Rumors of a possible program expansion for the 2022 Olympic Games have been raging for a few months now. In Hangzhou, China, eSports could be introduced as a new discipline. When I see sold-out arenas for League of Legends or Counterstrike tournaments, I don't think trying to keep up with the times is such a bad thing. But is eSports really a sport? Chess isn't Olympic either, since a good player doesn't have any special motor skills. We have collected various voices about it and thus present you with the pros and cons of eSports at the Olympic Games.
Lobbying clearly noticeable
The fact that this topic is discussed in the first place is basically due to two things. First, the games are in Asia, the dominant continent when it comes to eSports. While in the "LoL" area the South Korean Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok is probably the best gamer in the world, in "CS" at least the Polish Filip "Neo" Kubski can still have a say in the absolute top of the world.
Back to the topic. Secondly, the B2B online mail order company "Alibaba" has invested an extremely large amount in the eSports scene to date. The subsidiary "Alisports" has now fired 150 million US dollars in promotion and lobbying. Apparently with success, because not only one hall after the other is sold out down to the last seat, other large companies also see it as a lucrative market. For example, teams already have the nicknames Telekom, Samsung, etc. and are generously rewarded for this.
So, the requirements of popularity are definitely met. Then it seems almost logical to discuss program recording. Or not?
DOSB sees no reason
The German Olympic Sports Confederation, for example, sees things differently. "An individual, sport-determining motor activity" is not recognizable, which is a clear elimination criterion. So far, the dissenting voice of Timm Lutter from the digital association "Bitkom" has not helped. In his opinion, eSports players must be “extremely quick to react, have tactical skills and think strategically, just like participants in traditional Olympic disciplines”.
The ESL, the Electronic Sports League, also sees no real point in participating. This statement is perhaps the most meaningful. The ESL sees itself strong enough not to have to be dependent on the Olympic Games. eSports is booming and ESL is doing more than well. So why jump on an old bandwagon when the new one is much faster and more modern? What do you say to the discussion and what kind of result do you expect?
