Esports is inching closer to potentially becoming an actual medal sport in the Olympics.
Riot Games, the publisher behind popular League of Legends game, is reportedly in talks with the International Olympic Committee about the possibility of bringing esports into the Olympics — an on-going discussion that has been taking place among key industry players several years.
Esports has just as much potential as regular sports
Esports has long been considered a massive opportunity for the competitive sports industry, and would also be a dream-come-true for many gamers (and fans) out there if it were in the Olympics.
In fact, League of Legends alone is already one of the most popular competitive esports games in the world, with over 180 million active players as of October 2021.
This doesn’t count in the other competitive games such as PUBG, Dota 2, Mobile Legends, and more.
Making it to Asian Games first
In 2018, League of Legends was featured in the Asian Games, although only for demonstration purposes.
That however, proved to be a momentous occasion, leading to the game now considered as a medal event at the Asian Games (alongside 7 other titles).
Esports stars are born
There is no doubt that more eyes are turning to the world of esports, especially when more and more teams are emerging as winners and celebrities at the same time.
Just last week, Chinese team EDG emerged as champions at the recent League of Legends World Championship, taking home $2.25 million in prize money and becoming national celebrities.
The team’s final match garnered over 400 million spectators in China alone, making members of the team instant local celebrities.
