Sometimes you wonder what all those foreign words and abbreviations mean. Each field has its specific terms, and esports is no different. In today’s article, we will delve into the terminology of esports and introduce the basic terms.
Esports terminology
Our esports glossary will help you navigate esports terms (source: esportsinsider.com)
For a complete immersion in the esports waters, it is important to understand the jargon that distinguishes progaming. Esports and generally gaming abbreviations and jargon phrases are very often used by commentators during live matches or analysts during breakdowns. If you master progaming slang, you’ll also gain an advantage in your betting. The actual esports terminology itself is an interesting combination of the abbreviated language used by the gaming community and sports slang. Often even long-time players do not understand all the word combinations and acronyms, so it is important to have at hand a list of at least the most basic terms used.
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Game genres
Before we delve into esports terminology itself, it is important to clarify what types of games exist. These genres often use abbreviated labels, which you can find in the table. So, you will no longer be in doubt about the difference between FPS and RTS. These abbreviations also frequently appear in our articles about esports, and if you want to gather valuable information we offer, it is good to know them.
| Game genre abbreviation | Game genre |
| BR | Battle Royale, a type of game where everyone competes against everyone (Fortnite, PUBG…) |
| FGC | Fighting Games, combat games (Tekken, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter…) |
| FPS | First person shooter, a shooter game from the first-person perspective (Counter Strike, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six…) |
| MOBA | Massive Online Battle Arena, a type of game where the player controls a single hero and tries to defeat the opposing team by destroying their base (DOTA 2, League of Legends…) |
| RWF | Race to World First, a race for world first, particularly known from World of Warcraft, where teams compete to be the first in the world to clear a new PvE raid |
| RTS | Real-time Strategy, a strategy game type, in which the player gains control over multiple units and buildings, battles happen in real time (StarCraft, Warcraft, Age of Empires…) |
| Sim Racing | Simulation Racing, usually a car racing simulator (Drift, Need For Speed, F1…) |
| Sports Sim | Sports Simulation, sports simulators (FIFA, NHL, NBA…) |
Esports abbreviations and phrases
We are finally getting to the alphabetical list of the most used terms in the world of esports. Not always are these abbreviations; sometimes they are foreign words that have entered the dictionary of Czech players, but knowing them is important for understanding the matches themselves, which can be bet on.
| AoE | Area of Effect, often used in MOBA games, an AoE ability of a hero is one that affects a certain area of the terrain and thus does not focus solely on the enemy |
| Ban | Translated as “ban”, used in the picking phase of matches, where individual heroes (MOBA) or maps (FPS, RTS) are banned |
| Buff | Enhancement, a buff can be received by a hero (MOBA) or a weapon (FPS) in one of the game updates, increasing their strength in matches. A buff can also be obtained for one’s team in MOBA games, where all (or one) heroes are enhanced for a certain time. |
| Bait | Bait, designation of a player or situation that lures the opponent into a disadvantageous situation or leads them to make a poor strategic decision |
| Carry | Carrier, designation of a player who with their precise performances led their team to victory, in MOBA games it refers to heroes and players whose task is to eliminate opponents |
| Caster | Commentator |
| CC | Crowd Control, primarily used in MOBA genre games, refers to a hero’s ability that can control the enemy (stun them, trap them in one place, disable their spell usage, etc.) |
| Cheese | Literally “cheese”, denotes the use of a simple tactic to gain an advantage over the opponent |
| CS | Creep Score, the number of killed minions, used in MOBA games, from Creep Score one can deduce how many gold coins a player has gained from farming |
| Damage | Damage |
| Dive | Denotes situations where one team dives into deadly danger with the intention of gaining an advantage, there is a high risk of failure but also a chance for a great reward |
| DPS / ADR | Damage Per Second / A Damage per Round, Damage caused per second (MOBA) / Damage caused per round (FPS) |
| FoW | Fog of War, a game mechanism that prevents visibility of parts of the map where no hero/player/unit is physically present |
| Frag | Achieved kill in an FPS game (“Player XX got two frags”) |
| Gank | Used in MOBA games, denotes a situation where a player who does not play on a particular lane comes to that lane in an attempt to support their teammate, often junglers gank |
| Glass Cannon | Literally a glass cannon, in MOBA games it is a hero with minimal defensive stats or lives, but very high damage, in FPS games it is a designation for a player who buys a strong weapon without armor (for example, AWP in Counter Strike) |
| IGL | In Game Leader, the team leader responsible for making decisions and strategizing |
| KDA | Kill, Death, Assist, KDA determines the ratio of kills and assists to deaths, the higher the KDA, the better the performance |
| Kiting | Often used term in MOBA games, denotes a game mechanic where a hero escapes an opponent and manages to damage them while still staying out of reach of the enemy hero |
| Last Hit | Last hit, used in MOBA games, denotes the hit that makes the kill (creep or hero) |
| Macro | Macromanagement, denotes the ability of a team or player to effectively manage acquired resources or advantages at the global level of the match |
| Meta | The strongest current strategy, played by most teams/players, the meta can change with a game update from the developer |
| Micro | Micromanagement, denotes a player’s ability to control their hero or their shooting and movement, especially important in fights |
| Nerf | The opposite of buff, denotes a weakening (hero, game mechanic, weapon…) |
| OOM | Out Of Mana, denotes the state where a hero is out of mana, which are resources necessary for using abilities |
| Push | Push, denotes a situation where one team is very determined to achieve one of the objectives (in MOBA games lanes are pushed to gain a tower, in FPS games a push might occur to quickly gain control of a place for placing a bomb) |
| RNG | Random Number Generator, random number generator, encountered in card games (Hearthstone), adds an element of chance to games (slot machines operate on the RNG principle) |
| Rotation | Rotation, denotes movement around the map |
| Shotcaller | Designation for a player who is responsible for making decisions in complex situations |
| Skillshot | Used especially in MOBA games, refers to an ability that needs to be manually aimed |
| Snowball | Snowball effect, denotes situations where the strength of a team or player accumulates gradually to the point where it becomes unstoppable (for example, a successful dive might be the first step towards a snowball) |
| Support | Support, designation of a player or hero whose goal is to support their team, thus not focusing on caused damage but on game mechanics that can gain an advantage for their teammates |
| Tank | Designation of a hero in MOBA games, whose task is to absorb (tank) damage from the enemy team |
| Tilt | Denotes the mental state of a player who is upset, usually to the extent that it affects their gaming abilities |
| Ultimate | Ultimate, designation of a hero’s ability in MOBA games, which is the strongest in their arsenal, often has a long recharge time and great power |
| Vision | Vision, denotes a team’s ability to monitor places on the map where no heroes are present and normally there would be FoW |
| Wards | Items in MOBA games that provide vision when placed |
Now it should be clear to you what it means when a commentator in League of Legends excitedly shouts: “An unsuccessful dive by the enemy team will likely set up a big snowball for the carry! Amazing micro by player X supported by the support with his brilliant macro decision and prior gaining of vision with the help of wards might cause the opponents to tilt!” Of course, most casters do not overdo it with esports terminology, but for a complete understanding of the course of the match, it is good to know the most used esports terms mentioned above. If you know which heroes are capable of good snowballing and which player is supposed to play support for their team, it can help you when deciding on a betting choice.
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