Esports at the Asian Games

Esports at the Asian Games

Tournament information
Sport	Esports
Established	2018 (demonstration) 2022 (medal event)

Esports has been one of the regular Asian Games sports since 2022 edition in Hangzhou, China. It was first introduced as a demonstration sport in 2018 in Jakarta and Palembang.

History

Esports made its debut at the Asian Games alongside traditional sports in the 2018 edition in Jakarta and Palembang as demonstration event. ^[1] The event featured six titles – games for mobile and PC. ^{[2] [3]} Esports became a medal event in the 2022 Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China in 2023 boosting the discipline's bid for recognition as a legitimate sport. ^[1] The event for the postponed games, featured seven titles. ^[4] Hearthstone was supposed to be the eight title but was scrapped due to license expiry issue. ^[5]

The discipline is still set to be held in the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan. ^{[6] [7]}

Editions

Games	Year	Host city	Best nation
XIX	2022	Hangzhou, China	China
XX	2026	Aichi and Nagoya, Japan

Events

Event	18	22	26	Years
Individual
Clash Royale	d			0
EA Sports FC Online		X		1
eFootball	d		X	1
Gran Turismo 7			X	1
Hearthstone	d			0
Honor of Kings			X	1
Naraka: Bladepoint			X	1
Puyo Puyo Champions			X	1
StarCraft II	d			0
Street Fighter V		X	[a]	1
Team
Arena of Valor	d	X		1
Dota 2		X		1
Dream Three Kingdoms 2		X		1
Identity V			X	1
League of Legends	d	X	X	2
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang			X	1
Pokémon Unite			X	1
PUBG Mobile		X	X	2
Competitive Martial Arts			X [b]	1
Total	0	7	11

Medal table

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China  (CHN)	4	0	1	5
2	South Korea  (KOR)	2	1	1	4
3	Thailand  (THA)	1	1	2	4
4	Chinese Taipei  (TPE)	0	2	2	4
5	Malaysia  (MAS)	0	1	1	2
6	Hong Kong  (HKG)	0	1	0	1
	Mongolia  (MGL)	0	1	0	1
Totals (7 entries)		7	7	7	21

Participating nations

Nation	18	22	Years
Bahrain		4	1
China	13	31	2
Chinese Taipei	13	19	2
Hong Kong	9	31	2
India	9	15	2
Indonesia	17	13	2
Iran	3		1
Japan	3	12	2
Jordan		7	1
Kazakhstan	9	28	2
Kuwait		1	1
Kyrgyzstan	1	15	2
Laos	6	15	2
Macau		19	1
Malaysia	2	19	2
Maldives		13	1
Mongolia		10	1
Myanmar		16	1
Nepal		22	1
Pakistan	6		1
Palestine		12	1
Philippines		25	1
Qatar		4	1
Saudi Arabia	7	21	2
Singapore		1	1
South Korea	7	15	2
Sri Lanka	1	4	2
Tajikistan		12	1
Thailand	7	32	2
United Arab Emirates		10	1
Uzbekistan	1	23	2
Vietnam	17	26	2
Number of nations	18	30
Number of athletes	131	475

Notes

1. A Street Fighter game along with two other titles will be contested in the "Competitive Martial Arts" event
2. Covers three titles: Street Fighter , Tekken , The King of Fighters . Only one medal will be awarded. ^[8]

References

1. "Esports' Asian Games debut is milestone towards acceptance as real sport". South China Morning Post. September 19, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
2. Tani, Shotaro (August 27, 2018). "'Mobile esports' shine on Asian Games debut". Nikkei Asia. Archived from the original on September 7, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
3. "A Guide to Esports at the 2018 Asian Games – ARCHIVE - The Esports Observer". Esports Observer. August 30, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
4. Ahmed, Wasif (September 8, 2021). "Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou, China will feature 8 esports games as medal events". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
5. "取消《炉石传说》 杭州亚运会电竞将设7个比赛项目_杭州2022年第19届亚运会官网". www.hangzhou2022.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
6. "Esports Continues To Stage As An Official Medal Sport At The 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026". Asian Electronic Sports Federation. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
7. "Asian Games: Esports make debut as medal events, welcomed by fans". Kyodo News+. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
8. "OCA announces e-sports titles for 2026 Asian Games". Olympic Council of Asia. Retrieved February 23, 2025.