OWL Players Attend Olympic Discussions with Blizzard

Jacob “JAKE” Lyon and Kim “Geguri” Se-yeon are set to attend the Esports Forum.

The event will be hosted by the International Olympic Committee and Global Association of International Sports Federations. It’s set to take place in Lausanne, Switzerland between July 20 and July 21. Rick Fox, former NBA player and owner of Echo Fox, will moderate the forum.

JAKE and Geguri will represent the Overwatch community alongside Mike Morhaime, president at Blizzard Entertainment, and Nate Nanzer, Overwatch League Commissioner.

2018 has been one of the biggest years for esports thus far. Competitive leagues continue to grow thanks to varied investments and the audience is more interested than ever before.

The Esports Forums is looking to bring together esports natives and traditional sporting community members to have a conversation about esports and a possible future place in the Olympics. There have been rumors that esports could become a demonstration sport in Paris 2024, but nothing is yet confirmed.

Integrating esports events into major sports events is not unheard off, as the 2018 Asian Games announced six gaming titles as demonstration events. It is expected that esports will become a medal event at the 2022 Asian Games. The games chosen for the event are Arena of Valor, Clash Royale, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Pro Evolution Soccer, and Starcraft 2.

Kit McConnell, sports director at the International Olympic Committee, clarified that games with “a strong reflection of violence” won’t be considered for the Olympics. That category includes such titles as Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.