Canada is home to some of the biggest gaming events in the world. This includes numerous major gaming conventions at notable exhibition centres and a growing number of competitive eSports tournaments at iconic venues.
Here are three of the biggest gaming events that have already taken place or are set to take place this year in Ontario – Canada’s most populous province.
3 big gaming events in Ontario
Over the past few years, Ontario, more specifically Toronto, has become one of the world’s major eSports hubs, having hosted several major eSports tournaments and large international gaming exhibitions, such as the Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo, Get on My Level (GOML), Game Land at NXNE Music & Gaming Festival, and the ICE iGaming casino and sports betting expo.
Toronto also happens to be the home of Ubisoft, Certain Affinity, and Gameloft, to name just three major video game development studios.
Toronto has recently hosted several other major eSports gaming events involving iconic video games such as Overwatch and Call of Duty, where the world’s most successful teams compete to win huge cash prizes and serious bragging rights.
The city is also home to the Toronto Ultra and Toronto Defiant eSports teams. If you’re looking for some big gaming events in Ontario, the three biggest are the following:
- Call of Duty and Overwatch Leagues – held at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (which used to be known as the historic Maple Leaf Gardens)
- Six Invitational
- Titans Showdown
Others include the Coupe RLQC, the Lan ETS, The Worlds (League of Leagues), BashFest, Sigma Esports Cup Toronto, WESG North America, and The International.
Biggest eSports events in 2023
Esports is now more popular than ever, and there are hundreds of annual events across the globe. Some of the biggest eSports events in 2023 are Apex Legends Global Series Year 3, BLAST.tv Major 23, DreamHack 2023, The International 2023, and Evo Japan 2023.
You also have the League of Legends World Championships 2023 (which is also referred to as the LOL Championship or Worlds), the Intel Extreme Masters 2023, the Valorant Champions Tour 2023, the TEKKEN World Tour Finals, and the Taipei Game Show 2023, to name just a handful of major eSports league and tournaments.
What games are played at eSports events?
Examples of the video games played at these events, apart from Call of Duty: Warzone, Valorant, Dota 2, and League of Legends, are Fortnite, Wild Rift, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, and FIFA 23.
Other iconic games now played competitively at today’s biggest eSports events are World of Warcraft (WoW), Rocket League, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, and Minecraft.
Where can I watch eSports tournaments in Ontario?
You can watch one or more of these major eSports events in several different ways if you live in Ontario.
For example, it’s possible to attend the events live in person by pre-ordering tickets online at various trusted websites. Alternatively, you can watch the biggest eSports tournaments and leagues on major video streaming websites like Twitch and YouTube.
Some licensed sports betting sites also provide live coverage of certain events, so you can watch the action unfold while placing a wager on the outcome. However, you generally need to be at least 19 years old if you live in Canada to access these sites.