E-sports could be key to Games: Taichung mayor

By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA





Taichung should seek to develop an e-sports-friendly environment to attract digital sports such events, Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Tuesday at the commencement ceremony for the city’s e-Sports Festival.

The event, to be hosted at the Lilo Center in the city’s Beitun District (北屯), starts on Wednesday next week, Lin said.

Among the attendees at the event were Chunghwa Telecom chairman David Cheng (鄭優) and e-sports team Flash Wolves member Chen “Tom” Wei-lin (陳威林) and captain Pi Ling-li (畢怜禮), as well as Brothers Baseball Club coach Lin Wei-chu (林威助).

E-sports have taken off in Taiwan since 2008, and as Taichung houses many relevant industries, the city government should strive to implement a friendly atmosphere for competitive gaming, Lin said.

Taiwan’s first competitive gaming league, the Taiwan eSports League, was formed in 2008 by Sanlih E-Television, Golden Star Entertainment, Wayi International Digital Entertainment, Gamania Digital Entertainment and Hoshin GigaMedia Center.

Events on the festival’s lineup include the league’s League of Legends school championship finals, the finals of the Taichung Cup for Garena’s Arena of Valor and Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone Championship Tour.

The city should take steps to foster e-sports talent, as competitive gaming is likely to be included in the Olympics, Lin said.

The International Olympic Committee and the Global Association of International Sports Federations on Saturday last week convened the Esports Forum in Lausanne, Switzerland, he said.

The inclusion of e-sports at next month’s Asian Games in Jakarta has also been confirmed, Lin said.