Esports was first introduced to the world through Atari in 1980 when they hosted the Space Invaders Championship. As video games have increased in popularity over the years, so have competitive gameplay tournaments. More people than ever are attending competitions and accepting the events in the world of sports, even going so far as arranging betting odds for players.

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The most common games being played competitively include League of Legends and Call of Duty, but like with all sports, there are some truly niche games with intense competitors. Some make sense based on game type, while others are as random as they are entertaining to watch.

10 Catherine (2011)

Catherine is a game developed by the people who brought us Persona, and it has seen a wide range of reception since its release in 2011. The story is centered around a guy attempting to form a relationship with one of two women. You solve block puzzles to progress in the game, and in multiplayer mode, you're racing against your opponent to get to the top of the puzzle first.

It first appeared competitively at the NorCal Install tournament but has since been hosted at EVO.

9 GeoGuessr (2013)

Potentially one of the least likely games to ever come to mind when discussing esports, GeoGuessr is all about looking at the street-level view of a map. The closer you get to correctly guessing where you've been dropped in the map, the more points you earn. It's a casual game that allows you to explore the world through gameplay, with single and multiplayer modes.

The multiplayer mode turned it into the competitive game its fans love. GeoGuessr and Reddit often host events, and it has a large following on Twitch.

8 Age Of Empires (1997 - Present)

Age of Empires was first released in 1997, with multiple iterations of the title having since been developed. A real-time strategy game that places you in the Stone Age and has you build your own civilization from scratch, the game on its own doesn't seem like a highly competitive concept. However, each game in the series has inspired tournaments to see who can build the strongest Empire.

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Age of Empires has seen competitive play at Red Bull Wololo, among other events, and is streamed on Twitch and YouTube for fans to view.

7 Farming Simulator (2008 - Present)

The first Farming Simulator was released in 2008 and is still going strong, with new games being added to the series roughly every two to three years. The gameplay is literally what the title suggests: simulated high-yield farming. Even as a casual game, this might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is far from the top of most people's minds when listing esports.

Leagues are formed, and tournaments are organized in 15-minute matches, making for intense players that can be very fun to watch. Hosted by Farming Simulator League, the tournament payout can be huge - upwards of $9,000.

6 Zwift (2014)

Zwift is an online cycling and running game that allows people to train and race one another virtually. Logically, cycling and running are physical sports, so transferring to esports is reasonable. Still, the massive following is unlikely, given how niche the game is.

The UCI Cycling Esports World Championships is the primary host for these events, with each race being set on a different city's map; 2022 was set in New York City with two races of 50 kilometers.

5 OSU! (2007)

Plenty of music and rhythm games are played competitively, but osu! has a unique and passionate fanbase attending tournaments. The game is free-to-play and has over 19 million active players.

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The osu! World Cup is hosted annually, with mini-tournaments hosted throughout the year for beginners and experts. The community is as supportive as they are competitive, with players from all over the world participating in each event.

4 Shaq Fu (1994)

Shaq Fu is a game that is as unlikely in conception as it is in its inclusion in modern esports. Starring basketball star Shaquille O'Neal, Shaq Fu is a fighting game from EA in the mid-90s. In its time, it wasn't well-received, making it all the more confusing it found a rebirth in competitive gameplay.

One of the most notable hosts of Shaq Fu tournaments is CEO in Daytona, which holds Shaq Fu as a side tournament that can be entered for free. Support for these tournaments has been so fervent that in 2018 and sequel, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn was released.

3 Dead By Daylight (2016)

Dead By Daylight is a 4v1 multiplayer where players are assigned a role in a horror story - either as the killer or one of the potential victims trying to evade death. Due to the nature of the game, it lends itself well to competitive play that's fun to watch or participate in.

Tournaments are arranged on community forums like Discord and can be viewed on Twitch. Despite not having a huge host for events, Dead By Daylight has pro and amateur leagues and tournaments with cash prizes, with some run solely for charities.

2 Shrek SuperSlam (2005)

Though none of the Shrek games can claim to be wildly successful when released, Shrek SuperSlam did have a strong following in the mid-2000s. A fighting game featuring the characters from the Shrek films, up to four people can play at once.

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Tournaments for Shrek SuperSlam are hosted online - one of the biggest being ShrekFest - and have cash prizes, though it tends to be small amounts. The main rewards are the bragging rights and the strong community the players have built.

1 Turbo Racing League (2013)

Turbo Racing League is a free-to-play mobile game based on the 2013 DreamWorks film Turbo about a snail obsessed with becoming a pro racer. The game gained most of its popularity due to DreamWorks working with Verizon to create a series of tournaments as a promotion for the movie.

Over two months and nine tournaments, DreamWorks paid out $1 million to winners, cementing its place in esports history.

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