Chinese and Russian government to hold esports events

China y Russia published this week a joint statement signed by the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Chinese President Xi Jinping at Moscowwhich included an important mention of “esports”.. The statement revealed that the two countries will cooperate to create international sporting events in Russia.. The motif of this cooperation is that Russia is excluded from the events international sporting events due to the war with Ukraine.

China will support Russia in hosting the international e-sports event ‘Future Games’ in Kazan, Russia, in 2024. Both sides oppose politicization in sports, and hopes that sports can promote peace and unity.

Joint statement

This announcement is a milestone for Chinese e-sports, as it is the first time that the President Xi actually recognizes the term “esports” in the joint statement. With the top Russian leader. It also indicates that esports have moved to the main stage of diplomacy between two of the world’s largest countries.

It is unclear which titles will be included in the “Future Games” of Russia, as most of them, such as Dota 2, League of Legends and CS:GO, were developed by U.S. publishers Valve and Riot Games. Although it is likely that some Riot titles, such as. Valorant, Wild Rift and League of Legends.will be part of the programming, since Tencentthe Chinese video game publisher, owns the company.

On the other hand, Dota 2 is very popular in Russiaso it may be present. In 2021, Russian e-sports organization Team Spirit won Dota 2’s The International event.event, and has taken home more than $18.2M in prize money. After the event, President Putin sent a congratulatory letter to Team Spirit and all its players.