Commonwealth events aren’t that familiar with esports, mainly because the mainstream’s depiction of sports is physical. But now that we’ll have our own Commonwealth Esports Championship, it’s more than clear that esports is gaining traction for its massive popularity.
The new event will feature three esports titles, namely Dota 2, Rocket League, and eFootball. While eFootball might not be the biggest title out there, Dota 2 and Rocket League are some of the most played esports in the world. All represented by qualified teams from Commonwealth countries. These qualified teams are winners of respective regional leagues that spanned two months, so expect the competition to be tough.
A very important thing to keep in mind is that the CEC2022 is certainly not the first of its kind to feature esports. SEA Games started adding Esports titles as a category back in 2019, so they are arguably among the earliest trendsetters. Past examples all included big-name MOBA titles, such as Dota 2, League of Legends, and Mobile Legends.
Featured Games and Players
As the first iteration of Commonwealth Esports initiatives, it’s an exciting experience to watch how the Commonwealth Games Federation organizes its Esports events and the titles they’ll feature. Unfortunately, when it comes to player variety, the CEC2022 leaves a bit more to be desired.
In the case of Dota 2 and Rocket League it’s understandable that most of the top level players are busy due to their upcoming championships. In case you didn’t know, the PGL Arlington Dota 2 Major is right around the corner and the Rocket League Championship Series too!
It’s great that CEC2022 gave some spotlight to Rocket League, which in all fairness, isn’t very popular in Asia. The oddball among these popular titles is eFootball, which should not be confused with FIFA. In fact, FIFA would have been a better alternative thanks to its niche yet loyal player base.
Female Tournaments
There are a couple of great things that the CGF is doing when it comes to this event. Besides shining the spotlight on Esports, the Commonwealth Esports Championship 2022 also reserved a place for female athletes to show their inner talent. Esports is traditionally a male-dominant industry, so having a Women’s division is a breath of fresh air.
Notably, Malaysia is keeping its talents diversified at the CEC2022 by bringing two teams and a player. They have a female team, Team Grills Gaming, and male team, Team Atlantis for Dota 2. Whereas Mohamad Nor Haikal Mohamad Noh will be the sole representative for eFootball.
If we look at the bigger picture, the CEC2022 is a step in the right direction to garner the older generation’s interest in esports, which is something that we don’t get to see that often.The CEC2022 Main Event on August 6, which is going to be exciting as you’ll get to see the venue.
