Finals of inaugural University Mind Sports Games to kick off Jan. 5

Taipei, Dec. 30 (CNA) The finals of the inaugural University Mind Sports Games are set to run from Jan. 5-7 and will be featured in a television broadcast, the organizers said Tuesday.

The event will feature finals across six categories: three video games (Arena of Valor, NBA2K26, and Street Fighter 6), two card games (poker and bridge), and the board game Go. College students will compete for a top prize of NT$68,000 (US$2,170).

The champion team in the 5v5 mobile game Arena of Valor will be awarded NT$68,000, while the winners in the other five categories will each receive NT$60,000, according to the event's official website.

Speaking at a media event in Taipei, Wang Shu-yin (王淑音), head of the Chinese Taipei University Sports Federation, said mind sports are just as valuable as physical sports. She expressed hope that the competition would increase public understanding of these categories and encourage more people to participate.

Wen Ta-pei (文大培), vice president of Video Sports, the event's official broadcaster, said the featured games were selected based on the international achievements of Taiwanese players and the local popularity of university clubs dedicated to those activities.

Meanwhile, Tsai Cheng-nan (蔡正楠), a sophomore in the Department of Public Finance at National Chengchi University who will compete in the poker final, said he hopes the event helps "de-stigmatize" the game.

The issue is particularly relevant following a 2024 controversy in which three players from the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) were found playing poker at a club. The league suspended the players for seven games and fined them NT$70,000 (US$2,230), citing the need to uphold the "integrity" of the sport.

Tsai argued that poker emphasizes complex calculation and requires players to make decisions with limited information. "It's about stable performance over the long term and is definitely not like gambling, which hinges on sheer luck," he said.