Should esports Be Categorized as Sports Events?

don’t be surprised if someone tells you that you can win a world championship by playing online games. Competitive online gaming, or esports, has debuted as a demonstration sport at the 18th Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia, which took place from August 18 to September 2, and is now being pitched for the 2022 Asian Games as a full medal sport, which will be held in Hangzhou in east China’s Zhejiang Province.

But perhaps esports cannot be likened to traditional sports which are commonly known to feature competition of physical challenges. At the 18th Asian Games, six competitive video gaming activities, including League of Legends, Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, Arena of Valor and Starcraft II: Legacy of The Void, were used as the demonstration events. It is estimated that esports players will exceed 2 billion by 2020 when the 32nd Summer Olympic Games is held in Tokyo, Japan. There are now also calls to consider and acknowledge esports as competition events at the Tokyo Olympics.

However, the ongoing arguments around whether or not esports can be categorized as sports events have intensified. Supporters believe that professional esports players, just like athletes of traditional sports disciplines, go through arduous training daily. In addition, esports improve handeye coordination, mental and physical reaction time, as well as teamwork, and therefore should be categorized as a sports event.

However, others hold the notion that esports are actually like online games, with players merely sitting and facing computer screens for hours, making this activity far removed from what people know as sports.