E-sports becomes official sports at 31st SEA Games

ABO/VNA - Along with bowling, triathlon and jujitsu, eSports will become one of the official sports at the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, according to an announcement of the Southeast Asian Games Federation Council held online last week.
This means there will be a total of 40 sports with more than 520 categories to be held within the framework of the 31st SEA Games that will take place in Vietnam at the end of next year.
Tran Duc Phan, deputy head of the Vietnam Sports Administration, said the Vietnam Recreational Sports and E-Sports Association (VIRESA) will preside over the organization of the e-sports competition at the upcoming SEA Games.

According to experts, the 31st SEA Games is a good opportunity for Vietnam’s eSports to assert its position in the region.

President of VIRESA Nguyen Xuan Cuong said eSports has become one of the 40 sports at the upcoming SEA Games thanks to active support from the Asian Esports Federation (AESF) as well as the Southeast Asian Sports Confederation.
Through this event, eSports has been recognized by society as an official and equal sport, Cuong said.
Do Viet Hung, VIRESA Secretary General, said that Vietnam has many strong athletes and teams that have achieved high results in regional and international tournaments. Therefore, Vietnam is confident to have a successful SEA Games in both organization and competition achievements.
At the 30th SEA Games, the Philippines added eSports to the official competition with six categories: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena of Valor, Dota 2, Starcraft II, Tekken 7 and Hearthstone. Vietnam won three bronze medals.
The 31st SEA Games is expected to be held in Hanoi from November 21, 2021 to December 2, 2021.

Trong Dat (Source: VNA)