Question 1

True or false: E-Sports players must hold a college degree to compete in major tournaments.

Accepted Answer

False. No major e-sports tournament requires a college degree. Players often compete professionally right out of high school or even earlier based on skill alone.

Question 2

True or false: The first e-sports player to be featured on a Wheaties cereal box was Justin 'JUST9N' Nguyen in 2021.

Accepted Answer

False. No e-sports player has ever appeared on a Wheaties box. The cereal company traditionally features Olympic athletes and occasionally other mainstream sports figures.

Question 3

True or false: South Korea officially recognized esports as a professional sport in 2000.

Accepted Answer

True. The Korean e-Sports Association (KeSPA) was founded in 2000, making South Korea the first country to formally recognize esports as a professional sport.

Question 4

True or false: South Korea legally recognizes e-sports athletes as professional sports figures, allowing them to defer military service.

Accepted Answer

False. South Korea does not grant military deferments for e-sports. Only traditional Olympic medalists and certain classical musicians qualify for exemptions.

Question 5

True or false: More people watched the 2023 League of Legends World Championship finals than the Super Bowl.

Accepted Answer

False. The 2023 Super Bowl averaged over 115 million US viewers, versus a peak of around 6.4 million for the LoL Worlds final. The Super Bowl had vastly larger viewership.

Question 6

True or false: The prize pool for The International 2021 (Dota 2) exceeded $40 million, more than the Masters golf tournament that year.

Accepted Answer

True. The 2021 Dota 2 prize pool was about $40 million, funded by crowdfunding via in-game battle passes. The Masters had a purse of $11.5 million that year.

Question 7

True or false: The prize pool for The International 2019, a Dota 2 E-Sports tournament, exceeded $34 million.

Accepted Answer

True. The International 2019 had a prize pool of $34,330,068, crowdfunded via in-game purchases, making it the largest in e-sports history at that time.

Question 8

True or false: An E-Sports world championship was held in 1990 for the game Street Fighter II.

Accepted Answer

False. Street Fighter II was released in 1991, making a 1990 championship impossible.

Question 9

True or false: E-Sports originated in South Korea in the 1990s.

Accepted Answer

False. The first e-sports event was the 1972 Spacewar tournament at Stanford University in the United States. South Korea became a major hub later, but did not originate e-sports.

Question 10

True or false: E-Sports have been officially recognized as an Olympic sport by the International Olympic Committee.

Accepted Answer

False. The IOC has not recognized e-sports as an Olympic sport. While there have been discussions and demonstration events, no official inclusion has occurred.

Question 11

True or false: Professional e-sports players typically perform more actions per minute than a concert pianist during a performance.

Accepted Answer

False. While e-sports pros average 300-400 actions per minute, concert pianists can exceed 1,000 notes per minute in fast pieces, so the claim is false.

Question 12

True or false: South Korea passed a law in 2018 allowing E-Sports players to delay mandatory military service.

Accepted Answer

True. In 2018, South Korea's National Assembly approved a bill enabling professional e-sports players to postpone military service until age 30, similar to traditional athletes.

Question 13

True or false: E-sports athletes are required to pass the same physical fitness tests as Olympic swimmers in China.

Accepted Answer

False. China does not have such a requirement. While some Chinese e-sports teams have fitness programs, they are not mandated to meet Olympic standards for any sport.

Question 14

True or false: The first E-Sports tournament with a live audience was held in 1972 for the game Spacewar.

Accepted Answer

True. The Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics at Stanford University in 1972 is recognized as the first e-sports competition with spectators, awarding a year's subscription to Rolling Stone.

Question 15

True or false: E-Sports were included as an official medal event at the 2022 Asian Games.

Accepted Answer

True. The 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou featured e-sports as a medal event for the first time, with titles like League of Legends and Dota 2.

Question 16

True or false: The first e-sports tournament was held in 1972 at Stanford University for the game Spacewar!

Accepted Answer

True. In 1972, Stanford hosted the 'Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics,' awarding a year's subscription to Rolling Stone as the prize. It predates modern e-sports by decades.

E-Sports Trivia Questions