than that Call of Duty is a great game to watch and it only gets better when you watch the pros create highlight reels you could only dream of.

3. Counter Strike Global Offensive

Having never played CSGO personally, I was debating leaving this off my list. However, it has a huge following and is much simpler to understand compared to Call of Duty. There is one game mode to learn with the very simple idea of kill the other team to win (along with an objective to force the kills along). The level of skill and precision that these players execute at along with the tactics created, the community will never forget the controversial olofboost on overpass.

The pro level of CSGO has created some unreal highlights and clips that will be admired for years and people have endlessly tried to re create these plays since. For those that do follow CSGO I’m thinking of the s1mple double no scope, the hiko flick and THAT jump awp play from coldzera. It is a game that has the tension and the skill to create a truly great esport.

2. League of Legends

Not only is this the most watched esport world wide, it is also one of my favourites. If this list was what are my favourite esports, I’d probably put League at number 1. However, it is a complicated game to learn and be able to follow with a full understanding of what is going on. Saying that, watching League back in 2015 is what got me playing the game in the first place. I’ll never forget the MSI final where EDG dismantled the SKT favourites to get their only major success on the world stage.

The worldwide audience and global events attract players and fans from all over. Yes you get some boring games like the 21 minute first blood from this weekends LCS game between Dignitas and Golden Guardians but you also get some unbelievable games that go back and forth for 40 minutes. League has the tension, the skill and the tactics to make it addicitve and thrilling to watch which is probably why it has the most viewed event on Twitch to date.

The Rocket League esports scene doesn’t have a crazy number of fans compared to the bigger more well known titles. It is still a growing esports but it has the potential to be one of the biggest. I watch more Rocket League than any other esport so yes, my opinion is a little bias but as a game it has everything. For someone that has never watched esports before, it is a simple 3 v 3 game of football (granted it is in flying cars) that anyone in the world could follow. There is a reason Intel chose it as one of the games to partner its esports event tying into the Olympics. They think it will attract a big enough audience to make it worth while.

For those who play and have seen RL before, the level of skill that the top players and teams demonstrate is simply unreal. Whether it’s a crazy solo play or a sublime passing play teams have to be at the highest level across multiple games in order to succeed. Games are only 5 minutes so your not committing huge amounts of time but the back and forth of a series keeps it entertaining. It is also the only game that does not snowball out of control. If you concede a goal there is no in game disadvantage, you don’t lack cash for guns on CSGO, or gold for items on League. The comeback is never dead in Rocket League, no-one will ever forget that goal from NRG in the grand final with the forever iconic caster line ‘This is Rocket League’.

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