"Live Esports Capital of the World" could be added to Austin's title, because the Capital City will host one of the biggest esports events in the world next June.

Previously hosted in cities like Copenhagen, London, and Paris, Austin's own Moody Center serve as home to the BLAST.tv Major next year, where some of the world's best Counter-Strike 2 teams and players will participate.

Esports — aka competitive video gaming— draws a global audience of ~540 million viewers and is expected to generate $4.3 billion worldwide in 2024.

Some quick figures about the upcoming event:

The Major is expected to bring $40 million in economic impact to Austin
Players will compete for a $1.25 million prize pool
50,000+ fans are expected to attend the competition at the Moody Center
The event will be broadcast in 28 languages to fans in 150+ territories

Austin's Major will be the first to be held in North America since Boston's ELEAGUE Major in 2018, but it's not the first time Austin has made an impact on the esports sphere. Austin is home to several gaming lounges, esports teams, streamers, and studios.

Several Austin-based companies — including the Austin Sports Commission, C3 Presents, and Visit Austin — will be part of putting on the event.

Gamers are also showing love to Texas as a whole — Fort Worth will host the Fortnite Global Championship and Rocket League World Championship in September.