Since this year's Games take place in Seattle, the tournament is going down on Microsoft's home turf. The company has been a partner of the Special Olympics since 2014 and is the premier partner this year.

The tournament marks another step towards eSports playing a role in major multi-sport events. This summer's Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia will hold an eSports demonstration before gaming becomes a medal event at the 2022 Games in Hangzhou, China. It might be a long time before we see eSports athletes winning Olympic gold, but the International Olympic Committee has started throwing its substantial weight behind some gaming tournaments -- it backed a Starcraft 2 event held just before this year's Winter Olympics.