The 19th Asian Games 2022, set to be held in Hangzhou in China, was postponed earlier this year due to a Covid-19 scare in China at the time. But now new dates for the Asian Games 2022 have been announced and it looks like the event is finally set to kick off.
According to Chinese sources from Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, it has been revealed that the Asian Games 2022 will be held from the 23rd of September to the 8th of October, 2022. What makes this year’s 19th Asian Games unique is that for the first time in history, esports will be included as an official medal event in a major international sports competition. The Games at Hangzhou will include 8 esteemed and popular esports games. Countries will contest for 3 medals, first place, second place, and third place.
The games included are Arena Of Valor, Dota 2, Dream Three Kingdom 2, FIFA, Hearthstone, League of Legends, PUBG Mobile, and Street Fighter 5.
The PUBG Mobile event will not feature the trademark battle royale of PUBG. Instead, the game will be played in a specially designed PUBG Mobile Asian Games version, where players will compete in a triathlon in the game.
The upcoming Asian Games 2022 is going to be an important event for the gaming industry and esports. It will showcase the progress made in esports by proving that esports can compete on par with physical and real-world sports. It will also provide an exciting new viewing experience for the audience. And if all goes well, there are rumors that esports might be included in the next Olympic Games as well.
