China' s e-sports fans winning the battle for acceptance

BEIJING — On April 17, the Olympic Council of Asia announced that electronic sports (e-sports) will be an official competitive event at the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou. The news lit up the cell phone of Tong Xin, who, as CEO of an e-sports club, was more concerned with the LOL Professional League (LPL) the next day.

Tong, at 35, is thinning on top and entering middle-age spread. As the head of the e-sports association in college, a champion in multiple e-sports fields, and now head of a professional e-sports club, he has seen all the ups and downs of e-sports in China.

"Back in 2003, electronic sports were listed as an official competition event by the China's General Administration of Sport. However, traditional Chinese parents see e-sports as computer games, and bad for their children's health and studies," Tong says. "I've explained many times to family and friends that it's a professional competitive sport with a promising future. But no one believes that. They just think I've made a bad choice."

"At that time there were a few professional events with only small prizes and little public attention. Most players worked hard and earned less," he recalls. "But as the internet and technologies like webcasting develop, and the industry becomes more standardized, e-sports are now developing in a totally different environment. They are gradually winning recognition."

A report from the General Administration of Sport valued e-sports as an industry at 27 billion yuan (about $4 billion) in China. According to iResearch, a Chinese third-party researcher, in its E-sports and Games Webcasting Industry Report of China 2016, the overall number of e-sports games will reach 220 million this year.

Tong works for NewBee E-sports Club, which was founded in 2014. In July that year, he led a team to participate in the fourth International DOTA2 Championship in Seattle and won the final, taking a $5 million prize and a bigger audience than the NBA finals. Tong and his team gained money and fame as they made headlines.

The rewards for e-sports players and others in the industry have considerably improved in recent years, and some top players are now millionaires with huge fan followings, according to "Sharky", media manager of WE E-sports Club.

Sharky organized the club's 12-year anniversary celebration in April, drawing thousands of fans to the site.

Behind the scenes, he lives a life with days and nights inverted: "I hardly see Shanghai in the morning. My team and I get up almost at noon, and then we practice, eat, practice more, and then go to bed at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning." The club's players and staff all practice and live together at their base. To avoid disturbance from fans, the base's location is secret. An older woman is paid to clean and cook for them.

"As in other competitive sports, talent and persistence are very important for e-sports players. Most of the professional players are very young. Many have given up their studies, which often makes them 'problem children' for their parents," says Sharky. Parents come to the club, asking their children to leave. Some parents suspect the club is a pyramid sales group. "E-sports players probably face a higher, more brutal dropout rate than the traditional sports people."

In 2016, the Ministry of Education listed "E-sports and Management" as a major for higher professional schools from this year. In fact, e-sports-related courses were already available in universities and vocational schools in Inner Mongolia, Chongqing, Zhejiang and other provinces,

This year, the Communication University of China launched a specialty course in "Digital Media Art - Digital Entertainment", aimed at training talents in electronic sports management and game design.

But some e-sports insiders argue higher education is no environment for training e-sports players or coaches. "E-sports events and configurations are changing every day. Players need a lot of practice and actual competition," says Sharky. "Perhaps the curriculum should focus on training managers, competition broadcasting directors, tactical analysts and other related occupations."

In a media interview, Gao Yifan, an e-sports official with the General Administration of Sport, said the e-sports industry in China has based its primary development model on traditional sports, which focus on events and athletes to produce quality and profitable content and derivatives.

Tong Xin's club team won the competition on April 18, but they were defeated in a subsequent quarterfinal. "I have a lot to do yet," Tong says. In addition to the daily management of the club, he is also seeking sponsorship and considering diversifying the team's development. "It is not yet clear what events will feature at the Asian Games 2022, but nothing will slow the sweeping popularity of e-sports in China."