On October 19, 1972, the first worlds’ first esports tournament was put together by the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence at Stanford University. They called this momentous event the Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics. Twenty four 24 lucky souls gathered that day to compete in the space game “Spacewar!”, which had been developed by computer scientist Steve Russell in 1962. The winner of the tournament received an annual subscription to Rolling Stones magazine.
In the beginning, before the advent of the internet, esports tournaments and game playing were limited to university campuses or similar institutions, as at that time they were the only places equipped with the right resources and technology to pull off a massive even like that. Today, Esports tournaments are played in massive arenas and online. If you’ve ever wanted to know an in-depth history of esports then look no further than the infographic below. Check it out.
(via evolutionofesports.com)
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