US, China lead chart in hosting big esports LAN events in 2022

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Esports tournaments today have reached a stage where they have become some of the most popular competitive events today, alongside handing out prize money that puts the best events from any field to shame. Perhaps the most preferred mode to hold them is LAN, which requires a lot of effort, resources, and money on the part of organizers but is usually worth the hassle at the end of it all for sponsors, players, viewers, and most importantly, the organizers.

This way, all the teams come together under one roof and duke it out for the top prize. Some of the most followed and regular LAN events include those for League of Legends, CS:GO, Dota 2, Rocket League, and other titles. It is hardly a surprise that these are some of the most famous and popular games in the world.

In 2022, the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and South Korea were the countries that held ten-plus LAN tournaments as per Esports Charts’ research. These events were the absolute best in their disciplines, each carrying huge prize money of $100K (or more) for professionals and teams, with America way ahead in terms of the number of host cities: it is the only one to hit double figures for this as well.

The US has been at the forefront of the esports movement since the start, and it also owns the biggest market for this industry in general, hence it tops this chart. Then comes China, which is an equally massive market for esports but is not really a part of the extended global ecosystem with many of the local events being watched only by Chinese viewers.
  These countries hosted the most esports events across 2022   

Saudi Arabia has made it a point to invest heavily in esports, hence it ended up hosting quite a few important esports tournaments last year. When it comes to Germany, it is home to mega events like the LEC, apart from also being a major hub for top-tier CS:GO and Valorant events, so its place in the top five is well earned.

South Korea rounds off the top five thanks to its population’s devoutness to esports and games, with games like LoL and StarCraft almost a religious affair for players. The country has also produced world-class talents in esports who have pioneered their disciplines, meaning quite a few vital tournaments happen in the country annually.

Brazil and Spain are massive FPS and MOBA markets, with some of the best teams and most passionate supporters coming from these nations. Indonesia loves itself some MLBB, which is shown in the nation’s propensity towards the game and its esports scene.

Lastly, the likes of Sweden and the United Kingdom are outliers in terms of their most popular games, showing that certain esports disciplines do better in particular niche markets, and they will continue to do so. They are also markets where esports has made quite an impact and the fanbase is highly knowledgeable, so competitions are regularly held in these two European nations.

One interesting conclusion is that there seems to be a lopsidedness in the number of overall tournaments being held in the west compared to the east. The US easily leads the charge in this count, but that is perhaps because of the sheer volume of world-class teams, organizations, and events it produces across games.

With Asia slowly but surely embracing esports and developing more and more teams capable of challenging the best from the west, it is only a matter of time before this aspect changes. For now, the usual suspects continue to dominate the esports world, but things are bound to change as the industry becomes bigger and reaches more regions and people.