With Esports rising as a legit career choice for today’s youth, it was only a matter of time before the genre found its way into the world of drama. Fantasy, romance, period pieces, and high school tropes have long dominated Chinese drama charts. But, with the country’s gaming culture on the rise, the appeal of stories set in this fast-paced world and the idea of romance in the mix have become a new favourite. It’s not exactly new, but it’s finally getting the global attention it deserves. Special mention to Yang Yang and his iconic hits like Love O2O and The Kings Avatar, among others, which helped put Esports dramas on the map. Global OTT platforms like Netflix saw the wave coming and jumped in on early trends and it paid off. If you’re hooked on this genre too, here are a few standout titles you’ll want to add to your binge list.

Released in 2021, Falling Into Your Smile, starring Xu Kai, Cheng Xiao, and Zhai Xiaowen, is still one of the most popular C-drama titles on Netflix. The 31-episode series follows Tong Yao, a twenty-something amateur gamer who manages to impress an all-boys Esports team competing at the world championship level. They’re on the hunt for someone to fill the gap left by one of their star players, and despite initial doubts about her age and the fact that she’s a girl in a male-dominated sport, Yao wins them over with her unbeatable skills.