Esports_at_the_2019_Southeast_Asian_Games

Esports at the 2019 SEA Games

Esports at the 2019 SEA Games

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Esports at the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines was held at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan, Metro Manila from 5 to 10 December 2019.[1] It was the first esports contest as a medal event in a multi-sport competition sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee after the discipline featured as a demonstration sport at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Quick Facts Esports at the 2019 SEA Games, Venue ...

Six medals were contested in esports while a single demonstration event was also held. The games were accredited by the Asian Electronic Sports Federation.[2]

Background

Philippines SEA Games Organizing Committee-Razer press conference held on 28 November 2018 where the inclusion of esports in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games was announced.

The inclusion of esports in the Southeast Asian Games was lobbied by Min-Liang Tan, CEO of Singapore-based gaming firm Razer. Tan announced in November 2018 that he met with Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee chair Alan Peter Cayetano to discuss about the possible inclusion of esports in the regional games, which were among the "Category 3" disciplines included in final list of proposed events to be hosted in the games.[3]

An ad hoc committee was formed to organize the esports events in the games. Razer provided support in terms of software, hardware, and services in the organization of the esports events.[4] Razer was designated as the Official Esports Partner.[5] However Razer didn't provide the mobile phones for the Arena of Valor tournament since the latest update of the title required the game to be played on iOS.[6]

By 14 December 2018, the national federation of esports has formally sought formal inclusion in the games from the International esports Federation.[7]

The esports tournaments of the Southeast Asian Games were open to competitors of both genders with every aspiring participant to partake in a qualification tournaments.[8] Although competitors should be at least 12 years old.[9]

Market research firm Newzoo projects the number of audience for esports in Southeast Asia to grow to at least 31.9 million in 2019 attributing the increase to the inclusion of the discipline in the Southeast Asian Games.[10]

Game selection

Six medals were contested in esports. The selected games were to conform to the values of the International Olympic Committee and "should not promote the culture of violence and gambling".[11] Also other factors, such as the popularity and competitiveness of the games, the strategy and teamwork required in playing the concerned games, as well as the physical and mental intensity required in contesting the games in marathon matches, were also considered in the selection process.[8]

There were three categories; PC, console, and mobile each featuring two video games.[11] Mobile Legends: Bang Bang was the first title to be confirmed in November 2018[11] Four games: Arena of Valor, Dota 2, Starcraft II, and Tekken 7, were later announced in mid-December 2018.[8] The organizers attempted to secure the appropriate license to be able to have NBA 2K as the sixth title but was unable to do so. Hearthstone was announced as the sixth title in June 2019.[12]

There were also previous plans for the esports tournament to feature separate competitions for men and women where men would be competing in Dota 2, Hearthstone, NBA 2K, and Tekken 7, while women would be contesting Dota 2 and Hearthstone.[13] The plan was later abandoned.[14]

Venue

The Filoil Flying V Centre during the games.
The setup of the interior of the FilOil Flying V Centre during the Tekken 7 event.

The Esports competition of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games was held at the Filoil Flying V Centre (San Juan Arena) in San Juan, Metro Manila.[15] Previously, The Manila Marriott Hotel in Pasay was considered as a potential venue but the hotel management asked for a fee which was deemed too expensive by the organizers of the regional games.[16]

Viewership

Razer reported at least a million views on its streaming platform on the first day of the esport event with about 70,000 concurrent viewers. The Filoil Flying V Centre was at full capacity at the peak of the esport tournament and Razer registered 20 million impressions with 90,000 concurrent viewers. The esports tournament's YouTube streaming was also viewed for 200,000 hours by audiences.[5]

Medal summary

PC

More information Event, Gold ...

Console

More information Event, Gold ...

Mobile

More information Event, Gold ...

Medal table

  *   Host nation (Philippines)

More information Rank, Nation ...

References

  1. [1]
    "General Competition Schedule". Manila Bulletin. PHILSOC. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  2. [2]
    Atencio, Peter (30 November 2018). "Asian eSports to pick games at 2019 SEAG". Manila Standard. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  3. [3]
    "Electronic sports eyed in 2019 SEA Games". ABS-CBN News. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  4. [4]
    Villar, Joey (29 November 2018). "Esports makes debut in 2019 SEA Games". Philippine Star. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  5. [5]
    "2019 SEA Games eSports closes with record numbers". ABS-CBN News. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  6. [6]
    Ashton, Graham (14 December 2019). "Esports Learns the Ropes With First Medal Event at SEA Games". Esports Observer. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  7. [7]
    Atencio, Peter (14 December 2018). "5 events removed from SEAG". Manila Standard. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  8. [8]
    Ronquillo, Ram (21 December 2018). "Five of six esports games for 2019 SEA Games revealed". ESPN. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  9. [9]
    Pineda, Carlos (30 December 2021). "PeSO explains why Sibol won't allow minors in upcoming SEA Games". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 31 January 2022. "When we were the host of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2019, we were given the choice to set any (fair) rules not related to the game aspect and that includes the age restriction. So we set the age restriction to 12."
  10. [10]
    "Southeast Asia's Esports Scene will take off in 2019, predicts research firm". Fox Sports Asia. 6 January 2019. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  11. [11]
    "Esports will be a medal event in the 2019 SEA Games". Fox Sports Asia. 28 November 2018. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  12. [12]
    Atencio, Peter (2 July 2019). "Hearthstone takes place of NBA2K". Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  13. [13]
    Henson, Joaquin (19 December 2018). "POC finalizes events for SEA Games". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  14. [14]
    Saldajeno, Ivan (20 December 2018). "ESNAP head clarifies report on SEAG eSports". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  15. [15]
    "eSports Schedule List", Official SEA Games 2019 website, retrieved 4 Dec 2019
  16. [16]
    Escarlote, Mark (14 March 2019). "FilOil Flying V Centre to host SEA Games basketball". ABS-CBN Sports (in English and Filipino). Retrieved 23 March 2019.
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