The very first time that esports became medal events in a major international sporting event was in the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines. Now, esports will be returning as medal events in the upcoming 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam.

According to One Esports, the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has approved for esports to be included as an official category in the upcoming 2021 SEA Games. A formal announcement will be made sometime in November 2020.

During the 2019 SEA Games, six games were competed as part of the esports category, including Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena Of Valor, Dota 2, Tekken 7, Starcraft 2, and Hearthstone.

The 2021 SEA Games will include esports games like Dota 2, Arena Of Valor and Pro Evolution Soccer, but there’s no confirmation yet on the rest (the remaining three games).

Malaysia won medals for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Bronze) and Hearthstone (Gold). They were Hearthstone player was Dr. Yew “wkyew90” Weng Kean (check out when we spent the day with the gold medalist here) and team Shopee Bosskurr.

The 2021 SEA Games will take place in Vietnam starting from 21 November 2021. Stay tuned on Kakuchopurei for more esports news.