ESEA League

ESEA League logo

E-Sports Entertainment Association League (ESEA League) is an esports competitive video gaming online league & community founded by E-Sports Entertainment Association (ESEA). The company is widely known for their anti-cheat software. ESEA features a system that allows players of all levels to play matches with others.[1]

History

ESEA League began offering lessons to improve gaming skills in 2003 providing instruction in Half-Life, Counter-Strike, and Warcraft III.[2] ESEA created the first professional fantasy e-sports league in 2004.[3] ESEA began its league history with Counter-Strike,[4] but later added Team Fortress 2 (TF2) a game which gained more popularity after its adaption to "Free-to-play" gaming.[5] However, due to the relative lack of players in its TF2 leagues, ESEA announced its intent to shut down the TF2 leagues.

Viewing

ESEA League games can be viewed by fans as live streams from internet broadcasting channels such as eXtv, Nova Spivack's Live Matrix, TeamFortress.tv, streams on Twitch and clips on YouTube.[6] The annual sponsored ESEA League LAN Finals are held in Dallas, Texas.[7][8][9]

Bitcoin mining incident

On May 1, 2013, a user reported that the ESEA's anti-cheat software was being used to mine bitcoins without the user's consent. This was confirmed by ESEA's co-founder Eric 'lpkane' Thunberg in two subsequent forum posts. As of the date of discovery, the claimed dollar value of bitcoins mined totaled $3,713.55.[10][11][12] As of November 2013, ESEA has agreed to a US$1 million settlement, though a separate class action lawsuit is still ongoing.[13]

Middle East region

In 2017, the company announced new server expansion in Dubai to serve the CS:GO community in Middle East. In April 2018, ESEA announced Rank S division for players in that region.[14] Later in May 2018, ESEA announced the first CS:GO League for Middle East teams.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "ESEA Stats". E-Sports Entertainment. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  2. ^ "E-Sports Entertainment Association". ESEA News. 2003-08-17. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
  3. ^ Walker, Rob (2006-02-05). "Double Fantasy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  4. ^ "ESEA's Fantasy E-Sports League Opens". sk-gaming. 2004-09-10. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  5. ^ Hussain, Tamoor (2012-06-29). "The five biggest problems with free-to-play gaming". CVG. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
  6. ^ "EG.casey vs Loaded: an ESEA-I match". YouTube. 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
  7. ^ Gaudiosi, John (2012-03-03). "Pro Gaming Captivates Dallas with ESEA League Season 10". gamerlive.tv. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  8. ^ Breslau, Rod (2012-06-27). "ESEA Season 11 LAN Finals This Weekend". gamespot. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
  9. ^ "90k prizes new CS:GO ESEA LEAGUE". HLTV. 2012-06-28. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
  10. ^ "ESEA accidentally release malware into public client, causing users to farm Bitcoins". PC Gamer. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
  11. ^ "E-Sports League Mined Bitcoins with Subscribers' Computers". Kotaku. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
  12. ^ "E-Sports League Stuffed Bitcoin Mining Code Inside Client Software". Slashdot. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  13. ^ Michael Mcghee (20 Nov 2013). "ESEA In $1m Settlement". Cadred. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 Nov 2013.
  14. ^ "Highest ESEA ranking arrives to the Middle East for CS:GO". eSports Middle East. eSports Middle East. 2018-04-18. Archived from the original on 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
  15. ^ "Sign up now for ESEA CS:GO Middle East League -". 2018-05-13. Archived from the original on 2018-05-14. Retrieved 2018-05-13.