The 2017 League of Legends World Championship, one of the world's most well-known e-sports competitions, is currently underway in China. The event has attracted millions of fans, many of whom are willing to spend 13,000 yuan ($1,955) for a 480 yuan seat, according to media reports.
With more than 600 million gamers nationwide, e-sports is now undoubtedly the most popular pastime among China's young generation. To cater to this trend, the Ministry of Education has allowed 13 vocational schools in China to add e-sports majors, which began taking students this year.
While playing online games is often viewed by parents and teachers as a waste of time and harmful to mental development, the rise of China's e-sports players on the world stage as well as the emergence of related majors in college has done much to reduce this stigma.
In addition to playing games, e-sports students need to take theory courses including e-sports culture and history, psychology in e-sports and management to gain a better understanding of online gaming.
The potential for high returns has also persuaded many parents to allow their children to pursue a professional path. In 2014, Chinese team Newbee won 31.19 million yuan in the Dota2 international competitions. Two years later, Chinese team Wings won 60.48 million yuan in an e-sport competition.
But not everyone is suited to becoming a professional player. Zhang Xuechen, an e-sports teacher at the Sichuan Film and Television University, told the Chongqing Morning Post that most professional players are male because e-sports competition requires high-intensity training, with students often spending hours at a time in their dormitories honing their skills.
Competition is also extremely tough, and less than 10 percent of students attending e-sports training schools can expect to become professional players.
China now has the world's largest video gaming market, which was estimated to be worth $3 billion in 2016, according to a research project by tech giant Tencent. In 2011, the General Administration of Sport of China approved e-sports as the 78th official discipline for sports.
