Esports Glossary

An expert that has a deep knowledge of specific esports title, the teams involved and current strategies. An analyst tends to feature on a panel (see definition).

A ban occurs during the draft (see definition) stage of an esports event, teams ban which heroes/champions/characters they don't want the other team to play in that match.

A gaming term for a spell, ability or effect that strengthens a character's abilities. Buff is a word commonly used in MOBAs, MMORPGs and RPGs.

MOBAs (see definition) contain a role called the 'carry'. A carry is traditionally vulnerable early in a game but becomes the main source of damage. The phrase comes from carrying the team to victory.

The gaming term for a commentator in a live event.

When referring to esports, a circuit is used as a word to discuss all the events in that year. For example, for Dota 2, there a circuit would include all Majors, Minors, charity events and The International.

CoD stands for 'Call of Duty', a popular first person shooter.

Console refers to a piece of technology that is used to play games other than a Computer. It is primarily used to talk about an Xbox or PlayStation.

CS:GO stands for 'Counter Strike: Global Offensive', a popular First Person Shooter (see definition).

CWL stands for "Call of Duty World League", this is the primary League for Call of Duty esports.

Certain esports titles have a period before a match called the 'draft'. The draft consists of two teams picking (see Pick definition) and Banning (see Ban definition).

Esports stands for electronic sports. The word 'esport' is used to describe and video game that has a professional competitive scene. The most popular esports are League of Legends, Overwatch and Counter Strike: Global Offensive.

F2P stands for 'free to play'. Instead of making money on upfront purchases, the game publishers (see definition) provide the entire game for free with optional in-game purchases to enhance the playing experience.

See 'Fighting Game Community' definition.

Fighting Games are traditionally 1v1 violent combat based game. Much like a boxing match, players control a fighter and try to knock each other out various using combinations and special moves. Games include Streetfighter and Tekken.

Fighting Game Community (FGC) is an umbrella term to cover everyone interesting in any of the fighting game titles. Popular games include Tekken and Streetfighter. 

First Person Shooter's (FPS) are combat based games viewed through the eyeline of the character you are controlling. FPS titles include Call of Duty, Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Overwatch.

See 'First Person Shooter' definition.

A freemium game is one that is free to play up until a certain point, but to unlock addition levels/maps you will need to pay.

The people that construct the game from start to finish.

The people/companies that are responsible for marketing and selling the games.

GG stands for 'good game', this is used after a game to acknowledge that a game was well contested from both teams.

IEM stands for "Intel Extreme Masters", this is s series of international tournaments for multiple game titles held countries around the world.

The official t-shirt an esports team wears at an esports event; it contains sponsors and organization (see definition) logos.

An in-game dodge or evasion that is considered to be difficult to execute.

League refers to the game 'League of Legends'.

LoL stands for the 'League of Legends', a popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (see definition).

An evolution of the classic RPG. In this style of game players immerse themselves into the role of a character. The difference between MMORPG's and RPG is the interactive online component; players share an open world style of game with other people around the globe. These styles of games tend to include both cooperative questing and a PVP element. Games include titles such as World of Warcraft and Guildwars.

A common word used across various esports meaning; the most dominate strategies, card combinations, champions/heroes and builds in online multiplayer games. The 'Meta' changes when game developers provide ingame updates and patches.

Microtransactions refer to small in-game purchases that either enhance the experience or cosmetics in a game title.

See 'Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game' definition.

Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBA) are singular map action games, usually consisting of 5v5, 3v3 or 2v2. They are fast paced and team oriented; each player on a team plays a specific role. The major objective of MOBAs are to destroy the enemies base before they destroy your team's. MOBAs include League of Legends, Dota 2 and Smite.

When the game publishers provide a game update, often items/characters/skills get tinkered with to create an even playing field. A nerf occurs when a certain item/character/skill was considered too strong, the word 'nerf' refers to something being reduced in effectiveness.

Noob describes a player that is new to a certain game title.

NPC are 'non playerable characters' that are controlled by ingame artificial intelligence.

See 'Online Collectible Card Game' definition.

Online Collectible Card Games (OCCG) are much like traditional collectible card games. Players collect, trade and battle using a vast range of strategies and card combinations. Popular titles include Hearthstone and Magic Online.

A term meaning 'overpowered', this is used to described a item/character/skill in a game that is too strong and needs to be changed/nerfed.

Organization refers to an umbrella company that houses teams (see definition) over multiple game titles.

OW stands for 'Overwatch'. OW is a character-based first person shooter, each character has unique skills and abilities as well as a weapon.

OWL stands for 'Overwatch League', this is the primary North American competition for Overwatch.

Before and after an esports match a group of experts, called the panel, will discuss all aspects of the of the match.

A pick occurs during the draft (see Draft definition) stage of an esports event, teams pick which heroes/champions/characters they would like to play in that match.

A pro refers to a professional esports player.

PUBG stands for 'Player Unknown Battle Ground', a popular shooting game where players start with nothing and have to search the map finding guns and killing each other.

Pvp stands for 'player verses player'. PVP refers to a game that has an element of fighting against other players online. 

In Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games, players control entire armies rather than singular characters. These are played through birds eye view allowing the player to have a complete oversight of the terrain, buildings and units they control. Most RTS games are war based such as Star Craft 2 and Warcraft 3.

Esports competitions/leagues tend to group countries based on geographical locations (North America, South America and Eastern Europe etc.).

A colloquial word used to described the act of beating someone with ease.

A single player game in which players immerse themselves into the role of a character. These are usually adventure style games which a large element of character progression. Games include Fallout, The Witcher and Skyrim.

See 'Role-Playing Game' definition

See 'Real-Time Strategy' definition.

The word 'strategy' shortened. It is used to describe a play style that is used in a game.

A streamer is someone that plays games and shares their screen online so others can view them playing. This is a massive aspect of the gaming community. Popular streaming platforms include Twitch, Facebook and YouTube. 

The term 'support' is featured in various esport titles; it refers to a play style that is very self-sacrificial for the good of the team.

The term 'tank' is featured in various esport titles, it refers a play style that is very aggressive. A tank is a durable character that is used to absorb large amounts of damage and aims to shield other team members. 

A team refers to the group of professional players that compete together in an esports title.

Dota 2's main event, it traditionally occurs in August every year. It holds the record for the highest tournament prizepool.

The most popular streaming platform for gamers, it is filled with amateur streamers (see definition) and professional esports events.

WCS stands for "StarCraft II World Championship Series", this is the premier circuit for StarCraft II.