Singapore has recently unveiled its first SEA Games e-sports representative. This year's SEA Games marks the inaugural appearance of e-sports as a medal event at the biennial SEA Games, and surely marks a high water mark in the relatively short history of the sport. 

2019 is indeed becoming a big year for e-sports. Other than its inclusion in this year's SEA Games, the organisers of the Paris 2024 Olympics are also in talks to include e-sports as a demonstration sport at the Olympics. 

Meanwhile, back in Asia, big Singapore gaming and technology start-up Razer has announced that it will be the official e-sport sposor at the 2019 edition of the SEA Games (Source: The Straits Times, 28 November 2018), and has even announced that it will assist neighbouring country Malaysia develop its own e-sport scene by matching the Malaysian government's RM10 million investment into the country's e-sports (Source: The Straits Times, 30 April 2019). 

The crossover of e-sports into the mainstream was never going to be easy, especially with the well-known negative effects and issues arising from the gaming culture such as addiction and cyber bullying. These are certainly issues which the sport will have to deal with and conversations which it will have to have as it develops its rules and infrastructure. 

That being said, it is clear that e-sport is here to stay. For those of us who grew up playing Dota and Starcraft and who possess extremely quick reflexes - who knows, perhaps the dream of representing your country in e-sport one day isn't too far away.