Esports Gift Guide: What to buy for esports fans

Professional gaming is a huge industry and its popularity continues to grow. Every year more players join, more fans get involved.

There are plenty of gifts you can buy for gamers, but if you're looking to treat someone with a specific esports flavor, you'll want to jump on one of these great gifts.

Dell Gaming Backpack

Esports fans are likely pretty serious gamers, maybe even a future professional. Either way, when moving about, perhaps hitting up LAN events, they'll need something decent to move and protect all that expensive gaming hardware.

Dell's gaming backpack has space for a 15-inch laptop and all the associated peripherals, and it is padded with thick foam for protection and is water resistant.

Better yet, at under $50, it's a great gift at a superb price.

See at Amazon

Fnatic coffee mug

Gamers need coffee, just like everyone else. Fnatic is one of the biggest names in esports and the fan in your life would certainly appreciate this mug from the team's official merchandise brand, Fnatic Gear.

It also comes in black, if you prefer.

It's only $9, so it'll make a great stocking stuffer. And it looks pretty sweet, too.

See at Amazon

Cooler Master MasterKeys S Tenkeyless mechanical keyboard

The esports fan or professional on the go will always need a good, portable keyboard. When you're packing a bag and taking your equipment on the road space is key, so a good tenkeyless is a great gift.

Cooler Master's MasterKeys S fits the bill nicely, with a selection of different Cherry MX switches in this no-nonsense, solid-as-a-rock keyboard. It's reliable, built to withstand serious gaming and not all that expensive at $80.

See at Amazon

Xbox gift card

You can't go wrong with giving gift cards to gamers. One thing that they'll always appreciate is more games, more DLC, or more credit to spend on in-game items. All of this costs money, and your gift cards will be gratefully received.

In the case of Xbox, technically the credit can also be used on PC, as well, since it's all one Microsoft Store now. In any case, there is a range of values you can pick up to surprise your favorite people. Go as small as $10 or as high as $100 on a single gift card.

See at Amazon

SteelSeries Siberia 200 headset

The Siberia 200 is a great headset for a number of reasons. Firstly, it sounds great, and it's also affordable at around $60.

It uses the suspended headband design SteelSeries has on its more expensive Arctis headsets, which makes it super comfortable for long sessions.

But, because the microphone retracts and it doesn't look like some monstrosity on your head, it's perfect for the traveling gamer to double up as a solid pair of headphones.

See at Amazon

ESL gift card

ESL is one of the biggest names in esports, organizing some of the biggest tournaments on the planet. It also has a healthy store of esports merchandise that covers some of the top teams in the world.

So why not hit them with a gift card to the ESL store. It seems like it's only available in Europe, but you can spend between €10 and €100 and make someone very happy in the process.

See at ESL

G Fuel

G Fuel is everywhere in esports. The company sponsors a number of top teams, pro players and streamers, and is an energy drink brand that is synonymous with professional gaming.

There's a good chance your favorite esports fan is also a G Fuel lover, so why not treat them to a $25 tub that'll last them a couple of months? There are so many flavors to choose from, too, which is probably the hardest part of picking a gift.

Personally, I recommend Fazeberry. You can't go wrong there.

See at Amazon

Event tickets

There are no better esports than live esports, and there are now big events that happen across the globe for a host of different games. Console crowds have big tournaments like the Call of Duty World League and the Gears Pro Circuit, PC fans have the long-standing favorites like ESL One and the Intel Extreme Masters, covering games such as CS:GO and League of Legends.

There's no way to link up all the forthcoming events, but if you're looking for that extra special gift, here are some of the big ones coming up in 2018.

• CWL New Orleans
• IEM Katowice
• ESL One Cologne
• MLG Gears Pro Circuit: Mexico City