Fans were so loud. Neighbors thought the World Cup had started early

What I have witnessed in the past year was once unimaginable. Esports, once looked on unfavorably by parents, schools and the media in China, has now become a “golden apple”, not only for fans but for anyone who wants a slice of it.

Fans thunderously cheered Chinese esports club Royal Never Give Up at the League of Legends Rift Rivals event this month in Dalian, Liaoning province.

This reminded me of the day when fans chanted the club’s name at last year’s LOL World Championship tournament at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest. This was unexpected, as the club had failed in the semifinal and was merely witnessing the allKorean final.

It is hard to say which event or which esports league has acted as the turning point for the progress made in China. Some say this is the natural result of the growing number of gamers and the emergence of more fascinating games domestically.

I have never doubted the significance of the huge esports population in the industry’s development, but apart from this, the more important factor is China’s ambition to become a global esports powerhouse.

For many players and fans, this has always been a matter of national honor, even before the creation of Team China.

For major games such as LOL and StarCraft, international competitions have been staged for many years.

Given South Korea’s yearslong domination of the field, it was easy to understand the fans’ jubilation when Chinese club Royal Never Give Up beat South Korean team DragonX to win the LOL MidSeason Invitational in Paris to become world champions.

I did not go to Paris, but I witnessed on a live broadcast the scenes when thousands of foreign fans chanted “Uzi”, the nickname of Jian Zihao, who is RNG’s best player.

I also saw fans in China cheering the victory on the streets and shouting so loudly at home they made their neighbors think the soccer World Cup tournament in Russia had started a month early.

I have interviewed many Chinese professional esports players, and was deeply impressed the time I talked to Zhang Yuchen, also known as Lao Shuai, a professional King Pro League player, at the league’s 2017 Fall Season Final.

“I still remember that the generation of esports players before us ... had no clubs, no coaches and no Chineseowned esports leagues. All they could do was spend their days in internet bars training and eating instant noodles, but we should remember that they fought for China’s glory in foreign esports leagues.”

Now, with a much-improved industry and better support, China’s players are expected to return home with more honors, especially with Team China competing at the Asian Games in Jakarta.

However, the development of esports in China has not been a fairytale. Despite the achievements the country has made to date, the industry still faces many problems and challenges.

Esports education, for example, is not an easy task. Although universities, companies and other organizers have been working together to launch new majors, professional training programs and public education projects in China, it is still not clear whether the efforts made so far can help to fill vacant positions in the industry.

After all, the aim is not to nurture gaming addicts, but to guarantee the healthy development of esports.

As Mars Hou, a senior manager with Tencent Interactive Entertainment who has been promoting esports education, said at the Global E-sports Leaders Summit in Shanghai last month, esports education is still in its infancy and patience is needed.