Indian eSports contingent at Asian Games 2023: Schedule & overview of all 4 titles

Things are heating up for Indian eSports as the Asian Games 2023 are close. eSports is going to make its debut at the Asian Games 2023 as a proper medal event, while earlier in 2018 it was there as a demonstration title. The Asian Games 2022, initially scheduled for September last year, will now be held from September 23 to October 8, 2023. The seven official Esports events at the tournament are:

1. Arena of Valor Asian Games Version
2. Dota 2
3. Dream Three Kingdoms 2
4. FIFA Online 4
5. League of Legends
6. Peace Elite Asian Games Version
7. Street Fighter V: Champion Edition

The eSports event of the Hangzhou Asian Games will be held in China Hangzhou Esports Centre from September 24th to October 2^nd, and the athletes will compete for seven gold medals. India, however, will be participating in four of the seven titles, DOTA 2, FIFA Online 4, League of Legends, and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition.

Here is an introduction to the titles:

FIFA Online 4

Game Type: Single-player

Dates: September 24 to 27

Format: All games including the final will be played in the best-of-three (BO3) format

Description: FIFA Online 4 is a virtual football game where players control teams made up of real-world football players. It is similar to playing a real football match, but on a console where you control the players and their actions. Two players play against each other in a match that lasts almost 15 minutes with a halftime break in between, and the player with the most goals scored wins.

Players can select any players who are currently playing or legends from the past to play in their customized team. The player must make multiple strategies for different formations and select the right players to defend, pass, and attack with precision to prevail. Players have fixed ratings given by the game’s publishers according to their performances in real life, and the pace of a player is the key factor as everyone usually prefers faster players to help them win.

Charanjot Singh and Karman Singh Tikka will be the two Indian representatives in FIFA Online 4. 

League of Legends

Game Type: Team-Based

Dates: September 25 to 29

Format: The group stage games will be conducted in the best-of-one (BO1) format while the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and final will be played in the best-of-three (BO3) format

Description: League of Legends is a team-based strategy game where each player controls a powerful fantasy character. Two teams battle against each other across a map and work together to defeat their opponents by taking down their base. The first team to destroy a structure known as the Nexus, lying at the back of each team’s base, wins the match. There are five positions in a team as follows:

Top: Dominates the top lane, excelling in 1v1 battles, and can teleport across the map.

Jungler: Roams the jungle, gathering gold and XP, and ganks to create 2v1 situations.

Mid: Holds the central lane, favors powerful champions like Aatrox, and deals heavy damage.

ADC: Ranged, consistent damage dealers, they grow in power and can become key players.

Support: A utility role that roams, using crowd control to disrupt enemies and empower allies.

Players who win gold on the map can use it to buy items from a shop located at the fountain. Items include everything from armour to magic resistance, attack damage to speed, and ability power. Players can carry six items at a time.

Akshaj Shenoy leads the Indian team, and Samarth Arvind Trivedi, Mihir Ranjan, Aditya Selvaraj, Aakash Shandilya, and Sanindhya Malik are part of the squad. A total of five players will play in the tournament with one substitute.

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition

Game Type: Single-player

Dates: September 26 to 28

Format: All games including the final will be played in the best-of-three (BO3) format

Description: Street Fighter V is a one-on-one fighting game, where players choose a unique character with special moves and abilities. They face off against each other in exciting battles, much like a martial arts tournament. Players can select any character they like out of 40 available, which has its own abilities. They must build combos and strategies to master attack and defence to defeat their opponents. A Street Fighter V match usually lasts between 1-2 minutes and comes to an end when one of the players defeats their opponents in two rounds.

Mayank Prajapati and Ayan Biswas are the two Indian Street Fighters who will be competing for the country at the Asian Games 2022.

DOTA 2

Game Type: Team-Based

Dates: September 29 to October 2

Format: The group stage games will be conducted in the best-of-one (BO1) format while the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and final will be played in the best-of-three (BO3) format

Description: DOTA 2, which stands for Defense of the Ancients 2, is another team-based strategy game. There are two teams of five players each who are tasked with destroying the enemy’s Ancient, which is the central structure in their base, and protecting their own. Players in the game take control of a hero, each with their own unique set of attributes, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, and must team up to get strong enough to take down their Ancient.

An average DOTA 2 match lasts between 30-40 minutes. A Lane is one of three paths connecting the two Ancients, and there are three lanes: Top lane, which runs along the left and top edges of the map, Middle or mid lane, where the lane creeps clash in the river, and Bottom or bot, which runs along the bottom and right edges of the map. There are five main roles in Dota 2 as follows:

Carry: Responsible for dealing as much damage to enemy heroes and structures as possible, carrying their team to victory in the process.

Midlane: Controlling the middle lane and expected to move around to help other lanes where needed

Offlane: Staying alive in the offlane and farming as much gold and experience as possible, the toughest role

Soft Support: Pressuring the enemy Carry in the laning phase and focus on harassing, poking, and being a nuisance.

Hard Support: Assisting their Carry and protecting them at all costs

Darshan Bata captains the Indian team, and Krish Gupta, Abhishek Yadav, Ketan Goyal, and Shubham Goli are his teammates. Similar to League of Legends, five players will play for the team.

India’s talented athletes Shikhar Choudhary and Karthik Varma were going to represent the country in Hearthstone, which was originally a part of the Asian Games, but the title was removed from the Asian Games Esports program in March.  Moreover, titles including Arena of Valor and Peace Elite AGV (which is a special version of PUBG Mobile developed by Tencent for the tournament) are banned in India, the title Dream Three Kingdoms 2 is not available in the country.