Esports Tournaments To Look Forward To In 2022

The year is coming to a close, and this is the time of the year many look back and remember all the great esports tournaments we have witnessed in 2021; this is also the perfect time to look ahead and check which esports events we can look forward to.

With the rise of new esports titles in 2021 and the introduction of new tournament circuits, 2022 will present us with a generous amount of esports events to watch. And yet there are a few that stand out from the rest as the biggest and most heavily anticipated.

Date: July 22-31
Prize Pool: $2,085,000

RLCS World Cup is the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) season-culminating event. It welcomes only the best Rocket esports teams in the world who duke it out for the coveted title and the lion’s share of the multi-million prize pool.

2021/22 RLCS World Championship promises to be bigger than ever, with more regions attending and an updated format. The competition is set to take place on July 22-31 on LAN; however, the tournament organizers have yet to share more details.

What we do know, however, is that the 2021/22 RLCS World Championship will welcome 24 teams who will compete for the lion’s share of the $2,085,000 prize pool in North America.

Date: July 2022
Prize Pool: $2,000,000

The inaugural ALGS Championship in 2021 saw over 200 Apex Legends esports teams compete for the title of the best in the world. And the highly anticipated tournament is back on the calendar for 2022.

Slated to take place in July in South America, the 2022 ALGS Championship promises to be the biggest Apex Legends esports tournament to date. With a $2,000,000 prize pool, it will also be one of the best-paid esports events of the year.

Date: TBA
Prize Pool: TBA

The League of Legends World Championship is the most-watched esports tournament in the industry. The 2021 LoL Worlds was watched by over 70 million people, with a peak viewership surpassing 4 million.

These numbers aren’t surprising, considering League of Legends is one of the most popular esports titles in the world. And with its player base continuing to grow, we can expect new record-breaking numbers in 2022.

For next year, the LoL Worlds will happen in North America and Mexico, across four venues, including the Chase Center, Madison Square Garden, and Scotiabank Arena. Although Riot Games has yet to reveal the exact dates, we can expect the season-culminating event to start in late September or early October.

Date: TBA
Prize Pool: TBA

Although not as popular as the LoL World Championship, Dota 2 The International remains as one of the most anticipated esports tournaments of the year. Featuring some of the best Dota 2 teams in the world, who compete for the coveted Aegis of Champions, The International regularly attracts millions of viewers who cheer on their favorite players.

The International’s main appeal is that it’s the season-culminating event that holds the same prestige as a World Championship event. But most of all, TI is recognized for its prize pool.

In 2021, TI10 set a new record with over $40 million in the prize pool, and given the history of TI, its prize pool for 2022 should exceed that number. Whether we will see a $50 million TI in 2022 remains to be seen, but we can be certain it will exceed the $40 million mark.

Date: TBA
Prize Pool: TBA

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports scene does not have a World Championship. Nor is there a season-culminating event you will find in other esports titles.

Instead, the CS:GO fans can look forward to a Major Championship, which holds the same prestige as LoL Worlds, or Dota 2 TI. Traditionally there are two CS:GO Majors per year; however, due to the COVID pandemic, that wasn’t the case over the last two years.

In 2020, there were no Majors, and there was only one in 2021. However, the tournament organizers are eager to get back on track with the old schedule in 2022, with plans to bring back two Majors.

As the most prominent tournament in the CS:GO scene, a Major brings together only the best teams in the world, who compete for the prestige of becoming a CS:GO Major champion. For many, winning a Major is the ultimate goal of their careers, and countless exceptional players have never achieved that feat.

Out of all esports tournaments to look forward to in 2022, the CS:GO Major is the only one we can’t be sure when or whether it will happen. Plans are to host it in Brazil after the Rio Major had to be canceled in 2020, but no official announcements are available yet.