Athletes gear up for the inaugural Olympic Esports Week in Singapore
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Greek e-sailor Ioannis Kokonias (left) and English e-tennis player William Foster
ST PHOTOS: AZMI ATHNI
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SINGAPORE – From 1997 to 2005, sailor Ioannis Kokonias competed at world and European regattas, but the Greek will enter unchartered territory this week as he tries to win a medal at the inaugural Olympic Esports Week.
The competition will take place in front of three huge screens at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre from Thursday to Sunday, with over 100 athletes competing across 10 virtual sports, including sailing, baseball and tennis.
Some Olympic traditions are maintained, like an opening ceremony on Thursday, while some are not – winners are awarded trophies, not medals.
The four-day event showcasing virtual sports and gaming, which was created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has come under criticism, with people labelling it as muddled and sandwiched between traditional sports and e-sports.
Big gaming titles such as Dota 2 are not part of the roster, which features mainly simulated sports.
Greek e-sailor Ioannis Kokonias used to compete in world and European regattas in the Tornado class.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
The Olympic Esports Week comes after the 2021 Olympic Virtual Series, which attracted over 250,000 online contestants from across 100 countries, featuring simulated sports including baseball, motorsport, cycling, rowing and sailing, and is part of the IOC’s bid to remain relevant to young people and embrace technological advances.
The IOC recognised e-sports as a “sports activity” in 2017 and it will be a medal event at a major multi-sports Games for the first time at the Asian Games in Hangzhou starting on Sept 23.
But for some like William Foster, a tennis e-sports player from Britain, the Olympic Esports Week – which features a free-to-play zone where attendees can try out various e-sports and virtual titles – is also an opportunity to enjoy and be exposed to different sports.
The 26-year-old, a two-time Roland-Garros eSeries champion, said: “There are 10 other different sports here and some other exhibitions.
Tennis e-sport athlete William Foster feels the Olympic Esports Week is also an opportunity to enjoy and be exposed to different sports.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
“It’s going to be amazing to see how other e-sports work because I have experience only in tennis, so I’m really fascinated to see all these different sports because I’m a huge sports fan and an e-sports person.”
With the backing of the IOC, Foster, who used to play county, state and regional tennis tournaments as a junior, expects the Olympic Esports Week to become more competitive and reach a wider audience as compared to the Roland-Garros eSeries.
Foster, who used to play other games such as football’s Fifa, is aiming to win the tennis competition here, which will be contested on Tennis Clash, an online multiplayer game. He has been training for at least one to two hours daily, practising with various opponents from around the world to expose himself to different styles of play.
Kokonias, 34, who used to race in the Tornado class, noted that his experience as a sailor has made it a smooth transition to virtual racing, which he picked up in 2020.
The competition will take place in front of three huge screens at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre from Thursday to Sunday, with over 100 athletes competing across 10 virtual sports.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
The sailing competition is contested on Virtual Regatta, an online race simulator that replicates the real meteorological conditions experienced by the skippers. Players must then choose the best sail settings and heading as they try to cross the finishing line first.
It allows participants to race in real time from their computers or mobile devices and is played by sailors from all around the world, including Olympic medallists and world champions, Kokonias said.
He added: “It’s not 100 per cent similar but it’s the same action, the same feeling but behind the screen and not in real life. But my experience has helped in tactics in the race.”
What to look out for at the Olympic Esports Week
Archery
It will be contested on Tic Tac Bow, a mobile archery game. The goal is to mark three targets in a line by hitting targets in the three-by-three grid, similar to the traditional tic-tac-toe, but with a twist. Players can steal targets from their opponent by hitting a higher score on any target that has already been claimed.
Ten finalists will participate in a round-robin competition in two groups of five, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals. The final is a best-of-five, while all other rounds are best-of-three.
Baseball
Played on the video game World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) eBaseball: Power Pros, the 10 finalists will be split into two groups of five for the preliminary round, which will be a round-robin format competed off-stage and off-stream.
Each match-up will feature a single game of WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros. The top two from each group will qualify for the semi-finals. There is a final and third-place match.
Chess
Contested in a single-elimination knockout format on Chess.com, only four players will advance from the preliminary round to the finals on Sunday.
Cycling
It will place on Zwift, an interactive virtual-reality platform, using the Scotland map. Sixteen finalists are split into four mixed-gender teams featuring six rounds: a women’s and men’s elimination race (13.3km), sprint race (3.2km) and climbing race (2.7km).
Points will be awarded for each race. The team with the most points will be champions.
Dancesport
The competition will use motion-based dance video game Just Dance. During each song, players mirror a dance performed by dancers on the screen. Points are awarded for accuracy.
The eight finalists will be drawn into a single-elimination knockout bracket, known as the “One Song Challenge”. The semi-finals and finals are a best-of-three format.
Motorsport
It will be contested on Gran Turismo, a series of racing simulation video games. Twelve drivers will go through a qualifying round to determine their starting position for the final, 50-minute race.
Sailing
Using the online web browser game Virtual Regatta, 11 players will compete in seven races, each in a different class of boat. Points are awarded after each race, with the top five qualifying for the final race. Points from the preliminary rounds are then added to those collected in the final to determine the winners.
Shooting
This will feature a special International Shooting Sport Federation Island created in Fortnite, an online video game, designed to reflect sport shooting competition. Players will be tested on their target aiming accuracy.
Taekwondo
World Taekwondo and Refract Technologies have created a virtual taekwondo game using motion tracking technology. Instead of physical combat, exponents face a screen where non-contact sparring takes place, with their kicks mirrored by virtual avatars.
Tennis
Contested on Tennis Clash, an online multiplayer game from Wildlife Studios, the six finalists will be split into two round-robin groups of three. The two top advance into the best-of-three semi-finals, while the final will be a best-of-five contest.
