IOC’s first Olympic Esports Week brings thrilling live competition, historic firsts and communities together in Singapore
The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s first-ever Olympic Esports Week has concluded in Singapore, following three days of thrilling live-finals action in the Olympic Esports Series and esports exhibition matches. The inaugural event built bridges between the physical and the virtual worlds of sport, and celebrated inclusivity and diversity.
The IOC, in partnership with the Singaporean Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Sport Singapore, and the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), welcomed the world to Singapore for this historic milestone, which marks the next step in the promotion of virtual sport within the Olympic Movement, further connecting with the gaming community.
A highlight of the week was the thrilling live finals action of the Olympic Esports Series, created in collaboration with International Sports Federations (IFs) and publishers. Over 130 players from all corners of the world came together to compete in the Olympic spirit on the global stage, in 10 mixed-gender category events for gold, silver and bronze Olympic Esports Series 2023 trophies. Players were cheered on by a full house of fans in Singapore, with all the action streamed online.
The winners were:
Archery -Gold: Jared Montgomery (MontyDey); Silver: David Chan (dchan); Bronze: Kyosuke Takebayashi (ZouSenpai)
Baseball - Gold: Mori Shoma (SHORA); Silver: Horiike Hiroki (TAIJYU);Bronze: Wang Chia-Ming (CMWANG)
Chess - Gold: Aleksei Sarana; Silver: Maksim Chigaev; Bronze: Son Nguyen
Cycling - Gold: Team Fuego(Lou Bates, Marlene Bjärehed, James Barnes and Martin Maertens); Silver: Team Epic (Charlotte Colclough, Jacquie Godbe, Michal Kamiński and Ben Hill); Bronze: Team Lava (Lam Kong, Alice Lethbridge, Lionel Vujasin and Teppo Laurio)
Dance -Gold: Dina Amandine Morisset (TheFairyDina); Silver: Joseph Cordero (Aazzlano); Bronze: Antonino Pomilia (Just Nino)
Motor sport -Gold: Kylian Drumont; Silver: William Murdoch; Bronze: Angel Innostroza
Sailing Inshore -Gold: Tim Carpentier (UOL Pepitō); Silver: Cavan Fyans (Cavan Fyans); Bronze: Francisco Melo (Magic - ChicoPMelo)
Tennis - Gold: Anass Benghazi (Anteo); Silver: Shenghao He (Kafe); Bronze: William Foster (Fozzy)
The strict application of the IOC recommendations with regard to Individual Neutral Athletes was applied, which enabled players from Ukraine and players with a Russian passport to compete peacefully together.
The IOC’s Olympic Esports Series 2023 began in March, when both professional and amateur players from across the world were invited to take part in the second edition of the virtual sports competition, created in collaboration with various IFs and game publishers. Building on the success of the Olympic Virtual Series in 2021, the number of events has already doubled, with over half a million players entering the qualification rounds and hoping to secure their place in the first finals played live in front of fans.
In addition to the Olympic Esports Series, a number of exhibition matches also took place, providing an opportunity for fans to watch some of the world’s best esports players and teams showcase their skills. The winners were: Team Williams Resolve (women’s) and Karmine Corp (men’s) in Rocket League, Team Oceania in Duathlon, Antonin Landrea (11FR_Anto) in Virtual Table Tennis, Thum Homchuen (MindRPG) in Street Fighter.
Some 20,000 tickets were issued for the first Olympic Esports Week, with people of all ages and backgrounds invited to experience the action and be introduced to new sports and innovations through a specially designed interactive free-to-play zone, including rowing, golf and basketball.
Olympic Esports Week also provided an opportunity for the sports and esports communities to meet and share ideas. This included at the Olympic Esports Week Forum, where industry experts were invited to share insights and ideas on important topics such as player welfare, diversity and inclusion, and online bullying.
Speaking at the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Esports Week, IOC Vice-President Ser Miang Ng said: “The inaugural Olympic Esports Week here in Singapore has been a historic milestone, a celebration of the best of virtual sport and esports. We have built bridges between the physical and the virtual worlds of sport. We have seen the sports and esports communities meet and share ideas. Together, we have discussed opportunities and challenges.”
He continued: “The first Olympic Esports Week was a remarkable celebration of inclusivity and diversity. New friendships have been formed, and old friends have been reunited. We hope these bonds continue to grow. While celebrating these successes, we will build on this new momentum to move forward.”
Olympic Esports Week is supported by Worldwide Olympic Partners, including Alibaba and Samsung, and continues the IOC’s ambition to support the development of virtual sport and gaming, as laid out in Olympic Agenda 2020+5.
Sport and gaming fans around the world can relive all the action on Olympics.com and Olympic social media channels.
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