Esports are massive. We can understand you’re not a fan, but not acknowledging the size the domain has reached is unacceptable.
Being good at competitive games of Esports is like being a professional athlete. The best of the best get fame, glory, recognition, and money.
Kids all over the world not only want to be like CR7, Messi, or Michael Jordan. They want to be Faker, Perkz, Emreyilmaz, NiKo or Donk.
There are so many games that it is hard to imagine that you haven’t been playing one that is among the most popular Esports.
Maybe you have, but you just do not know which one is it. This list should clear any misunderstandings if there were any to begin with, as we’re going to talk a bit about the games that are our best shot at getting at competitive Esports.
Remember Esports are such a domain that it’s never too late to get involved. Maybe this article is the weight that’s going to tip the scale for you.
Rainbow Six Siege
Why probably not anyone’s top pick, we believe that Rainbow Six Siege is a nice place to start your Esports adventure.
Trust us, this game is better and more popular now than it has ever been. The game was unique from the start, and its creators have stuck to what worked. A formula that has paid off. This tactical FPS from Ubisoft is not a new title.
It’s actually over a decade old and has a well deserved place on this list. The sign that the best is yet to come from Siege is that the game is finally free to play.
With new and modernized old maps, a better 6×6 mode, and no price attached, Rainbow Six Siege is as good an entry to Esports as any. The game is currently going through a redesign, so do not be confused if someone calls it by its new moniker, Siege X.
Throughout the years, the game has had its ups and downs, and while many people believed that it would go off, as far as its streaming and viewing numbers go it fares better than ever.
Often compared to Valorant, Rainbow Six Siege has managed not only to keep Valorant at bay, but to even be better than it, despite many major bugs that Ubisoft had issues removing permanently. Yet, after almost a decade on the market, it has a massive fan base, and more and more people are flocking to play it.
Today, it is better than ever, and we can freely claim that anyone who tries it out will not be making a mistake. To get to know the heights you need to reach to be good at this Esports game you can check out here who is the best Rainbow Six Siege player.
League of Legends
LoL by Riot is close to being the best among Esports by a large margin. Throughout the years it managed to be quite popular and to remain at the top once it got there too. League of Legends has both a massive fan base and player base too.
This MOBA has reached the top by being one of the most strategic games out there, where its gameplay aided it in reaching the top of Esports.
As far as Esports go, the League of Legends World Championship called Worlds is the most watched event in this domain. Last year, the viewership peaked at 6.8million viewers.
As far as Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games go LoL is without competition. It has almost 50 million players monthly, and Riot Games got everything right when it comes to this title.
We should also mention that it is also one of the most popular Esports to bet on, on platforms such as Stake.com, and that speaks volumes about the diversity of all the people who follow LoL for one reason or the other.
Counter-Strike
As you can notice, first person shooters fare rather well in Esports. One of those that has been around as long as we can remember is Counter-Strike.
The first iteration of this game was released way back in 1999. Since then, Valve has turned CS into a franchise and spanned a few sequels such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and Counter-Strike 2 (CS2).
What makes this game stand out in Esports is its tactical depth, game mechanics that require player skill, and one of the best communities in competitive gaming. While not on the level of LoL, CS attracts many viewers as we saw during the PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026, won by MOUZ, which had 539,700 viewers at its peak during the final.
Valve has invested plenty into its Counter-Strike universe, by offering players many tournaments and competitions to participate in, and providing rewards that go all the way from minor rewards in the range of $50,000 to $100,000 all the way up to $2 million prize pools.
The best events in CS are put forth by ESL, PGL, and BLAST, and with 60 million active players, this game is bound to last longer than it was ever expected when it was first created.
Valorant
Valorant is much like Counter-Strike, but just powered a tad bit more with unique agent abilities, and more well designed graphics. In no time, it has managed to become one of the Esports leaders despite the heavy competition among the first person shooters.
It managed to get to the top by offering something different as far as FPSs go, and this was quickly recognized by both the players and the viewers.
At the moment it has more than 25 million active players. At VALORANT Masters Bangkok it had its bigger audience as far as a single event goes with 2.2 million viewers.
The Valorant Champions Tour is the game’s main event and it is when this tactical FPS from Riot Games has all the attention from the Esports communities from all over the world.
