China wins gold at Asian Games 2018… but this time it’s in Video Games

Another gold medal for China in one of the largest sporting events in the world, the Asian Games. The difference? This was not achieved through regular sport, but in the field of electronic video games, or so-called esports

If you’re not familiar, the Asian Games 2018, for the first time this year, contains an experimental section of e-sports. This is the largest representation of e-sports as an international recognition of this event, which is rated as the second largest global event behind Olympiad.

What this means is that electronic athletes have become on the same podium as their basketball, football, and so on, so they deserve the gold medals to represent their country as well. Medals China had a stake in two of them, with players winning the Arena of Valor and the League of Legends.

For the League of Legends, this is the country’s third win this year through the world championships (MSI and Rift Rivals), but that achievement did not come easily. The Chinese team had to overcome not only their arch-rival Chinese Taipei in the semi-finals, but also South Korea. However, the AFC Champions League managed to get a 3-1 win over the team.

One of the main players in the tournament was Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao, who replaced AD Carry, whose performance in the final boosted his position as one of the best (if not perhaps the best) of the League of Legends players. Uzi’s overwhelming performance with his team has been crowned by the gold medal, an award that inevitably carries moral value before it is material.

The second gold of China came at the Arena of Valor tournament for smartphones, where the event proved that smart phones can be an effective platform for electronic sports as well. The Chinese team was the only Chinese Taipei to win, but the win was for China again after a great performance.

The Olympic Games is seriously considering the possibility of incorporating e-sports in the near future in the coming sessions, and it depends on the success of the Games in Asia. As the League of Legends has attracted more than a million followers at the same time as Fortnite, the future of e-sports in sporting events is promising. We are waiting for the results of both Clash Royale and PES 2018, which are also being played in the tournament.