E-SPORTS at the Commonwealth Games won't see round two in Australia 2026 – and a Gold winner from Chirk has blamed poor organisation.
Owain Lamb, an 18-year-old gamer from Chirk, won Gold for Wales at the first ever gaming championship alongside the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022.
But E-Sports will not be appearing at the next games in Victoria in 2026, and Owain has expressed his disappointment.
He added: "I hoped they would consider it for Australia 2026, as I would have loved to go, and although I am proud to, for now, be the winner of the one-time only event, I do wish that for the future they will add it."
But Owain – or Foxy, to give him his competition username – also said he felt the competition could have been run more smoothly.
He said: "Most of the time we didn't know what we were doing or where we were headed.
"In Birmingham things ran a bit more smoothly, but Nottingham was a bit confusing.
"We only found out the night before what times we had to be in Birmingham the next day, and some of us competed very early in the morning that day."
Owain specialised in one of the three games available, Rocket League, and won the Welsh team the competition.
Although organisers did not give a reason for the decision, the unofficial E-sports event was considered to have been successful and Owain is one of the many disappointed to not see it at the 2026 games.
He added: "It was still a great event to be a part of, and it did attract a lot of people, as the gaming network is growing more everyday, so I am quite sad to not see it at future Commonwealth Games."
A 2026 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee spokeswoman told the BBC: "While they weren't successful this time, the Commonwealth Games Federation and Global Esports Federation will keep working on an inclusion pathway for this growing sport." .
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