In China, e-sports in games like League of Legends is something regulated by the state, just like everything else. In 2019, the government recognized two e-sports jobs as ‘official professions’. Now they introduced a tier system to distinguish the regular e-sport player of level 5 from the state-sponsored professional of level 1.
This is how it was so far: Two years ago, in January 2019, China officially introduced two new e-sports professions. This was announced by the ‘Ministry for Human Resources and Social Security’ (CMHRSS), basically the Chinese Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs:
- The e-sport professional is a player who competes in tournaments and events or trains with the professionals in the scrimmages, which are very important in LoL.
- The e-sport operator is someone who organizes an e-sport tournament in some way or works on the content resulting from it.
The two new professions in e-sports were part of more than a dozen new ‘officially recognized professions’ that existed in China in 2019: Alongside the drone pilot, the AI engineer, and the big data engineer, there are now also 2 recognized e-sports professions in China.
For Level 1: 4 years at Level 2 or an international award
This is new now: As Inven reports, the Chinese government has further refined this classification of jobs.
The ministry now states:
‘There are more than 5,000 e-sports teams in China with about 100,000 active professional players and 50,000 active semi-professionals. There is a large gap among these players, with less than 15% meeting the standards. We have created a system to keep pace with the rapid growth of the e-sports industry.’
Statement from the Chinese Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
In February 2021, China introduced a standardized classification of professions.
- An e-sport professional in China now has one of 5 levels.
- Level 5 is the lowest level, while Level 1 is the highest level that someone can achieve.
- Anyone who wants the certificate for achieving Level 1 must have played at Level 2 for 4 years or must have received an award at an international event. Only then does the promotion to the e-sport Olympics await.
The Chinese finalists at the LoL Worlds 2020, Suning, would have needed to defeat DAMWON Gaming to enjoy the highest honors.
This is how it is seen: The site Inven states that experts in the Chinese e-sports scene are still divided on how to assess this development. On one hand, it could be a step towards further recognition of e-sports in China. This might become important for e-sport players who retire.
On the other hand, experts also say: Not even in the e-sports scene has this development been widely recognized yet. Therefore, there is skepticism about what actual benefit this will have in practice.
This is behind it: China seems to have recognized e-sports as an important factor to gain international significance and recognition. South Korea has already completed this development: In their case, LoL professionals like Faker are considered a national treasure.
In the Chinese regulation, the promotion after ‘4 years’ seems rather strange, as the career of an e-sport professional is surprisingly short. Especially in China, LoL professionals have been burned out over the years, and the careers of many professionals have already ended after just a few years. Only a few have remained professional past the age of 22 or 23.
Even one of the best Chinese LoL players, the legendary ADC Uzi, ended his career early.
One of the best LoL players of all time quits – health damaged at 23
