Esports is steadily making its way around the planet. Today, eSports competitions are held in almost every corner of the globe. However, there are a few countries on the globe that should be called pioneers in the industry.
In other words, these countries have earned the trust of the local community and have become iconic venues for major LAN-tournaments. In this article, we offer a walkthrough of the countries that are hosting or will host big esports championships in 2023.
United States of America
After the coronavirus pandemic, it took the United States a few years to return to the forefront of global eSports. In 2023, it will host some of the biggest competitions in all significant disciplines.
For example, in April 2023, Los Angeles hosted the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: Americas League. What’s more, the competitive season for teams will end there as well, but with the multi-million dollar VALORANT Champions 2023 in August 2023.
The USA also returns to the usual schedule of CS:GO tournaments. BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2023 and IEM Dallas 2023 will be held here in summer, and ESL Challenger at DreamHack Atlanta 2023 will take place at the end of the year.
We shouldn’t forget about other disciplines as well. In particular, the Rocket League Winter Major took place in San Diego, while local LCS events certainly need no introduction. Moreover, BLAST Major USA 2023, the final Rainbow Six Major of the season, will be held in November in the USA.
Dota 2, of course! 2023 (TI 2023), the biggest tournament in the world, will be held in October 2023 in Seattle. The event will bring together 18 of the world’s strongest teams to play for a prize pool of around $40 million!
Germany
Germany is traditionally one of the leading European countries. First of all, it will host the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: EMEA League. In addition, the CS:GO discipline will see the iconic IEM Cologne 2023 and no less than The International ESL Challenger at DreamHack Hannover 2023.
Also Berlin Major 2023 on Dota 2 took place in Berlin, and already now the events in the LEC League of Legends are unfolding. And let’s not forget that Germany hosts a large number of smaller events in other disciplines.
Brazil
Let’s start with the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo, which took place in February as part of the VALORANT discipline. Here the best teams competed for a total prize pool of $500,000. The winner of the tournament was Fnatic, who defeated the local boys from LOUD 3:2 in the grand final.
The next event on the Brazilian calendar is IEM Rio 2023 for CS:GO. Last year Rio de Janeiro hosted the major, and in April again invited the strongest representatives of the scene. This time the size of the prize fund was $250,000. However, the much-loved Jeunesse Arena was happy to welcome many big names, including NAVI, FaZe Clan and Heroic.
France
Of course, the pinnacle of esports thought for France was BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, which took place in May for CS:GO. It should not be forgotten that Montpellier will host the LEC Finals 2023, while the Sud de France Arena will host the best teams in Europe on its spacious stands.
Great Britain
The most unobvious representative on the list, but in recent years the UK has been developing esports and promoting itself on all fronts. It’s enough to remember that all major FIFA and Apex Legends tournaments are held here.
Moreover, London hosted the Mid-Season Invitational 2023 in May.
South Korea
There is no place without representatives of the Asian part of the planet. It goes without saying that South Korea stands out here, as it has long been noted for its love of esports and its ability to organise big championships.
In 2023, the country will host the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: Pacific League, where partner clubs from all over Asia will battle it out for two months. Seoul is also a long-standing venue for the League of Legends LCK.
Riot Games’ popular MOBA will finish the season with the iconic 2023 World Championship, which will also take place in South Korea.