It’s no secret that esports are sweeping the nation. Games like DoTA 2, League of Legends, and Fortnite are some of the most popular worldwide, racking up unbelievable prize pools and drawing audiences of hundreds of thousands. The rise of esports at a global level is fascinating to watch, and even more exciting to be a part of.

On the other hand, it’s interesting to examine esports at the micro-level, to see what esports individual areas are the most excited about. A map created by betonline.ag shows which games are dominating the esports conversation, state by state. Using geographically-tagged tweets, the map shows which games are the most popular in each state, which produced some interesting results.

Map provided by BetOnline.ag

What sticks out to me the most is the sheer randomness of the map. There’s no real geographic pattern to where each game is popular, which is in stark contrast to the geographic associations we have with traditional sports. College football tends to dominate sports in the South, but there’s a solid mix of DotA 2, Fortnite, and even Overwatch across the states in the digital realm.

The Overwatch League is somewhat unique in the world of esports because it has city-based teams, much like traditional sports teams. In the United States, there are teams based in California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, D.C., and Massachusetts. Of these states, Massachusetts is the only state that represents Overwatch as the most popular game, despite their Overwatch League team, the Boston Uprising, finishing second to last in the league.

It’s also interesting to see how much DotA 2 dominates the United States versus League of Legends — DotA 2 is the most popular in 19 states, but League of Legends can only claim Iowa. Worldwide, League of Legends edges out DotA 2 in esports hours watched, though DoTA 2 has been at the forefront of the global esports conversation lately with The International 2019’s record-breaking prize pool of $34.3 million. These two games are regarded as two of the most popular esports in the world, with CounterStrike: Global Offensive challenging them at the top of the list. CS:GO is notably absent from this map, which is intriguing because of its consistently high viewership.

Fortnite claims second place in U.S. domination, which should come as no surprise to anybody who follows the esports scene. Fortnite has become ubiquitous across American households with children, turning the cartoonish shooter into a cultural mainstay. The Fortnite World Cup broke into mainstream news as 16-year-old Kyle Giersdorf won the tournament and took home a cool $3 million in winnings, representing the rare case where esports news reaches individuals who don’t play the game.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 surprisingly claims four states. Despite not being a massive esports title, the game’s battle royale and zombie modes have proven popular with Twitch streamers, which could drum up some conversation on Twitter.

Finally, Rocket League is the most talked about esport in both Arkansas and Indiana. While it may not be the only cause of the game’s popularity in the state, the Arkansas Activities Association recently launched state-wide esports competitions in Smite, League of Legends and Rocket League with over 80 participating high schools.

Indy Gaming League would love to take full credit for the popularity of Rocket League in Indiana because of the conversation revolving around the seasonal Rocket League circuits, but the Hoosier state is also home to SunlessKhan, an IGL community member and one of the biggest Rocket League content creators. Together, it’s no surprise that Rocket League is the most tweeted-about esport in the state.

No matter which sport is popular in your state, one of the most beautiful things about esports is that players can connect across state and country lines with ease to build relationships, participate in friendly competition, and enjoy playing their favorite games.