DOTA 2, Starcraft II, Tekken 7, Arena of Valor, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang have been officially shortlisted as the e-sports titles to become medal events in the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
The lineup was announced by the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) and gaming hardware company Razer, who have partnered to bring e-sports to the SEA Games.
The e-sports titles included have been split evenly between the three major gaming platforms; the PC, console, and mobile.
Dota 2 and Starcraft II are on PC, while Mobile Legends and Arena of Valor are on mobile. As for the console, only Tekken 7 has been announced thus far. The sixth and final game for the platform is set to be announced in the coming weeks.
Six gold medals for the aforementioned e-sports titles will be awarded in the games.
Mobile Legends was the first title announced for the SEA Games back in November.
“We are thrilled to see the momentum that our partnership with Razer has achieved in such a short period of time,” said PHISGOC Executive Director Ramon Suzara.
“The shortlisting of six games in such a short time is evidence that the notion of e-sports as a legitimate sporting event is no longer a fad. We look forward to having more partners come on board and join us in defining a new generation of sporting heroes for the youth and millennials,” added Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan.
It was previously reported that the e-sport athletes for each participating country will be chosen through qualifying tournaments, and that there will be no direct invites for established esport athletes.
While e-sports was included in this year’s Asian Games, it was only an exhibition event. The 2019 SEA Games will mark the first time that e-sports will be a medal event in a major sports competition.
The 2019 SEA Games will take place next year from November 30 to December 11.
