Australia is recognizing League of Legends as a sanctioned college sport

There will be debates as to whether esports are real sports forever. It comes with the territory of enjoying them. No matter how much you explain the skill or precision there will be someone to shoot them down. The Australian government isn't doing that -- not by a long shot.

The Australian University Games will now recognize League of Legends as a sport, allowing students to try and represent their university at the yearly event, which will be held in Perth, Western Australia in September.

The event has already been codified and qualification structures announced. Here's how it will break down:

1. Inter-University Tournaments – Teams need to enter their Inter-University Tournament during June at participating universities.

2. Regional Online Tournaments – The winners from each university will compete in regional online tournaments (5-7 July), including Eastern (New South Wales, ACT), Northern (Queensland), Southern (Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania), New Zealand and Wildcard (regions not covered by the four groups).

3. Nationals – The top teams from each region will then play in an online round robin to determine who will make the final.

4. Australian University Games – The finalists from Nationals will head to Perth to play for the title in front of a live crowd at the Australian University Games (25-30 September)

This is a major step for the growth of esports, and acceptance as part of regular competition. Furthermore, if this trend catches on it's a win-win for everyone involved. Schools will gain reputations in groups of potential students they never had access to before, while some competitors will no longer need to make the grueling decision between pursuing a League of Legends career and getting higher education.

Riot games is fully supportive of Australia's move and have developed a special page to help organize events.

h/t Kotaku