Inaugural Esports Championships East Asia to be held online

Representatives from the ECEA 2021 organizing committee pose for the cameras alongside Team Korea head coach Lee Ji-hun, far right. [KeSPA]

The inaugural Esports Championships East Asia tournament will be held entirely online due to the recent resurgence of Covid-19 cases, according to reports Wednesday.

ECEA 2021 is the new inter-East Asian competitive gaming tournament announced to the public in June by Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. National representatives will be competing across five titles: League of Legends (LoL), PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Clash Royale, Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) 2021, and Dungeon & Fighter, known internationally as Dungeon Fighter Online, or DFO.

Matches were originally set to be played in person for three days at Seoul Olympic Park in Songpa District, southern Seoul, from Sept. 10 to 12. Roughly 180 players, staff and officials from three countries had been planning to take part in the proceedings.

Given the nature of the pandemic, it was always a possibility that the whole thing would have to be taken online.

Korea's players will all play from the handball arena at Seoul Olympic Park. Japan and China will also set a location for their own players to gather domestically. Referees from each nation's officially recognized esports federation will be sent to those spaces to ensure competitive integrity.

Despite this setback, ECEA's organizing committee still hopes the tournament will be able to serve as a reference for esports events to be held at the upcoming 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

BY JEON YOUNG-JAE [jeon.youngjae@joongang.co.kr]