This year’s Olympics will not only be the first of the century, but they will also be the first to feature esports. Although esports will not be an official event, the International Olympic Committee has teamed up with Intel, Psyonix, and Capcom to bring esports to the Olympic scene. In the days prior to the Olympics’ opening ceremony, these groups will join to hold the first-ever Intel World Open.
Players from around the world will be able to form teams and compete in online qualifiers later this year. The best players will move forward to compete in a live qualifier event in Katowice, Poland. From there, the most successful teams will compete at the grand finals in Tokyo, Japan. The grand final will take place at the Zepp DiverCity venue and will feature Street Fighter V and Rocket League. The winners of each tournament will take home $250,000 USD.
In an interview with the Daily Star Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono talked about what the event would mean for the game and esports as a whole. Ono pointed out how the current esports competitions are hard to take part in saying: “You need sponsors to cover your travel, you need the time to actually be able to attend the event, you need backup players, you need people to be signing contracts and doing all this work.”
However Ono makes it clear that this won’t be the case for the Intel World Open. He says that “the community will only get stronger by using an open structure for this tournament... The open structure allows players that don’t necessarily have the resources – time, money and so on – to take part in the Capcom Pro Tour type tournaments.” Ono feels this format will have a huge effect on the fighting esports scene. He also stated that he looks forward to seeing what new pros the event will uncover.
In addition, Ono feels that the Intel World Open is a historic event for esports as a whole. He says that “It makes me incredibly proud. The Olympics is not just legacy – it’s history. And to be able to lift Street Fighter to those terms is incredible.” As a closing, Ono ended the interview with an exciting and heartful quote: "For the first time in a long time, I feel this is the sort of thing my parents can be proud of me for achieving in my work."
You can read more about the Intel World Open here, and you can read the Daily Star’s interview here.
