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Esports meteoric rise in popularity has not gone unnoticed by organizers of traditional sports events. With esports tournaments breaching viewership and earnings records previously held by sports it's no wonder that it was officially recognized as a medal sport at the 19th Asian Games in 2022.
The growth of Esports
BREAKING!! Esports and #Breakdance has been announced as the official events of the #Hangzhou #AsianGames2022.
@RNGRoyal @lolesports @LGDgaming @Hangzhou_Spark @ESPN_Esports @overwatchleague @SKGaming @FPX_Esports @TencentGames @JDGaming @T1 @faker @UziRNG @AsianGamesOCA pic.twitter.com/ALf4Jr7SIA
— The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou Official (@19thAGofficial) December 16, 2020
Hangzhou, China will play host to the next Asian games from September 10 to 25, 2020. This is not the first instance of esports being recognized as a medal sport but it's still a massive leap forward for the industry.
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The cherry on top
Note that
1) @19thAGofficial is yet to announce which esports will be selected for the official event of the #AsianGames2022
2) The current South Korean law around military service exemption is subject to change between now and 2022.
— Ashley Kang (@AshleyKang) December 16, 2020
Esports reporter Ashley Kang revealed interesting additional details regarding the 2022 Asian games. The committee behind the Asian games has yet to announce which esports titles will be included in the event. However, there is great news for South Korean esports professionals. Players taking home gold medals for South Korea could possibly receive an exemption from mandatory military service. Many players in the past retired prematurely because of the pressures of military service. Besides the chance to take home gold medals, potential exemption from their service is a huge boon for professional players. The setup is dependent on potential new laws surrounding military service in South Korea.
Final words
Esports appeared at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia although not an official medal event but as a demonstration sport. It's good to finally see Esports receive the recognition it deserves.
It's still well over two years away but fans already have something to look forward to. Hopefully, we'll receive more details about the selected titles soon.
