The Esports 2020 On-Season Starts This Weekend
It’s been a long and depressing off-season for esports fans.
More than 7 weeks have gone by without a single major to speak of (much less two or three in one weekend), and all of our favorite esports leagues have been on extended hiatus. It feels like it has been an eternity since we’ve had anything to get excited about
What if I told you that everything changes… this weekend
Yes, it’s true.
We at Juked.gg have had the weekend of January 24th, 2020 marked on our calendars for some time now, because for us, it truly ushers in the beginning of the 2020 esports events season. In fact, it’s not just a big weekend, it’s a massive one for most of your favorite esports, and it kicks off what we believe will be the best year for esports yet.
Here’s what we’ve got our eyes on from just this weekend:
This one’s a doozy. In all likelihood, CDL’s opening weekend will not peak with as many concurrent viewers at LCS or LEC (which we’ll get to soon), but yet still feels more weighty. It’s the inaugural weekend for a brand new league that has equal parts hype and controversy surrounding it, and will set the tone for what to expect for CDL in 2020.
League of Legends undoubtedly had its best year yet as an esport, with more viewers, more players, more sponsors, and more revenue than ever. Things only look more exciting with Evil Geniuses back in the LCS, and LEC is riding high on unexpected momentum from 2019.
3. Genesis 7, the largest grass roots tournament for Smash Bros.
This weekend, Smash fans from around the globe will descend on my hometown of Oakland, California for what has in recent years become the most important Smash Bros. tournament of the year. Thousands of players will enter, story lines will be written, and new legends will be minted.
4. DreamLeague Season 13’s Dota Major
It’s DreamHack’s turn to host the Dota Major and what an international spectacle it has become. Teams have qualified from every important region for Dota 2 and are duking it out in a massive 16 team double elimination bracket this week for the $1 million prize pool and Dota 2 Pro Circuit Points.
5. Evo Japan 2020
Evo Japan is admittedly the much smaller, younger cousin to it’s big bro main event in Las Vegas every summer. That said, it’s still set to be one of the largest fighting game tournaments of all time and is on the home turf of both the majority of fighting game developers and many of the most storied players across genres. We’re still nailing down the schedule, so check back soon for the link.
At “only” $100,000 in prizing, Leipzig isn’t the biggest Counter Strike tournament of the year, but it is the first. And it has some intrigue as Cloud9 debuts their brand new roster against the likes of Virtus.pro, North, and Heroic.
…and that was just one weekend. 🥵
There’s so so much more coming, and in the very near future, too. In just a month’s time we’ll have every mainstay esports league in operation and major tournaments in Dota, CS, and FGC a’plenty.
- February 1st: Rocket League Championship Series Season 9 begins.
- February 5th: LoL Championships Korea (LCK) Spring begins.
- February 8th: Overwatch League Season 3 begins.
- February 13th: Smash Summit 9.
- February 21st: DreamHack Anaheim.
- February 28th: IEM Katowice for both StarCraft 2 and CS:GO.
I’ll stop here, because I think you get the point. We’re right around the corner from every weekend being full with endless hours of entertainment. New esports titles like Apex will make a go at it with a brand new esports league. Pokemon Sword and Shield will make a splash. Which esports will rise? Which will fall? This year is going to reach new highs no matter what esports you are into, and we can’t wait to join you on the ride.
Obviously, everything mentioned (and a lot more) will be available on Juked.gg. We’d love it if you checked out the platform and registered an account. We send a newsletter every Thursday covering what to watch each weekend, and will do our best to keep you informed.
All for now,
Ben “FishStix” Goldhaber
CEO & Co-Founder of Juked.gg, esports nerd extraordinaire
