The Vietnam Electronic Sports and Entertainment Association (VIRESA) has revealed the list of esports titles that will be included in the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games as official medal sports.
The event will feature ten esports tournaments in League of Legends, League of Legends: Wild Rift, PUBG Mobile, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, FIFA Online 4, Free Fire, Arena of Valor and CrossFire.
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The competition is set to take place from November 21st – December 2nd in the National Convention Center in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The decision was made by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. According to the announcement, the 31st SEA Games will feature 40 disciplines and participants from eleven countries across Southeast Asia. It has also been revealed that League of Legends: Wild Rift will have separate male and female events.
This marks the second time esports has been included in the multi-sport competition, which is supervised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines featured Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena of Valor, Dota 2, Starcraft II, Tekken 7 and Hearthstone.
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As an official esports sponsor of the 30th SEA Games, Razer was the main lobbying force behind the official inclusion of esports as a medaled discipline in this year’s event. Moreover, the company announced its intention to take the leading role in navigating esports at the 31st SEA Games.
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Esports Insider says: It’s great to see esports slowly moving towards Olympic recognition. However, the selection of esports titles should be more consistent if the sector wants to be established as Olympic disciplines.