Everything You Need to Know About Esports At the 2018 Asian Games

For the first time ever, esports will be featured as part of an international sports event, at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. Six games; Arena of Valor, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Clash Royale, Starcraft II and PES will be contested from 26 August to 1 September 2018.

However, it is important to note that while esports at the Asian Games will be classified as a ‘demonstration game’, it is a step in the right direction in bridging the scene with more traditional sports scene -and hopefully a berth at the Olympics – as early as the 2020 one in Tokyo, Japan.

The third-largest multi- sports event in the world after the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, it is a significant development in according similar, professional recognition and acknowledgements to e-athletes who participate in the rapidly growing esports scene.

Out of the 45 invited countries, 27 took part in the qualifying rounds involving six video game titles. From that lot, only 18 qualified to feature in Jakarta. All esports contests will be played at the BritAma Arena in Kelapa Gading, Jakarta.

The qualified nations, with the number of games they will be participating in are:

• China (3)
• Chinese Taipei (3)
• Hong Kong (4)
• India (4)
• Indonesia (6)
• Iran (2)
• Japan (2)
• Kazakhstan (3)
• Kyrgyzstan (1)
• Laos (2)
• Malaysia (1)
• Pakistan (1)
• Saudi Arabia (3)
• South Korea (2)
• Sri Lanka (1)
• Thailand (3)
• Uzbekistan (1)
• Vietnam (6)

The schedule of the tournaments are as follows:

Sunday 26th August: Arena of Valor
Monday 27th August: Clash Royale, League of Legends
Tuesday, Wednesday 28th & 29th August: League of Legends
Thursday 30th August: Starcraft II
Friday 31st August: Hearthstone
Saturday 1st September: Pro Evolution Soccer*

*For the Asian Games, Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 will be used.

We will be on the ground to check out the scenes, as well as report from the event floor. Do stick around for sights and sounds of esports from the 2018 Asian Games!