Esports has become a prominent form of entertainment right across the US but has affected each individual state in unique ways. Some states have found themselves with bigger and more popular tournaments, while other states are home to more well-known esports athletes.
Several colleges across the US now offer esports courses, with each school offering differing levels of course content and quality. Overall, this makes the US a very diverse esports nation.
Alabama, for example, has Esports AL. This non-profit organization seeks to create an inclusive ecosystem for esports gaming, spectating, and education throughout the state of Alabama. In addition to this, many colleges throughout the Yellowhammer State have added Esports to the curriculum. Both Auburn University and the University of Alabama have created Esports club programs.
Not only is playing and spectating Esports popular in Alabama but betting on it has grown in popularity in recent years, too. As Lewis Humphries points out, some sports betting sites for Alabama players provide the option to bet on Esports games. Specifically, they allow bettors to place wagers on CS: GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) eSports tournaments. It is common for bettors in Alabama to bet with crypto and also fiat currency.
New York State is another notable hub of eSports, being the home of several prominent organizations. Major League Gaming (MLG) was one of the first eSports gaming organizations, dating back to 2002. MLG truly revolutionized the sport, putting on many National Championship competitions throughout the ’00s. They most notably played games like Halo, Super Smash Bros, and Call of Duty.
Their major events started to slow down after Activision Blizzard bought them over in 2016. Microsoft then bought Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in 2022. Whether or not MLG will return remains to be seen.
However, MLG definitely left its mark on New York and helped to establish it as a hub of eSports. Other organizations have followed in their footsteps such as NYXL. This company operates several esports franchises including New York Subliners and New York Excelsior. Similar to MLG, NYXL put on major eSports events for the likes of Call of Duty and Overwatch.
New York has also played host to some of the biggest eSports events in the world in terms of viewership and global interest. This includes the League of Legends World Championship 2016 and the Overwatch League Grand Finals 2018, both of which garnered high viewership. The city has also hosted the ESL One Series since 2014.
The state of Washington must get a mention in this article due to the huge contribution it has made to the development of eSports. Washington is home to Valve Corporation, which created two of the biggest eSports games in the world. This includes the two games that are currently the most popular global eSports titles: Dota 2 and Counter-Strike.
Elsewhere in the Washington eSports scene, many Washington state schools have thriving eSports teams. Overall, the gaming industry has a $13.9 billion impact on Washington’s economy.