Taking place in Hangzhou, China, the event will include seven popular esports titles, ranging from PC to mobile games, all vying for gold medals.

The inclusion signals a major step for esports, which joins other “mind games” like chess and bridge in the esteemed Asian competition.

More than 30 countries are fielding teams, but all eyes are on South Korea and host nation China, expected to be the powerhouses in one of the most anticipated spectacles of the two-week gathering.

This year’s esports menu covers a variety of genres, including multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) and single-player games.

The titles set for competition are League of Legends, Arena of Valor Asian Games Version (also known as Honor of Kings), Peace Elite Asian Games Version (also known as PUBG Mobile), Dota 2, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, and EA Sports FC (also known as FIFA Online 4).

For South Korean players like Lee “Faker” Sanghyeok, widely considered the Greatest of All Time in League of Legends, a gold medal would have additional benefits, including exempting him from South Korea’s compulsory military service for men.

This isn’t esports’ first appearance at the Asian Games. It was a demonstration sport at the previous event held in Jakarta, Indonesia, and was met with overwhelming enthusiasm.

The success of the Asian Games will again catapult esports into the Olympics conversation, with many well-placed esports enthusiasts suggesting the four-yearly event needs professional video gaming more than esports needs the games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has expressed interest in incorporating video and virtual sports to attract younger audiences, as seen with skateboarding and surfing in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

However, IOC president Thomas Bach stipulates that violent or discriminatory content is a deal-breaker.

“We have to draw a very clear red line in this respect,” he said.

This ban on any violence would seemingly rule many esports games out of being played at the Olympic Games, including first-person shooters and many multiplayer online battle arena titles.

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While the likes of China, Korea and Chinese Taipei boast strong rosters, most of the teams in the Asian Games League of Legends tournament are made up of amateurs and retirees. Both Thailand and Macau fall into the latter category.

Macau field two players with professional experience: former ONE SEVEN EIGHT mid laner Leong “SeaLion” Si Un and former Impunity mid laner Sit “Faith” Chong Fai. And while this doesn’t mean much, it’s also the only reason to consider Macau the better team.

Most of the group games look like a complete coin toss, with LoL betting sites seemingly ranking them based on whether the nation called up any current or former pro players. Given that neither of Macau’s ex-pros are top-tier talents, there is value in backing the outsider.

Chinese Taipei are considered the third-strongest team at the Asian Games, and that’s not surprising. With jungler Hung “Karsa” Hao-Hsuan, mid laner Chu “FoFo” Chun-Lan, support Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh, and ADC Chiu “Doggo” Tzu-Chuan, this roster has enough talent to make it very far.

The United Arab Emirates squad consists of a few former professionals, but none have played at the top level, so it’s fair to say that the talent gap here is massive. This also explains why LoL bookmakers have set the kill line at 15.5.

This is an absurdly high number, but it is still worth a punt. Even though covering 15 kills isn’t easy, this should play out like a match between solo queue players and a roster of elite LoL talent.

United Arab Emirates should do much better in their second match of the day when they face off against the Maldives, who enter the game as +240 underdogs. This has to do with one simple fact: the Maldives do not have a single current or former pro player, while the UAE do.

Even though this would suggest the UAE should beat the Maldives easily, we must consider that no United Arab Emirates player has competed at the top level, and none are currently signed to a professional team.

This is essentially a high-rank solo queue match, and since the Asian Games will be played on Patch 13.12, this adds another layer of randomness. Most early Asian Games fixtures are 50-50, so we’re getting plenty of value backing the Maldives.

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