2022 Asian Games to Feature Eight Esports Titles Including Dota 2 as Medal Sports

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has announced that eight esports games will be contested at the 19th Asian Games which are to be held in Hangzhou, China, in 2022. Among these eight games is Valve's flagship Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA), Dota 2. In addition to the eight esports titles that will take place at this upcoming Asian Games in September 2022, there will also be two games that will serve as demonstration events. This will be the first time esports will be represented at an Asian Games as a medal sport.

Dota 2 will be a medal sport at the 19th Asian Games in China

The announcement of these game titles was made on 8th September 2022 which was the first day of the Chefs de Mission Conference for the 19th Asian Games.

“We hope that this announcement allows all participating teams ample time to prepare and equip themselves ahead of the qualifying stages,” said Mr. Husain Al-Musallam, the Director-General of the OCA.

At the 2022 Asian Games, the following eight games will be played as medal sports:

1. Arena of Valor Asian Games Version

2. Dota 2

3. Dream Three Kingdoms 2

4. EA SPORTS FIFA branded soccer games

5. HearthStone

6. League of Legends

7. PUBG Mobile Asian Games Version

8. Street Fighter V

Additionally, the two demonstration events are:

1. AESF Robot Masters-Powered by Migu

2. AESF VR Sports-Powered by Migu

As for the eight medal sports, medals awarded will be added to the official medal rankings, while this will not be the case for AESF Robot Masters-Powered by Migu and AESF VR Sports-Powered by Migu since they are demonstration events.

The decision to include esports as a medal sport was made at the 39th General Assembly of the OCA in December 2020. Prior to that, six esports games were featured as demonstration events during the 2018 Asian Games, namely Arena of Valor, Clash Royale, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Pro Evolution Soccer, and StarCraft II. China placed first in the medal tally with three gold medals and one silver medal.

As for Dota 2, the game has made this new leap after it was announced as a medal event at the 2021 Asian Indoor And Martial Arts Games (rescheduled to March 2022) and the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. However, in the list of 10 esports games to be played as medal sports at the 2021 Southeast Asian Games (rescheduled to 2022), Dota 2 did not make the cut.

The 19th Asian Games are scheduled to take place from 10th to 25th Sept, 2022.