eSports seems to be getting a bit closer to actually having its own place in the Olympics! A new international gaming tournament, called eGames, is said to be making its debut appearance at the Olympic Games in Rio this August. The tournament was launched as part of the London Games Festival on April 6th, 2016. The unique idea behind it is that the players at these “Olympic eSports” will be battling for medals and national pride as opposed to cash prizes, much like the real Olympics. So far, Britain, Canada, USA, and Brazil have been selected as the first “eTeams” due to their “existing gaming relationships.”
Background
The tournament is not only supported by the UK government but will also be run by the new International eGames Committee (IEGC). The IEGC claims to have “an International Advisory Board to assist with instilling good governance, responsible competitive video gaming and ensuring the competition and National Qualifiers are inclusive and diverse.”
Image courtesy of eGames
How will it work?
Each country will have their own national squad, called an eTeam, of mixed-sex gamers playing in both team and individual games. The eGames tournaments will be held during Olympic years, with the first in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018 and the second in Tokyo, Japan in 2020.
During non-Olympic years, National Qualifiers will be held in the eTeams’ home countries to determine each country’s team members for their eTeam. The organization is non-profit and as such The Advisory Board will also decide which gaming charities will be donated to.
Image courtesy of eGames
Where and How will the Showcase Be?
The eGames showcase will be a two-day “pop-up” event in Rio to “showcase the eGames movement to the world, especially to mainstream media – with the aim of promoting competitive video gaming to the non-gamer population.” The eGames showcase will take place at the British House in Parque Lage, Rio, Brazil. Wim Stocks, the Chief Operating Officer of the International eGames Group, had the following to say about the upcoming showcase:
“We are honoured to have been invited by the UK Government to be in the British House to show the eGames to the world. The venue is truly special and completely unique, the same qualities of which will be emulated in the eGames.”
The tournament can be compared to e-Frag’s TWC (The World Championships). Despite this similarity, TWC focuses only on CS: GO, while the eGames are said to focus on a variety of games on a variety of different platforms.
