Asian Games Adds Esports For first Time: All You Need To Know

Following its debut as a “demonstration event” at the 2018 Asian Games, esports makes its medal competition debut at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Tirth Mehta, who won bronze in Hearthstone, earned India’s lone “medal” at the 2018 competition.

That game has been left out of this edition (more on that later), which will award medals in each of the seven eSports games listed below: League of Legends, Arena of Valor Asian Games Version, Peace Elite Asian Games Version, Dota 2, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, and EA SPORTS FC ONLINE.

Due to the bans on Arena of Valor and Peace Elite (a mobile version of PUBG produced by TenCent for the Asian Games) as well as the lack of Dream Three Kingdoms 2 in the country, India will only compete in four of these seven events.

India’s eSports Asian Games 2023 squad

EA SPORTS FC ONLINE (rebranded from FIFA Online 4)

India’s representatives: Charanjot Singh and Karman Singh Tikka

EA FC Online is a single-player game that simulates real-world football by letting players take control of all 11 players on their side as well as the formations and tactics they employ with the ultimate goal of outscoring the opposition. Following the collapse of publisher Electronic Arts’ (EA) agreement with FIFA, FIFA Online 4 was rebranded as EA Sports FC Online using the graphics engine and gameplay from FIFA 18 as a foundation.

In the South Asia seeding competition prior to the Asian Games, Charanjot won, and Karman came in sixth. 21 nations will compete in their event at the Asian Games, with each tie having a best-of-three (BO3) format.

• Dates: September 24 – 27

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition

India’s representatives: Mayank Prajapati and Ayan Biswas

The single-player fighting game Street Fighter V also pits two players against one another using different characters, each with distinct skills and attributes. Games are typically won through timing and combination skill, and the victor must lower his opponent’s “health bar” in order to win.

In their South Asian seeding competition prior to the Games, Prajapati and Ayan placed fifth and sixth, respectively. This competition is anticipated to draw competitors from 15 different nations and will similarly feature a BO3 format in each tie.

• Dates: September 26 – 28

League of Legends (LoL)

India’s representatives: Akshaj Shenoy (captain), Samarth Arvind Trivedi, Mihir Ranjan, Aditya Selvaraj, Aakash Shandilya, Sanindhya Malik (five players and one substitute)

League of Legends, arguably the most well-known eSports game present at the Asian Games, is a 5v5 MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game in which each player controls a strong character with a variety of powers across a map. The goal of the game is to destroy a structure called the “Nexus” inside the base of the opposing team. Players are given specialized positions (top, jungler, mid, adc, support).

India’s team makes do with the recently launched SEA server since there are no native LoL servers in the country. Their winning streak at the Central and South Asian seeding competition before to the Games is all the more remarkable as a result. At the Asian Games, LoL will be played by 19 nations; the group stage will be a one-shot competition, and the event will change to

• Dates: September 25 – 29

Defence of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2)

India’s representatives: Darshan Bata (captain), Krish Gupta, Abhishek Yadav, Ketan Goyal, Shubham Goli.

Dota 2 is a well-known eSports MOBA game and is also a team-based competition. Similar to League of Legends, five players are tasked with taking out the opponent team’s Ancient (a building inside their base) and defending their own. Each player is in control of a unique hero (roles include carry, midlane, offlane, soft support, and hard support). The three lanes (top, middle, and bottom) that connect the two Ancients at each end of the game add to its complexity.

Prior to the Games, the Indian team placed second in their seeding group (top eight overall), and it will have tough competition if it hopes to win a medal. Three of the five players who will compete in the Asiad were on a team that recently fell 0-2 to Malaysia and Mongolia in GEG23 (Global Esports Games) qualifiers.

The group stage is a best-of-one format, followed by BO3 in the quarterfinal stage onwards.

• Dates: September 29 – October 2