The esports industry isn't confined to just League of Legends and Counter-Strike 2; it encompasses dozens of unique titles, some entirely dissimilar. Esports Charts has compiled the most unusual tournaments of 2023 that you might have missed, from the Osu! World Championship to endurance racing.
Monster Strike Grand Prix 2023 Japan
To those unaware, Monster Strike is a multiplayer mobile title released in 2013, it combines puzzle, shooter, and Action/RPG elements. The game features vibrant animation, which may be disturbing to Western audiences, but in Japan, the game has a huge following. In October, the country hosted the Grand Prix Japan 2023, which drew over 545K Peak Viewers. For comparison, that's more than what was seen at the LCK Regional Finals 2023.
Ascension Tournament 2023
Ascension 2023 became the most popular tournament of the year in Trackmania. This arcade racing simulator stands out from any other esports discipline, and it has a very loyal audience in Europe — primarily in France. In October, the popular French streamer ZeratoR hosted the Ascension Tournament 2023, attracting over 93K concurrent viewers.
Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2023
If you're a manga fan, you've probably heard of the Yu-Gi-Oh. It has been around for almost 30 years, encompassing anime, TV series, movies, and, of course, games. The Yu-Gi-Oh storyline revolves around a card game that enjoys immense popularity in the future world. It's no wonder that Konami has released dozens of games based on Yu-Gi-Oh for various platforms. One of the most popular versions is Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, which hosts international competitions. Last year, the World Championship had 50K Peak Viewers.
NBA 2K League: 2023 Playoffs
Sports simulators in esports are not just limited to soccer. Unfairly little attention is given to NBA 2K. The basketball simulator is hugely popular in North America, and its tournaments stand out from soccer tournaments with interesting formats. For example, NBA 2K League: 2023 participants competed in teams of five, with each player controlling an individual character on the court.
Brawlhalla World Championship 2023
Brawlhalla sometimes gets overshadowed by more well-known titles like Street Fighter, Tekken, and Mortal Kombat. However, Brawlhalla is more reminiscent of Super Smash Bros., with a large number of popular characters from various universes. Here you'll find the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Master Chief, Daryl from "The Walking Dead," and even SpongeBob SquarePants — choose any hero and head into battle on the arena. Brawlhalla tournaments are held every year and attract tens of thousands of viewers: the recent Brawlhalla World Championship brought together over 40,000 concurrent viewers.
Osu! World Cup 2023
The musical action game Osu! is very different from other competitive titles. Many have tried playing it for fun or as a warm-up, but to compete in professional Osu! tournaments, one needs superhuman qualities: steel nerves, attentiveness, inhuman reaction speed, and click accuracy. From the outside, osu! championships may look very strange, and sometimes even painful to watch. Nevertheless, thousands of viewers around the world enjoy following the matches of the top players and national teams.
2023 Classic Tetris World Championship
Another game where reaction time and attentiveness are paramount is the classic Tetris. In 2024, this game will celebrate its 40th anniversary, but despite its venerable age, it still boasts a huge number of fans worldwide. Tetris tournaments are held annually and are even sponsored by companies like Red Bull. 
Naraka: Bladepoint - World Championship 2023
Naraka: Bladepoint is a relatively new esports title, released just in 2021. Despite this, the adventure-action battle royale genre is already making waves on the esports scene in China. For instance, 2021-2023 esports tournaments for Naraka: Bladepoint saw over $4.3 million in prize money distributed. Interestingly, the Naraka: Bladepoint World Championships feature both solo and team modes.
Genshin Impact - Astra Carnival The Prince Cup Invitational
The esports potential can be found in any game, and a shining example of this is Genshin Impact. In 2023, HoYoverse hosted a series of international tournaments called Astra Carnival The Prince Cup Invitational, where participants competed against each other in... Genius Invokation TCG. This is a separate game within the game that closely resembles popular CCGs like Hearthstone but with characters from the Genshin Impact universe. It turned out to be a pretty decent LAN event, with 22.5K Peak Viewers.
SimGrid x VCO World Cup 2023
Fans of racing simulators surely took notice of the joint event by SimGrid and VCO. Unlike other races, this championship featured an endurance race format. The race was supposed to last for 12 hours, but due to technical issues with the servers, it ended after 6 hours. Overall, the organizers managed to create quite an interesting format. Perhaps, we will see the iconic "24 Hours of Le Mans" race in the future, but this time in the virtual world.
The world of digital entertainment is not limited to just esports tournaments. Virtual concerts, gaming festivals, showcases from game developers, and presentations from technological giants like Apple, Sony, and Microsoft take place every year. Look through Esports Charts' database for viewership statistics from various events from around the world.
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