Introducing eSports into the Olympics

The Olympics are a great event that is watched by the masses. The games are a very competitive scene where people from around the world compete for their nation and train for years to participate in the Olympics.

However, eSports, the art of digitally playing video games, are a critical part of the sports world but they’re rarely ever acknowledged as such. An up-and-coming form of competition where competitors play in a team orientated game against another team, eSports should be inducted as an official sport into the Olympics. eSports have become more and more popular as people have become more interested in the games that are played online, such as Call of Duty, League of Legends, and Overwatch.

Each particular game has its own tournaments with its own prize pool and set of rules, just like any other sport. Most competitive tournaments even allow the viewers to add money to the prize pool, making the tournament even more competitive.

According to a Rolling Stones article published on December 21, 2107, “More Than 360 Million Watched This Year’s ‘League Of Legends’ Mid Season Invitational” over 360 million people watched the League of Legends Invitational while only 30 million watched the NBA Championships and 113.3 million watched the Superbowl. There is no doubt that millions of people enjoy watching eSports partly due to the fact of how competitive the game can become and who participates. Yet, even despite its popularity, some people may argue eSports shouldn’t be in the Olympics because it isn’t a “real” sport.

But, a sport is defined by the dictionary as an activity that one does to compete against others. Although eSports may not be an actual physical sport like soccer, it still can be considered as one because of the skill it takes for one to play competitively. Indeed, not everyone has what it takes to become an eSport champion.

Including eSports in the Olympics would be a great addition because it appeals to the masses more than other popular sports. They make it possible for professionals to make a living while doing what they love: playing video games. By winning, they receive money and gain sponsors who support them and their team by providing products and services they would otherwise not be able to have.

They are also able to livestream their matches and receive donations through popular streaming sites like Twitch while also selling coaching lessons for those who aspire to be better and become more professional eSport players themselves.

eSports is becoming bigger and bigger every year and it greatly appeals to the youth who aspire to be like the pros and try to make a living by playing video game.

Hence, it’s time to bring a wider variety of events into the Olympics such as eSports. Including them in the Olympics would not only add variety, but also add the millions of viewers that are exclusively interested in eSports. As more video games come out there will be more people to compete in these games, further widening the eSport audience.

It goes without saying, the vast majority of people love competitive gaming because they’re also able to play those same exact games in the comfort of their own home, while still having lots of fun.