The competition features tournaments in Rocket League, Madden NFL 22 and Forza Motorsport 7, with Special Olympics athletes entering for a chance to play a celebrity supporter - National Basketball Association (NBA) star Jayson Tatum, former Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, Women's NBA's American basketball player Jewell Lloyd, and wrestlers Dominik Mysterio and Ember Moon.

Head of Xbox Social Impact Jenn Panattoni said: "This tournament is a meaningful and important step in making esports more accessible and it empowers Special Olympics athletes with a new way to compete.

"Xbox has invested in numerous accessibility features and products, like the Xbox Adaptive Controller and features like copilot or speech to text.

"The purpose of all this continued work is to ensure that players feel welcome and that they belong on the Xbox platform."

Special Olympics chief information and technology officer Prianka Nandy said: "Special Olympics has a long-standing partnership with Microsoft that has been incredibly valuable for the athletes and families of the Special Olympics movement.

"With the COVID-19 pandemic, our main concern has been the safety and health of our athletes, who are among the most vulnerable population to have an adverse or catastrophic outcome from the virus. 

"This led to the cancellation and postponement of thousands of annual in-person events and competitions - which meant our athletes have missed out on the connections and opportunities to experience the joy of being with their teammates, coaches and friends. 

"At this time, our goals remain to raise awareness of the Special Olympics movement and the accomplishments, hopes and dreams of our incredible athletes, and to change attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities within the gaming community, all while remembering that gaming can be fun and inclusive for all."

Special Olympian Colton Rice says competitive gaming is getting more accessible.

"People with intellectual disabilities are always trying to compete at their best," Rice told Tech Crunch. 

"We want to do what everyone else is doing, and sometimes just need a little help to make that happen."

The event concluded yesterday.