The Asian Games is a hugely important event that features dozens of famous sports and has a history of more than 70 years. By contrast, electronic sports have only been around for 20 and their rise actually happened in the last 10. For a tournament of this caliber to include them and actually give medals to the players in front of the whole world is a big step forward for the entire industry.
The Similarity Between Esports and Traditional Sports
Just like traditional sports, esports are competitive games played in a 1v1 or a team versus team format. And hundreds of millions of people love them. Of course, this number is still only a fraction of the player base of a sport like football or basketball.
If you watch the UEFA Champions League, you probably know that in 2021, more than half a billion people watched the Final between Chelsea and Manchester City, which offered a very beautiful spectacle. The match also offered plenty of football betting opportunities. But esports, at least at this point, is nowhere near that level. The biggest matches are watched by 2 – 5 million people. However, the number is rapidly growing, thanks in part to the fact that esports usually have huge player bases, ranging from 5 to 100+ million.
The big difference between esports and traditional sports is that esports doesn’t involve a significant physical or athletic component. In that sense, they’re more like chess and Go and constitute purely intellectual battles. Although, to be fair, some esports, such as StarCraft 2, do require a lot of dexterity to play at the highest level. SC2 Grand Masters are like professional pianists. These players need to be able to pay attention to multiple things at once and have around 300 actions per minute to be effective.
Esports to Be Featured at the Asian Games in 2022
Out of more than a dozen different titles that are loved by esports fans around the globe, 8 of them got selected by the Asian Games’ Committee. These 8 titles are the following:
Of these 8 teams, all of which are very popular, Dota 2, League of Legends, Arena of Valor, and Dream of the Three Kingdoms 2 will most likely offer the greatest spectacle. All of them are MOBA games (Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas) played in a team versus team format and their complexity makes them ideal for professional tournaments that are watched by millions.
The only problem is that these types of games are extremely hard to understand. Without excellent knowledge of RTS and RPG games, plus hundreds of hours of experience with each individual title, you will be looking at the action and not discern anything. Therefore, it’s quite likely that competitions involving these titles at the Asian Games 2022 will be watched mostly by their fan bases.
Viewer-Friendly Games
The easiest to understand games on the list are PUBG Mobile, FIFA, Hearthstone, and Street Fighter V. That’s because all of them are inspired from real life to some degree. This makes it easy to recognize their mechanisms even if you’ve never played them before.
PUBG is a first-person shooter game that uses the Battle Royale mode. FIFA is just digital football, so it’s enough to know the basics of real football (soccer) to get the idea. Hearthstone is a 2-player card game and despite its sophistication, can quickly be deciphered by anyone with a background in poker or any other card game.
Last but not least, Street Fighter is a fighting game. Every match looks the same and you can grasp the underlying goals and mechanisms simply by watching the action.
Unlike the 4 esports mentioned above, MOBA games cannot be learned that easily. There’s simply too much going on and without actually reading about each character, item, and ability, your mind gets confused really fast.
Worries
When it comes to team-based esports, the only way to have a great event is to invite the best teams in the world. If your tournament is incompatible with that way of doing things, it’s very easy for it to fall into irrelevancy without the organizers realizing what they’ve done. That aside, the Asian Games 2022 should be a great sporting event and an excellent chance for esports to become even better known around the globe. They already are hugely popular but there’s still a long way to go until they reach the level of the biggest traditional sports.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
