With eSports making its debut at the Asian Games, the Olympics could be next
A CHINESE STADIUM full of eager fans, cheer sticks in hand and a roar on their lips. Special lights and pyrotechnics. A stage in the middle, a pop star and an augmented reality dragon. Also, reportedly, more than 60 million watching at home.
Forgive the casual fan for thinking this was a Guns N’ Roses concert. Or, a Floyd Mayweather bout. It wasn’t. It was a bunch of bespectacled boys playing a video game at a tournament. The 2017 League of Legends World Championship, to be specific.
To an eSports fan, this would seem normal. To the outsider, the fanfare would be bewildering. Almost as if there was an elaborate inside joke that they didn’t get. How else would you explain such a massive following for what seems essentially a pastime for bored children.
To be fair, eSports has been taking big strides in the past several years. It is estimated to be a $1 billion industry and is deeply entrenched in pop culture. Remember the France-Argentina match in the recent FIFA World Cup? After Antoine Griezmann converted a spot kick to give France the lead, he jogged towards the crowd, prepared himself, and broke into his signature “Take the L” dance. It was meant to taunt the opposition, and he got it from Fortnite, probably the most viral video game in the world right now.
Speaking of the World Cup, the FIFA eWorld Cup just wrapped up at the O2 Arena in London. As many as 32 players from around the world played FIFA 2018, the video game, and the Saudi Arabian player Mosaad Aldossary walked away with the championship and $250,000.
It is owing to this popularity that eSports finds a place at the upcoming Asian Games in Indonesia, albeit as a demonstration sport. It will be a medal event in the next edition, in China.
Bu hikaye THE WEEK dergisinin August 19, 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye THE WEEK dergisinin August 19, 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
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