Asian Games 2023 esports: what are the games, how are they played, and who is expected to win?
- Hangzhou features seven different games in esports competition including League of Legends and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
- Team China have won first esports gold medal after defeating Malaysia in the Arena of Valor Asian Games Edition final on Tuesday night
Esports is the newest event at the Asian Games and, arguably, the most divisive.
Say what you will about its inclusion next to events such as boxing, where athletes put themselves through rigorous training camps to reach the pinnacle of fitness to withstand a barrage of punches – the reality is, esports is hugely popular.
And history was made on Tuesday night as China won the first-ever esports gold medal at any Asian Games.
Nearly every esports session in the host city of Hangzhou is expected to be a 5,000-seat sell out, according to official data, and China – who already dominate physical sporting events, accumulating more than 100 medals as of Wednesday morning – are expected to take command of the virtual sports as well.
There will be a total of seven esports gold medals up for grabs as athletes compete against each other on popular games including EA Sports FC Online (previously known as FIFA4 Online), League of Legends (LoL) and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition.
South Korea is also expected to be in the running for gold. On their roster is Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, dubbed the Michael Jordan of LoL, who is a multimillionaire boasting sponsorship deals from both Nike and Red Bull.
