An Olympics Esports Games in 2025 or 2026 – What Will It Look Like?
Elen StelmakhAccording to the International Olympic Committee's president, Thomas Bach, the world's first Olympic edition of Esports, which is officially going to be called the Olympic Esports Games, will most likely take place in 2025 or no later than 2026.
Let's dive straight in to discover everything we know so far about the IOC's plans to create the Olympic Esports Games.
What we know so far about the Olympic Esports Games
Very little is known so far about the inaugural Olympic Esports Games, which, if everything goes according to plan, will take place in 2025 at the earliest or no later than 2026.
Bach first openly discussed the IOC Esports Commission's possibility of creating an Olympic Esports event at the 141st IOC Session in October 2023, so the idea of having such an event has been known for months.
It was also revealed that the Olympic Esports Games might follow a similar format to the 2023 Olympic Esports Week event, which was a major success. In other words, physical activities will be combined with virtual/digital sporting activities.
Additionally, some of the world's most popular video games will likely be introduced at the Olympic Esports Games, but only if they align with the Olympic values. Further details have yet to be finalised.
Can I bet on professional Esports events at licensed iGaming sites?
Yes. Many of today's most trusted iGaming websites tend to have a broad range of betting markets with some of the industry's most competitive odds for today's biggest Esports events.
These same sites also tend to have state-of-the-art live dealer games, such as Crazy Time, from multi-award-winning software providers like Evolution Gaming.
To place bets on any Esports events or play any of the 2,000+ live dealer or computer-generated games, you must be of legal age in your country (which might be 18, 19, or 21, so always check before attempting to sign up anywhere).
What are the biggest Esports events still to come in 2024?
The professional Esports calendar is packed with plenty of events still to come in 2024. Some of the biggest upcoming events you may want to watch live-streamed in real-time as the action unfolds are the following:
- Date: January 31 – February 11. Place: Katowice, Poland. Event: IEM Katowice
- Date: February 13 – 15. Place: São Paulo, Brazil. Event: The Six Invitational (Rainbow Six Siege)
- Date: March 14 – 23. Place: Madrid, Spain. Event: Masters Madrid (Valorant)
- Date: March 17 – 31. Place: Copenhagen, Denmark. Event: Copenhagen Major Counter-Strike 2)
You also then have the Call of Duty (CDL) Major 2, the RLCS Major 1, and the LoL (League of Legends) Mid-Season Invitational. Other major Esports events still to come before July 2024 are the CDL Major 3, the VCT Masters Shanghai, and the Blast Spring Final, to name just a few.
What are the main bet types in most Esports events?
The types of betting markets you can generally find will depend on what type of video game is being played and what type of event it is. For example, you can't find a betting market for the total/odd/even number of kills in football games like EAFC24.
Similarly, in war/combat/shooter games like Call of Duty, you can't find betting markets for the correct score, the total number of goals, the first-half/second-half result, and so on.
Other popular bet types you are likely to come across in Esports betting today are win/lose/draw markets, outright markets, first to 5/10 kills, map betting, and handicap betting, to name a few.
Final note
Over the coming months, further details about the upcoming Olympic Esports Games will likely become more widely available. It's just guesswork about exactly how the tournament might pan out for now, so we'll just have to wait and see what transpires.
Elen Stelmakh is a creative individual dedicated to advancing gaming culture through articles and visual design. As a full-time EGamersWorld author and designer for a gaming website, Elen not only creates content but also infuses it with energy and creativity.