With the 2023 Olympic eSports Week, which took place at the Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre in Singapore, the Olympic movement and e-sports took another important step in the quest to strengthen their relationship.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) defined the event as “a historic milestone” and explained that it “marks the next step in the promotion of virtual sports within the Olympic Movement, connecting even more with the player community”.
The 2023 Olympic eSports Week was attended by more than 130 players from all over the world who participated in the 10 finals of the Olympic eSports Series, which started last March 1 with the qualifications.
The electronic sports in which they competed were Archery, Baseball, Chess, Cycling, Dancing, Motorsports, Sailing, Shooting, Taekwondo and Tennis. For the time being, the IOC decided not to include violent and more popular games such as Call of Duty or Counter Strike.
All the winners of the 2023 Olympic Esports Series
- Archery (Tic Tac Bow): Jared ‘MontyDey’ Montgomery (United States)
- Baseball (WBSC eBaseball™: POWER PROS): Mori ‘SHORA’ Shoma (Japan)
- Chess (Chess.com): Aleksei Sarana (Serbia)
- Cycling (Zwift): Fuego Team — Lou Bates (Great Britain), Marlene Bjärehed (Sweden), James Barnes (South Africa), and Martin Maertens (Germany)
- Dance (Just Dance): Amandine ‘TheFairyDina’ Morisset (France)
- Motorsports (Gran Turismo 7): Kylian Drumont (France)
- Sailing (Virtual Regatta): Tim ‘UOL Pepitõ’ Carpentier (France)
- Shooting (ISSF Fortnite Challenge): Lucas’ anon ‘Malissa (Australia)
- Taekwondo (Virtual Taekwondo): Nigel Tan (Singapore)
- Tennis (Tennis Clash): Anass’ Anteo ‘Benghazi (France)
“The opening Olympic eSports Week in Singapore was a celebration of the best in virtual sports and eSports. We have built bridges between the physical and virtual worlds of sport. We’ve seen the sports and esports communities come together and share ideas. Together, we have discussed opportunities and challenges,” IOC Vice President Ser Miang Ng said at the closing ceremony.
“The first Olympic eSports Week was a remarkable celebration of inclusion and diversity. New friendships have been formed and old friends have been reunited. We hope that these ties will continue to grow. As we celebrate these successes, we will take advantage of this new momentum to move forward,” said Ser Miang Ng.
In addition to the definition of the Olympic Series, the event in Singapore included exhibition matches (in Rocket League, Duathlon, Virtual Table Tennis, Street Fighter and NBA2K23) and different forums attended by experts in the virtual sports industry. The IOC reported that about 20,000 tickets were issued.
At the event, meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee recommendation regarding the participation as “neutral” of Russian players, who were able to compete during the Olympic Week alongside those from Ukraine, was maintained.
The Olympic Committee recognized esports as a “sporting activity” in 2017 and supporting virtual sports is part of the intention to attract more young people to the Olympic Movement.
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