Why a Fixed Pool Model Matters for Esports in Multi-Sport Events

As esports continues to be integrated into multi-sport events such as the SEA Games, an important structural question keeps resurfacing:

How do we balance flexibility with long-term sustainability?

Over the past few editions, the frequent rotation of esports titles has highlighted a growing challenge not just for athletes, but for federations, sponsors, organisers and the credibility of esports as a competitive discipline within institutional sport.

This is where the concept of aFixed Pool modelbecomes relevant.

What Is a Fixed Pool Model?

A Fixed Pool model refers to the establishment of astable core group of disciplinesthat remain consistent across multiple event cycles, while still allowing formeasured and structured flexibility.

Importantly, this doesnotmean locking disciplines in permanently. Instead, it means:

• Providing multi-cycle stability
• Enabling long-term planning
• Reviewing inclusion through transparent governance processes
• Avoiding abrupt or politically driven changes

This approach isnot new, nor is it experimental.

In fact, it is howtraditional sports have been governed for decades.

Esports is Not Reinventing the Wheel

Athletics, swimming, football, badminton, weightlifting, wrestling, these sports do not rotate in and out of the Olympics, Asian Games or SEA Games based on host preference, medal potential or short-term popularity.

They are treated ascore disciplinesbecause:

• Athlete development requires long timelines
• Public funding demands accountability
• Medals must be comparable across editions
• Competitive credibility depends on continuity

Esports is currently the exception not because it cannot meet these standards but because it has not yet been governed under the same framework.

A Fixed Pool model is simplyesports adopting proven governance principles from traditional sportsrather than inventing its own unstable path.

Why a Fixed Pool Matters for Esports

1. Athlete Development Cannot Exist Without Stability

High-performance athletes do not develop over two years.

Without a stable pool of disciplines:

• Training programs reset every cycle
• National federations cannot plan 4-8 year pipelines
• Coaches, analysts and support staff lack continuity
• Athletes are forced into short-term decision making

A Fixed Pool does not guarantee success, but itmakes development possible.

2. Credibility of Medals and Competition

When disciplines change every edition:

• Medals lose historical meaning
• Performance benchmarking becomes impossible
• Public and institutional confidence erodes

In multi-sport events, medals representsporting achievement, not event participation.

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Stability protects that meaning.

3. Institutional and Sponsor Confidence

Event-based sponsorship can survive volatility.Ecosystem investment cannot.

Without clarity on what disciplines will exist:

• Sponsors remain event-focused, not athlete-focused
• Funding becomes short-term and transactional
• Public investment becomes difficult to justify

A Fixed Pool does not promise commercial profit, but it providespredictability, which institutions depend on.

Acknowledging the Risks (and Why They Matter)

It would be irresponsible to discuss a Fixed Pool without acknowledging its risks especially in esports.

1. Dependency on External Ecosystems

Unlike traditional sports, esports titles depend heavily on:

• Active competitive ecosystems
• Ongoing regional engagement
• Sustained high-level competition outside the Games

A Fixed Poolcannot replace these ecosystems.It can only sit on top of them.

2. The Risk of False Permanence

A Fixed Pool should never imply guaranteed inclusion.

If disciplines are treated as untouchable despite ecosystem decline, the model becomes rigid and fragile. Exactly the opposite of what good governance aims to achieve.

How These Risks Can Be Managed

A responsible Fixed Pool model must be:

Conditional

Inclusion is based on clear, transparent criteria and reviewed across multiple cycles.

Tiered

A distinction between core disciplines and associate or transitional ones allows stability without stagnation.

Complementary, Not Competitive

Multi-sport events shouldrecognize excellence, not attempt to replace professional competitive ecosystems.

Honest With Athletes

Participation in the Games should be framed as arepresentative honour, not a standalone career pathway.

What a Fixed Pool Ultimately Represents

A Fixed Pool is not about controlling games.

It is aboutlocking responsibility into the system:

• Responsibility to athletes
• Responsibility to public funders
• Responsibility to the integrity of competition

Most importantly, it signals that esports is prepared to be governedby the same standards as every other sport on the program.

Closing Thought

Without stability, esports risks being treated as content.With the right form of stability, it has a genuine chance to be treated as sport.

A Fixed Pool model designed with flexibility, accountability and realism is not a guarantee of success.But without it, the long-term inclusion of esports in multi-sport events becomes increasingly difficult to justify.

And that is a reality worth confronting early, not later.