'This isn’t e-sports': Singapore gaming community questions inaugural Olympic event's lineup

SINGAPORE: Late in 2022, when Singapore’s Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong announced on Facebook that the country would host the first-ever Olympic Esports Week in 2023, he made the point that “e-sports is not just about gaming”.

This drew a response in the comments from one Marcus Tan, whom eagle-eyed netizens would have recognised as one of Singapore’s top e-sports players, more commonly known by his alias Revenant.

“E-sports have primarily always been about gaming in the past 15 plus years,” said the two-time World Cyber Games champion in real-time strategy title Warcraft 3.

“To say that ‘e-sports is not just gaming’ and not include actual e-sports programmes seems to be overlooking the efforts of all the people in our nation who are immensely passionate about actual e-sports.”

In March, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unveiled a lineup for Olympic Esports Week comprising mostly virtual recreations of physical sports. 

From Thursday (Jun 22) to Sunday at the Suntec convention centre, simulated versions of archery, baseball, chess, cycling, dance, sailing, tennis, taekwondo and motorsport will be contested by more than 110 players from across the world, with 17 representing Singapore.

Nowhere to be seen: Popular video games like Valorant, Dota and Mobile Legends, which typically headline major e-sports competitions around the world.

The Olympic selection has raised eyebrows among both global and local e-sports personalities, with several echoing Mr Tan's earlier remarks. 

He told CNA on Wednesday that the event seemed "tone-deaf" and "not an accurate representation".

Earlier in the year, in response to media queries on the lineup, the IOC said the primary goal of the Olympic agenda was to develop