Esports will finally debut as part of the official medal sports at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, from September 10 to 25 next year.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) included eight esports events, namely: Arena of Valor (Asian Games version), Defense of the Ancients (Dota) 2, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, EA Sports FIFA, Hearthstone, League of Legends, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) mobile (Asian Games version), and Street Fighter V.
OCA also selected the Hong Kong-based Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) to handle the activity and management of the Asian Games esports event in 2022.
AESF will also feature two demonstration events in the Asian Games, namely AESF Robot Masters and AESF VR Sports, both powered by Migu.
Esports was first introduced as demonstration sports at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan and the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the hosting of the Philippines at the 2019 South East Asian (SEA) Games marked the first esports competition as an official medal sport on the podium.
The Philippines clinched three golds, one silver, and one bronze, and was hailed the overall champion at the 2019 SEA Games.
Sources: Spin.ph, Inside the Games.biz
