With eSports (electronic Sports) gaining popularity at an astonishing rate, it is no surprise that the eSports community is striving to get gaming recognized on a global scale. Many tournaments across multiple game titles happen around the world on a yearly basis, but the general public has no idea about most of them. One event, however, hit the headlines when its prize pool reached a staggering $18.4 million with the winning team taking the top prize of over $6 million. This event was the 2015 Dota 2 International Tournament and was won by the USA’s team Evil Geniuses. Here is a clip of the biggest play, now known as the $6 million echo slam, to show just how excited the announcers and the crowd gets at these events. With an entire stadium full of fans and millions more watching the stream, it is no doubt that eSports has quite the following and not just for Dota 2.
Now, it is very understandable for people to think that eSports should in no way be featured in the Olympics since it does not require that much physical strain. But, with the addition of poker in the 2016 Olympics, people may also argue that eSports can easily be considered an official Olympic sport. This begs the question: What makes something an official Olympic sport? According to the International Olympic Committee, the first factor is that the activity has to be governed by an International Federation that follows the rules of the Olympic Charter. It must also have a worldwide practice and must meet other requirements set by the IOC. Then, the IOC Executive Board can approve the activity as an official sport.
The International eSports Federation contacted the IOC in February about including some games into the Olympics, and the IOC will be processing the paperwork with the requirements in December. This means that eSports could be a part of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The biggest contenders to be included into the Olympics are the aforementioned Dota 2, Starcraft 2, and League of Legends. These games already have a large following with global tournaments, announcers, and professional players and teams.
Another attempt to get eSports more globally recognized is the eGames taking place alongside the 2016 Olympics. The eGames will be an Olympic style eSports event supported by the British government. This event will show how an Olympic eSports event would work and how much popularity it could have. The only countries that have been confirmed so far are the UK, USA, Brazil, and Canada, but more countries could be added over time. Each country will have the opportunity to scrounge up a team for each game title that is featured. The big difference between this event and the usual eSports event is that the eGames will be played for medals and national honor rather than a prize pool.
If eSports are included into the Olympics as an official sport, it could set a new standard for other activities to be considered for the Olympics. It will also show the public that gamers strive just as hard as Olympic athletes to be the very best at what they do, even if it does not require the most physical strain. This generation is ruled by technology, so is it really a surprise that this may become a reality?