One of the game’s great players known as TenZ retired from competitive gaming, and this might be a good opportunity for you to join the world of Esports and try to take his place through this tactical first person shooter, Valorant.
Dota 2
A legendary game! For many, Dota 2 is what Esports are all about. This game is best known for its biggest event, The International. Since 2913, when it was released, Dota 2 knows only about an upward trajectory. Last year, The International in Copenhagen drew 1.5 million viewers at the peak of broadcast.
Behind one of the most classic MOBAs out there is Valve who obviously has a stronghold on Esports with some of its releases. Dota 2 comes with intricate gameplay, depth requiring strategy, massive prize pools at the biggest tournaments, and some of the best fans in Esports.
When you think of prize pools, you can view Dota 2 as if it was one of the top sports in the world, as we’re talking about the biggest ones going close to $30 million.
Right now, it has 12 million active players, which is less compared to some other titles from this list, but on the great scale of things, we can freely claim that no other MOBA or game in general compares to Dota 2.
PUBG Mobile
At the moment PUBG Mobile is looking to get to the heights of LoL, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike. It is on the right path, when you know that the latest PUBG Mobile Global Championship, held last year at London’s ExCeL Arena, had a $3 million prize pool. The game is intense, and as far as battle royal titles go, it is deservedly the first mention on our list.
The number of monthly players of PUBG Mobile stands at a bit above 700 thousand, with more than quarter of million viewers tuning in for the 2024 PMGC Grand Finals, Day 2. Tencent Games are behind it, and as far as the Battle Royale genre goes, PUBG Mobile looks to stand the test of time.
At the moment, work is underway to establish more tournaments, and regional qualifiers to further get the game closer to more players and viewers. When that happens the numbers will grow, so keep an eye on the development the PUBG Mobile is going through.
Fortnite
That’s right, another battle royal game. Fortnite, released by Epic Games, is also one of the leaders of Esports. From the moment it was released its influence spread like wildfire, and the cultural significance of this game cannot be overstated.
The game is highly competitive and in no time, its main event The Fortnite Championship Series Global Championship showed the world just how popular this game is.
During the tournament in 2024 there were 50 teams competing for the prize of $2 million. It has a nice fan base of 1.7 million active players, and with availability of all possible consoles it has a high reach compared to some of the games from above.
Even after years on the market, the community remains engaged with the game, and especially so after the Fortnite OG mode was introduced.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Moonton is behind Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and this game developing company hit the jackpot with this Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. As far as Southeast Asia goes this game is it.
It is accessible and fast paced, making it an instant hit in the Esports world. It is all about players engaging in 5×5 battles, with the possibility to pick one of a kind heroes and fight on a map for the control of it.
Anyone who saw the M6 World Championship in Kuala Lumpur knows just how far this game has gone in such a small amount of time. At its peak the tourney attracted more than 4 million viewers. As far as the general count of players goes at the moment it is a bit over 50 million on monthly levels.
Just some of the tournaments that revolve around this game are M Series World Championship, and MPL (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League). As far as rewards goes, the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is right there with the best.
MLBB Esports rewarded close to $8 million in 2024 in total prizes, showing that its growth is good for both the sport and the participants too.
Brawl Stars
You’ll be hearing more and more about the Brawl Stars in years ahead of us. The game started off nicely and has built itself on a positive reception it received early on.
The number of fans grows by the day and this is backed by the number of 1,103,153 people who joined in during the 2024 Brawl Stars Championship in Helsinki. What started as a simple mobile hero shooter is now one of the most popular Esports.
Its mechanics are unique, which when paired with its pace and accessibility give a good product to the growing fans base and it is easier to attract new users compared to some even more established titles on this list.
The number of active monthly players is close to 17 million and it grows by the day. Brawl Stars comes from Supercell publisher and it is a crossover between Hero Shooter and MOBA.
It is a great title that keeps on growing, and this is evident by the high number of Brawl Stars tournaments held so far with this number closing in on a couple of hundred. The number of players grows, so does the number of viewers, and the prizes get higher and higher.
During the 2026 Brawl Stars World Finals the number of viewers reached 211,000. The prize pool for the best 16 Brawl Stars teams was $1 million. These numbers are not easy to reach, and they only serve as testimony to the games growing popularity.
Right Now, this is the best Esports has to offer, and the chances are slim that you won;t like at least one of these games.
